Chas_SC_Kev
Member
Hello All,
First I must apologize for my 6 month absence. I previously got some discussion rolling on ideas for my first layout, I got a lot of good advice, and Jos/Grove Den put together some spectacular sketches. A lot has changed in the last 6 months. The wife and I finally completed our first home and we moved in a several weeks ago. The space that will eventually house the layout has been debated to exhaustion and after several changes of heart I believe it has finally been settled upon. At one point the model was to be housed in a spare bed room (where Jos had some great ideas), but that space was deemed critical for house guests who have had a little too much fun to drive home; so it will now be erected in a portion of the FROG. The space will be 9’x11’ bordered by 3 walls; the center wall has a window that is fairly low to the ground. See the attached room plan.
I appreciate all of the great information many of the users here have on their personal websites. I have read a lot of it and it has helped my planning immensely. I’m eager to build a layout but have hit a point where it has become more frustrating than fun... not what a hobby is supposed to be! Maybe some input from readers would help. I fear this post will get so long nobody will take the time to read it, but here we go anyway....
Givens
The available space and the window are the only givens. Everything else is subject to change or modification. I can live with blocking off the window.... the wife may have a differing opinion!
Druthers
-I know this is basic, but I haven’t decided on a scale. I’m about 85% sure of N scale because I can get so much more railroad in the available space. The other 15% of me leans towards HO because more products seem to be commercially available. I’m sure scratch building structures is a ton of fun, but until I’ve tried a few, I fear I will royally suck at it.
- When I envision my layout, I imagine near prototypical length 1980’s-1990’s era trains making large radius curves with terrain varying from low lying woodlands to open fields with small creeks. One major river crossing would be nice!
- I’ve considered 2 major options of what to model. From a scenery stand point I really like the Lancaster & Chester which is a small short line outside of Charlotte. If I were to freelance, I’m leaning towards the region from Columbia to Charleston, SC. I know the area well having grown up outside of Columbia and currently residing in Charleston. Plus, wouldn’t it be symbolic of the journey of my life! I could make scenes on the layout, which while ordinary in every way to the visitor, are actually experiences from my childhood... say fishing with my grandfather on the Congaree River for example. As an added benefit, that region contains many industries I find interesting and would like to model. Steel mills, sand mines, cement factories, granite quarries intermoddel facilities, ports and recycling facilities are commonplace. I’m not as worried about the inner workings of the facilities as much as I just want them to be an origination/destination point.
- I envision at least one yard, two would be nice! I realize there is a delicate balance to this, but I would like enough industry to make for interesting operation, while not having a spaghetti bowl of track... I think I would be happier with a layout that has enough open terrain to separate one or two industries into a ‘scene’ rather than having complex switching maneuvers from closely spaced industry.
- I definitely want adequate staging, more than just one track hidden behind a structure or inside of a mountain. I like the idea of having the staging yard separated by a scenic divider as opposed to residing on a second level below the main layout. I also envision the layout operating as a point-to-point but having the ability for continuous running with the staging ‘completing the loop’ behind the scenes.
- I think a dual mainline would be nice, but I would consider it pretty low on my ‘druthers’ list. I would prefer ‘conventional’ or ‘broad’ curves on the mainline.
- I would like industry sidings to be long enough to accommodate more than just 1 or 2 cars being dropped off or picked up. ‘Sharp’ curves are perfectly acceptable on sidings!
- Although I may regret it later, I don’t particularly find passenger trains all that exciting and could sleep easy tonight having omitted them from my layout.
I guess that about does it. The list is probably more like a 4-year olds Christmas list than a realistic expectation of what can be fit into a 9x11 space. Which leads me to quite possibly my biggest fear... am I being overly ambitious for a first time layout?
I have tried several versions of a generating a track layout, all of which left a bad taste in my mouth. I’m still coming up to speed with XTrakCad, and I’m shocked at how impossible it is to take my thoughts from paper into the Cad program and maintain a decent curve radius. Everything seems to take a lot more room than I think it should.
Attached you will also find one of my brainstorming sketches... any and all advice or assistance would be greatly appreciated to help end this frustration!! More than anything, this will provide an indication of my planning skill level for those of you who have a few layouts under your belt. (It’s sad looking I know...) Please pardon all of my ‘notes’ scribbled in the margins. I was pointing out problems to my self and making note of things I wanted to think about further.
