Can oval layouts bring enough satisfaction?


homersimpsonlikestrains

homersimpsonlikestrains

Active Member
Can oval layouts bring enough satisfaction? For example, I was on YouTube and I found this double oval layout and that is what I am aiming for on my future train layout. However, people say that oval layouts become boring right away and that is best to make the train layout realistic with a purpose.

What are the hard rules for train layouts?

I like the layout in this video:
 
homersimpsonlikestrains said:
What are the hard rules for train layouts?
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In my opinion there are no rules that apply to everyone. The only person your layout must please is you!

My last layout was not much more than track and trains. I loved it, I miss it and I can't wait to build another!

I enjoy changing the locomotives and rolling stock to provide variety. I add accessories and decorate the layout for Christmas and the Fourth of July. I have equipment for both holidays. I even have a Thanksgiving train. I like to run the different control systems Lionel Legacy, LionChief and conventional. I even had space for HO and N on my O gauge layout to use DCC or DC. One of my favorite trains was an old, upgraded Tyco Spirit of 76. It looks exactly like my first train set.

To each his own.

PS I love those classic Lionel layouts!
 
homersimpsonlikestrains said:
Can oval layouts bring enough satisfaction?
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Absolutely ! I completely agree with Louis. I have a very small layout and I'm very happy with it.

2004.jpg
 
I believe any layout can bring satisfaction, be it an oval or otherwise. It all relies on the operators imagination. As a toddler I had a clockwork train set on a single oval of track. The 0.4.0 locomotive and three freight wagons 'travelled the length and breadth of Britain'. Lose the imagination and boredom sets in imo.

The same applies to any layout that loses its appeal; boredom kills it. Keep the 'magic' and imagination there any layout works for that operator.

The beauty of model railroading is there is such differences. As one operator sees the magic of one type of layout, others do not. They take other 'routes'. Long may that remain so.
 
There are lots of variables on this one. How much space do you have, what parts of the hobby do you enjoy most, what is your budget, how much time do you have, and what is your level of commitment to a larger layout, a project that will involve several years of work? The entire NMRA achievement program was set up so you can complete all the certificates with a 4 x 8 layout, and you can do lots with a 4 x 8. Do you like watching them roll? Do you prefer to give the trains work to do, do you like long trains, large locos and rolling stock. Those will dictate what kind of a layout will be best for you. I think a standard oval can give lots of satisfaction, and teach you a bunch about model railroading. I think some will outgrow it. It is a great place to start. Most of the longtime modelers I know have built more than one layout. One thing is for sure: any layout is better than no layout! John Allen started the Gorre and Daphetid on a 4 x 8 and expanded it.
 
The layout in my avatar is a 4x8. Granted, it's N scale, but it's basically a double oval. At that size, there's a lot you can do with it. There are two yards and an engine terminal, two independent ovals with passing sidings, even docks and a transload facility. There are two towns and a short spur on the back side of the layout at the location of the second town.
 
I think you can do a lot with a simple oval. You can put a backdrop down the middle and have one scene on each side. You can put a mountain or large industry at the curves to hide the curves. An industry example, one side for cars coming out of a coal mine loaded. They go around through both scenes and in a power station that is backed to the mine on the other side. So you always have coal loads coming from the mine going to the power station.
 
Hi Homer,
I had the same questions when I built my 4 X 8 double oval 12 years ago. I based my original 4 X 8 on the "Virginian" layout which I found in an old issue of MR. Here are a few pics of where I started 12 years ago and where I am still building onto the layout as I type this:

Orioginal 4 X 8.jpg

The original 4X8 based on the Virginian. Notice I have turnouts on the top and bottom of the outside oval. I also modified the switching areas inside the inner oval. My son and I wanted a layout with many switching opportunities.

Yard.JPG

This is the yard section which we built off of the turnout at the bottom of the top photo.

Marrow Sub.JPG

This section will be a lumber/planing mill operation. It is being built off the turnout at the top of the first photo.

U shaped.JPG

Here is an overview of the current U shaped layout.

I do have a few suggestions for you as you make your plans. Take your time choosing a location for the layout in your home. Take your time choosing the scale and power (DC or DCC) for your layout. I have just as much to do with switching operations on the original 4 X 8 as I do with the other two sections. In other words, staying with a 4 X 8 Oval and not branching out is still a great way to model railroad. Forums and Youtube are a great way to help you with these considerations and will continue to help when you run into the inevitable issues that will pop up from time to time.

The only absolute that I can think of is ........ have fun.

Good luck Homer, and I hope to see posts from you as you plan and build your layout.
 
