Doughnut shaped layout?

[GMTrainNut]

Beachbum has some excellent ideas. My layout is similar to your second section but with only 25" wide straight sections. You can actually do a lot with the space you have. I have an inside passing track on one loop, a four track yard and engine house in the middle of the second loop, and three industries, a feed mill, a paint factory, and a lock factory. The last two are served by a street running track that goes though downtown on the straight section. The combination of the downtown buildings and a small range of hills behind town, alll the way to the feed mill on the other end of the straight section, serves as an effective view block and conceals the fact that the two return tracks are so close together. Beside the yard, I built another range of hills and the track runs though a deep cut and then across a small creek. The train disappearing into the cut adds the illusion of a grade change and blocks the view of the train until it gets back to the straight section. Since you have so much more space than I have, I think you could come up with even more ideas and way more operations.

Jim,

Any track plans or photos you can share as inspiration? Sounds like you're a much better "planner" than me!

Thanks..

 

[Kerrydel]

Okay, I'm going to push the HOG some more. Here's an idea. Use the HOG pretty much as is but, increased the depth of 3 out of 4 of the wall segments from 12" to 18". I know one of your concerns is not having many buildings. I think this would allow more room for structures.

I've also added an island for more operating interest. I've made the layout in a bunch of small segments so that it is easy to transport.

If you are concerned with the doors, you can just take them off the hinges and store them.

Just my 2 cents.

Kerry

 

[GMTrainNut]

Kerry,

Thanks for taking the time to sketch your thoughts! I have not dismissed a HOG type layout yet, am currently drawing plans for both types and seeing what comes together the best. I would be afraid to build it exactly to the dimensions of the current room, it might not fit the available space in the next home, say if the new spare room was 10x12. So I'm more or less trying to confine the layout to about 8 x 10.

I"ll post some more plans here shortly. Thanks again to all, this has been a helpful thread, being a lone wolf modeler I really don't have anyone to bounce ideas off of.

 

[Beachbum]

Hmmm... put a runaround track on Kerry's peninsula and maybe that could be your first module?

I want to stress that I'm just tossing out random ideas here. Your design decisions are up to you...

 

[UP2CSX]

Actually, I'm a terrible planner, considering the fact that I managed to lose my track plan when my hard drive crashed and didn't have a back up. Here are some overall pictures at various stages of construction to give you an idea of what the layout plan looks like. The hills behind town hadn't been built yet and there have been many detail changes since these pictures but the track plan is about the same.

 

[Beachbum]

You have excellent lighting for a basement corner. (I assume it's a cement block basement.)

Is your layout on tables or did you screw folding legs to the subroadbed?

 

[UP2CSX]

Thanks, BB. It is in a corner but I have two track lights and the basement has a number of florescent fixtures so it's not your usual dank, dark basement.

The layout is mounted on plastic banquet tables. There are the two 4x4 tables at each end and two 25" wide by 3' long sections in the middle. I did add some additonal wood supports along the edges to bring out the curves a little further and support the foam. I have the table sections bolted together but, once the foam was glued down, it really became one piece. Lowes was having a sale on the tables. The bigger tables cost me $20 each and the smaller one cost $15 each. At $70 total, there was no way I could buy the lumber and plywood for the same size layout for anywhere near that price, let alone all the cutting and fitting. The plastic surface is fairly soft and easy to drill or cut through, but the whole structure is very strong. It worked out as a good altgernative, as long as you can live within the limitations of the table sizes. In my case, the table sizes matched my plan almost exactly. Of course, if I wanted to make a classic 4'x8', I could have just bought the two 4x4 tables for $40. Pretty cheap layout benchwork.

 

[Kerrydel]

being a lone wolf modeler I really don't have anyone to bounce ideas off of.

You could easily support another operator if you build something like the HOG layout. Personally, I think having a second operator will be MUCH MORE than twice the fun!

Op till you drop!!!

Kerry

 

[Beachbum]

If you run DCC or have separate mainline and yard DC blocks, you can have one guy work a yard job while the other runs a local freight doing setouts and pickups. Any layout of sufficient size will work for that.

Don't get me wrong though - I'm a huge fan of the HOG and have recommended it to a number of people looking for a doughnut plan.

 

[GMTrainNut]

UP2CSX, many thanks for posting the photos, the layout looks great! It's given me some scenic ideas if I do go the dogbone route.

But yeah, still deciding dogbone vs HOG. I like the idea of being able to squeeze in a small yard with a long enough lead so even if I'm by myself I can putz around in the yard while a train makes its' way around the main.

Have a few more ideas to sketch out, will post for comments soon.

Thanks all.