cadrail layout


guitarherowanab

guitarherowanab

HO Scale
anyone have any advice on how i can post a layout design from cadrail on here? im pretty much new to this layout design thing. ive read all the books, such as design for realistic operation, and trackwork and lineside details....but i need an experienced set of eyes. i have been working on this layout in several incarnations for a while now. it is basically a 13x13 u shape with 2 towns, a branch line, and a small yard. i had it mostly doubble track but am trying to eliminate some of that, to add operating interest and to make the main seem longer. ill be running it by myself, which means one train at a time for the most part. i want to use #6's on the main line and #5's everywhere else, and have incorporated some curved turnouts to increase the length of the sidings. the branch line will go under the mainline and yard for a distance and is on about a 2.3% grade. i guess i need some advice if ive made any glaring omissions or redundancies, and mabe some advice on the location and direction of crossovers and passing sidings, and definately some advice on designing the yard, as ive just started to understand the design of that aspect. but i guess first thing is first. figuring out how to post a cadrail layout on here!


any advice on anything is always appreciated.



thanks
 
I'm not sure about cadrail.

If you can copy the layout (click right mouse button, click on 'copy'), open Paint from Microsoft (included with most MS software), paste to Paint, then "save as". Change the file type to jpeg, name it and save it.

If all that works, then download to an online photo service like photobucket. If using photobucket, hold mouse over the picture and 4 urls will appear below the picture. Right click the last url, copy it and paste into the forum. Other photo hosting sites will have different methods. What you are looking for is the url with "img" tags.

Hope this helps. Or even works! LOL

Darrell, quiet...for now
 
There should be a print screen button (commonly abbreviated to PrtScn) on your keyboard.
Orient your layout in cadrail so it shows what you want to show, hit the button, and then open paint. Paste, and then edit out the menus and toolbars. Save as an image and then post it up here.
It's much easier than it sounds.
 
ok, so this it my plan, preliminarily. there is an open area adjacent to the 13 ft side. the 17 ft side is up against a wall. the helix is a radius of 25 inches and it will rise between 6 and 6.5 inches. i wanted a small yard and a small engine terminal, but there doesnt seem to be any logical place to put it, so i can live without it, i guess. the 2 13 ft dimensions are no negotiable, but the 17 foot dimension, i mabe could squeeze in another foot or so. anyways....


comments, suggestions? this is my second layout, as the first one was an atlas book one....the berkshire valley route. it never really got past the plywwod stage. it ran well, but it got boring real quick. i dont want that to happen this time, sooooo........



thanks


rob
 
The plan looks interesting but that 17' section up against the wall is going to give you fits. It appears to be about 4' wide, maybe wider. You are never going to be able to reach anything on the back tracks or be able to maintain your tracks and scenery. You will need some sort of popup near the middle area, sfter the helix.
 
2 things i forgot to mention....it is for ho scale, and the middle section on the left side, the one against the wall...i was planning on making that a sort of roll out section. it is shown by the faint pikish area. when it is rolled out of the way toward the middle of the isle, i would have access to the tracks against the wall.....i think i measured correctly in the program and the max reach to any spot on that side was 29-30 inches with that section out of the way. i guess the question then is, how difficult will it be to construct something such as that and have it line up consistently again and again?


thanks


rob
 
Rob, I wondered what that pink section was. I think it's a good concept but you've got three tracks crossing on each end. It wouldn't be impossible to do but it wouldn't be easy, especially since you have to find some way to lock it in place when it's not being used as a pull-out. In addition to lining up the track and having good connectivity, you have to consider the effect on scenery from the section constantly being moved. This kind of thing is done all the time for modular layouts so you have some standards that will help you. I think you just need to do a good job of planning and construction to make it work right.
 
i guess another thing i forgot to mention......i will be using 4 axle diesels for the most part. gp38-2's, rs27, and small six axle diesels. two sd9's and an sd7. i want to run mainly mixed freight, as i dont think i have the room for any unit trains, anywhere between 10 and 15 cars in length. the era is kinda indeterminate for an actual prototype, for the simple reason that i like a lot of different engines and equipment at this point! but the scenery id like to be based around the mid 80's to early 90's or so. any ideas on some small industries or business that could work? id like a team track somewhere and i also like flatcars.....the locale could be anywhere in the eastern united states. i have a mix of power....chessie system, b&o, soo line and dmir. as i said earlier, im not exactly worried about things looking like they belong at this point.


any suggestions?



thanks


rob
 
Suggestions about what, in particular? Sounds like you have a pretty good idea of what you want to run. I have engines going all the way from one steamer to SD-70's so my era is pretty wide. I alos run about six different road names plus my own shortline. I don't worry much about having things exactly to prototype either. If you're looking for industry suggestions, a feed mill can be found almost anywhere. The eastern US had many smaller businesses that supplied the auto industry, so paint companies, steel fabricators, and plastic plants were common. Textiles used to be a big in the east so cloth and yarn factories would be good. With the exception of huge grain mills, almost any type of business that existed in the US could be found somewhere in the east.
 
Is the helix necessary? I've never built one but they seem like they could easily be an engineering and / or maintenance hassle so I've always been partial to the No-lix concept.

Just a thought...
 
i cant really think of another way to turn the train around at the end of that lobe without out it looking obviously like it is just making a turn for the sake of making a turn. with the helix, at least the train will be out of view for a few seconds to make it appear as if it went somewhere...
 
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