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This is my as yet unnamed railroad (A.Y.U.R.) that I began constructing before I moved to Ohio.
The pics I've attached give you a little bit of an idea of how my main line will be run. I've only decided where one industry will be, the rest will have to wait until I get the mainline up and running so I can test my grades. My method of construction was chosen with portability and weight in mind. I used 3 folding tables for my base, each one being 6 feet long and roughly 3 feet wide. Then glue styrofoam sheets on top to create a base and the necessary terrain features. I then use sheet rock putty to smooth out the grades. I just applied the last of the putty today, so I should be set to begin figuring out final placement of the mainline by the end of the week (have to shoot back down the North Carolina for a couple days) and get everything tested and make sure the grades are as smooth as possible. I'll probably use regular plaster when it comes time to fill in the actual terrain, but we'll see by the time I get to that point.
I'll post up a main line schematic as soon as I'm positive that the line is running where I want it too!
1. I don't have a track plan just yet that I can post. I'm a little backwards in the way I plan my railroads, in that I start with a section, figure out how I want the track to go, then I move on from there. I should have a mainline graph sketch that I can post by the end of the day though one I go through and make sure the final section is going to sit like I think it will.
There are a variety of radius used to get the proper fit, so I can't tell you that either, just that I don't plan on running much super long modern equipment. Most of my rolling stock is stuff that I picked up stupid cheap off of ebay, so it's mostly older stuff.
2. It is N scale, I would have had a very difficult time fitting the looping lines I have on one of my tables if I were building this in HO.
Ok, here is a crummy not to scale drawing of the main line and a few musings as to possible spur track locations. To answer a part of a previous question, I try to keep the grades between 2 and 4 percent. Curve radius' are kept above the 9 3/4 radius that is offered by Atlas in their snap track, beyond that I can't say exact radius' as they are designed to fit the given curve with the only parameter being that they are greater than 9 3/4.
There is also a big space in the middle of the Mountain Division that I am up in the air about what to do with. I'm not beyond extending the double track portion and raising the center up a couple levels and putting something in there, but I don't want to completely lose sight of the trains running up and down the mountains either. I'm sure as work progresses, inspiration will hit me lol
Also, I don't have it pictured on table three, but there sill be a shoot off towards the edge, incase I decide to add another small table to construct a larger yard if the current space proves insufficient to meet my spur goals and allow a decent sized yard
No real progress to post today other than I have decided the railroads name. It will be called the Ashland, Yoskosh and Ulverton Railroad. Ashland is a manufacturing and rail hub, Ulverton is a high plains cattle and coal town, and Yoshkosh is named for the owner of the various mineral mines in the mountainous region to the north of Ashland.
off to a good start! I'd recommend using flextrack, as the same was recommended to me...
You're going to need coal operations (good choice), someone to sell it to, such as a refinery, plus mining operations. Ashland could serve as a shipping hub, in case you decide to have ore refinery's off-layout (such as holding over in a staging yard...)
i'd recommend having your mines in the mountain areas, perhaps using real life Silverton as a model.
I will be utilizing mostly flextrack, got a huge lot of it off eBay awhile back
Ashland is going to be pretty much what you suggested. I'm planning on having some kind of Ore smelting plant, as well as either a coal storage facility or a coal fired plant of some kind, along with a couple other industries and a small passenger terminal. If it becomes difficult to squeeze that much into the one table, I do have the option of extending Ashland along the wall if I need more space for industries and a yard.
There are going to be mines in the mountains, just haven't decided where the lead in for the mines is going to be yet. It's either going to be a siding off of the lower level where the mainline becomes double or I'm going to build up the middle of the table a little and run a siding off of the mainline up near where one of the bridges is going in.