Cheers,
Kevin
http://i221.photobucket.com/albums/dd258/chas_kev/Picture001.jpg
http://i221.photobucket.com/albums/dd258/chas_kev/Picture.jpg
First I must apologize for my 6 month absence. I previously got some discussion rolling on ideas for my first layout, I got a lot of good advice, and Jos/Grove Den put together some spectacular sketches. A lot has changed in the last 6 months. The wife and I finally completed our first home and we moved in a several weeks ago. The space that will eventually house the layout has been debated to exhaustion and after several changes of heart I believe it has finally been settled upon. At one point the model was to be housed in a spare bed room (where Jos had some great ideas), but that space was deemed critical for house guests who have had a little too much fun to drive home; so it will now be erected in a portion of the FROG. The space will be 9’x11’ bordered by 3 walls; the center wall has a window that is fairly low to the ground. See the attached room plan.
I appreciate all of the great information many of the users here have on their personal websites. I have read a lot of it and it has helped my planning immensely. I’m eager to build a layout but have hit a point where it has become more frustrating than fun... not what a hobby is supposed to be! Maybe some input from readers would help. I fear this post will get so long nobody will take the time to read it, but here we go anyway....
Givens
The available space and the window are the only givens. Everything else is subject to change or modification. I can live with blocking off the window.... the wife may have a differing opinion!
Druthers
-I know this is basic, but I haven’t decided on a scale. I’m about 85% sure of N scale because I can get so much more railroad in the available space. The other 15% of me leans towards HO because more products seem to be commercially available. I’m sure scratch building structures is a ton of fun, but until I’ve tried a few, I fear I will royally suck at it.
- When I envision my layout, I imagine near prototypical length 1980’s-1990’s era trains making large radius curves with terrain varying from low lying woodlands to open fields with small creeks. One major river crossing would be nice!
- I’ve considered 2 major options of what to model. From a scenery stand point I really like the Lancaster & Chester which is a small short line outside of Charlotte. If I were to freelance, I’m leaning towards the region from Columbia to Charleston, SC. I know the area well having grown up outside of Columbia and currently residing in Charleston. Plus, wouldn’t it be symbolic of the journey of my life! I could make scenes on the layout, which while ordinary in every way to the visitor, are actually experiences from my childhood... say fishing with my grandfather on the Congaree River for example. As an added benefit, that region contains many industries I find interesting and would like to model. Steel mills, sand mines, cement factories, granite quarries intermoddel facilities, ports and recycling facilities are commonplace. I’m not as worried about the inner workings of the facilities as much as I just want them to be an origination/destination point.
- I envision at least one yard, two would be nice! I realize there is a delicate balance to this, but I would like enough industry to make for interesting operation, while not having a spaghetti bowl of track... I think I would be happier with a layout that has enough open terrain to separate one or two industries into a ‘scene’ rather than having complex switching maneuvers from closely spaced industry.
- I definitely want adequate staging, more than just one track hidden behind a structure or inside of a mountain. I like the idea of having the staging yard separated by a scenic divider as opposed to residing on a second level below the main layout. I also envision the layout operating as a point-to-point but having the ability for continuous running with the staging ‘completing the loop’ behind the scenes.
- I think a dual mainline would be nice, but I would consider it pretty low on my ‘druthers’ list. I would prefer ‘conventional’ or ‘broad’ curves on the mainline.
- I would like industry sidings to be long enough to accommodate more than just 1 or 2 cars being dropped off or picked up. ‘Sharp’ curves are perfectly acceptable on sidings!
- Although I may regret it later, I don’t particularly find passenger trains all that exciting and could sleep easy tonight having omitted them from my layout.
I guess that about does it. The list is probably more like a 4-year olds Christmas list than a realistic expectation of what can be fit into a 9x11 space. Which leads me to quite possibly my biggest fear... am I being overly ambitious for a first time layout?
I have tried several versions of a generating a track layout, all of which left a bad taste in my mouth. I’m still coming up to speed with XTrakCad, and I’m shocked at how impossible it is to take my thoughts from paper into the Cad program and maintain a decent curve radius. Everything seems to take a lot more room than I think it should.
Attached you will also find one of my brainstorming sketches... any and all advice or assistance would be greatly appreciated to help end this frustration!! More than anything, this will provide an indication of my planning skill level for those of you who have a few layouts under your belt. (It’s sad looking I know...) Please pardon all of my ‘notes’ scribbled in the margins. I was pointing out problems to my self and making note of things I wanted to think about further.
Cheers,
Kevin
http://i221.photobucket.com/albums/dd258/chas_kev/Picture001.jpg
http://i221.photobucket.com/albums/dd258/chas_kev/Picture.jpg