I have a double oval…determined by my available space
In the evening, I turn the twin throttles on low speed and watch the trains go by for 10 minutes or so…
I find it relaxing…looking at the trains, scenery etc….
Every month I switch the locos and the freight, sometimes a passenger train…
I like to weather cars, and that’s the focus of my RR modelling.
So I am good with that.

Build the layout that meets your interests…

IMG_1217.png
 
D&J RailRoad said:
Some of the hard rules are: Don't try to run O scale trains on HO track and vice verse.
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Don't tell the guys running On30 that. :)
D&J RailRoad said:
Some of the hard rules are: Your trains will not run without electricity.
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Don't tell the live steamers that. :)
D&J RailRoad said:
Some of the hard rules are: When you leave your trains with children, they will figure out a way to crash them together.
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Don't tell Gomez Addams that. :)
 
As someone who is building a very large N Scale layout (19 feet by 3 feet) I have to say that I sometimes wish I had an oval. An oval layout, you can still get away with yards and other options for running trains in more than just a circle, but not have the intimidating amount of space in the middle to fill. They also take up less space. At the end of the day, you still have the train doing loops. It just takes longer for it to do them.
 
I have 2 oval tracks, a passing track two industries and a small switching yard, so I run whatever takes my mood at the time, I don't worry about era's, I'll run a steamer, a freight train with a GP loco and a passenger train, I'll mix US HO with UK OO, it's my railroad, so my rules apply, and in my world, anything goes, as long as I'm having fun.
 
There is a saying among the indigenous peoples of Peru, S. America. Quando hay hambre, no hay pan duro. When there is hunger, there is no hard bread. IOW, when that's all that's available, it's better than a kick in the pants. I had a lot of fun on a remnant of drywall set up on a bench while we were finishing our basement years ago. With dust, paint, drywall scraps, the odd dropped screw, and other stuff everywhere, I had a small switching layout with tracks laid temporarily, and powered likewise, on a slab of drywall maybe 24" X 72". It was a very welcome diversion from the grind of mudding, sanding, painting...
 
If your principal interest is with things like Lionel train sets, which is more often about the fun of watching trains go around in a colorful setting, then an oval can certainly be a lot of fun, and you can certainly add switches, passing tracks, or future expansions to an oval layout (I am sure there are also Lionel/American Flyer toy train operators who do switching & operation too); literally the best known model railroad in the world started out as a small oval layout with overly-sharp curves. But there are also oval plans designed for switching and operation, detailed scenery and realistic modelwork, and there are thousands of designs out there to help inspire you that all fit on a sheet of plywood. The only hard rule is, are you having fun? And the only way to test that is, go ahead and build the layout to see if you're having fun. If you aren't, then try something else. If you have fun, whoopee!

Designing a model railroad involves a certain amount of soul-searching regarding what it is you hope to get out of the experience, and then planning based on what you hope to achieve, not what others think you should achieve; the other nice thing about starting with a small tabletop or shelf layout is that you don't have to do all that much soul searching, and if you decide to change your mind, you just disassemble it and start over, integrating the lessons you learned into the new plan.
 
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homersimpsonlikestrains said:
Can oval layouts bring enough satisfaction? For example, I was on YouTube and I found this double oval layout and that is what I am aiming for on my future train layout. However, people say that oval layouts become boring right away and that is best to make the train layout realistic with a purpose.

What are the hard rules for train layouts?

I like the layout in this video:
Click to expand...
The only hard and fast rule of model railroading: If you like it and you're having fun, then you are doing it right.

Folks that say oval layouts get boring real fast are mainly expressing their own personal feelings. Believe it or not, there are also folks out there that much prefer sit back and watch trains run as opposed to operations. That can be relaxing. While admittedly a small oval may get boring in short order, they may build much bigger simple loops (basically big ovals), with little-to-no turnouts at all, in order to simply watch the trains run. Check out Dave at dagryffyn hobby ( https://www.youtube.com/c/dagryffynhobby ) for one example. Four separate O-gauge loops on a bigger layout, no turnouts at all.

The O-gauge layout in the video looks like a fun little layout to me. It has a few ovals where one can sit back and just watch trains run, if that's what you're in the mood for. And it has some sidings with industries where you can do some switching if that's what you feel like doing - operating (a sense of purpose) which can be fun also. The scenery on it, while being fairly nice and simple, is a far cry better than nothing at all. And as a matter of fact, whether built in O-gauge, or HO-scale or N-scale or any other scale, I think it would be a good, all-around satisfying layout that won't get boring in short order. And, it would give you a chance to see if you mainly just like watching trains run, or else mainly operating the trains, or else a combination of both. :)👍
 
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