Going to start soon, need advice.


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Xiyn

New Member
So, i have a 10ish by 14ish foot spare room to do with as i please. im going to build an HO scale layout in it, but im kind of lost on how to make a track plan. I know i want to make a semi 1950s era steam layout with 22-24" curves so i can run all size engines. i was thinking on a dual layer dog bone style with a helix on 1 end and a loop back at the other (or maybe 2 but im not sure on that. Don't have any experience with them.)

I've spent the last 2 days wandering these forums looking for a post close to what im doing but havent seen one yet. so im making one now. Over the next months or so im going to work on the track plan, cleaning the room and the like. For me i get my fun from watching the trains run over prototypical operation, hence why i have a love for steam.
testroomx.png

the space i have to work with.
 
Track plan is up to you. I would go with 24" curves if you can. I know many engines say they can take the shorter radii curves, but I have had issues with some of my Northerns. I have three Bachman Northerns that I use to regularly run on 22" curves. Two have shot axles and the third is now either in the round house or on the shelf because I don't want to break it two. I can't say radii are my problem for sure, but I have to that that is at least part of it. Just curious. Are you going to use DC power or DCC?
 
Track plan is giving me trouble, i cant deside if i want to work with a round the room style with a removable section infront of the door, and maybe a second shelf for a holding yard that would be accessed by a ramp or a dog bone that takes up more room than i have, i plugged the numbers into XtrackCad but it told me i would only have about 2 feel of walking space between the ends of the dogbone.

So far, i've been spending my time looking for any type of trackplan that i can use for Inspiration but alas i am having no luck.

I have the Bachmann EZ commander system for now, plan on getting something better as the layout begins to form. I also have 2 DCC locos in my roster so far, a Bachmann 2-8-4 and a Bachmann 0-6-0 switcher.
 
If the door opens towards the nearer wall (doorknob on left, opens to the right), then instead of trying a removable section, curve the benchwork (around the walls type) away from the door, so the door can swing open and closed without having to have a lift-out. If the benchwork is high enough, you may be able to get away with no lift-out or lift-gate, and just duck under (or sit on an office chair and roll under).

I'd open up the curves more to 24" plus. You've got the room to do it. If you run big steam or passenger, you'll be happier with the larger radius.

To help you along:

Givens (what you have to work with):
10'x14' room
Single door entrance, lower right hand side of the room, opens inward

Druthers (what you want to see or have):
1950's era steam
continuous running
22" to 24" radius curves for HO

What else do you want to see? Mountains? Plains? Desert? Real prototypes and real railroads, or freelanced? You want a lot of track or lots of scenery? Answering these and other questions will help form your vision, and make track planning easier.
 
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Might want to pick up a copy of Model Railroader's "102 Trackplans" special edition. Seems to have a lot of good ideas for similar size spaces to yours.
 
Guess i left alot of info out haha. The door is gone, it is just an opening so i dont need to worry about that. I would like to have a steam service area along one of the walls with a full size turntable and a 3-6 stall roundhouse. if i can fit it, some mining industries to fuel a power plant (or some other coal industry).

Ive seen a few good engine facilities that have been fit into 3-6, 4-8 foot areas so im sure i can get one fit in, even if i need to compress it a little.

The benchwork is going to be at around 40-45 inches built on 30-40 inch shelves. there is a light on the lower wall that i need to work around, it sits about 65 inches off the ground.

I have a copy of that book laying in that room someplace, i've been looking for it for days but alas, no luck.
 
Depending on how your track plan goes, the corner is a nice place for a roundhouse.

My benchwork is 32" wide on one side, and 36" on another, both at 54 inches or so. I'm 6'2", but have to get on a step stool to reach the back. Unless you're running a lot of scenery, you may want to consider making the benchwork more shallow.

The door that doesn't open...is that a closet? What are the dimensions?

One pitfall I ran into is that I didn't clear the room completely before building, and I didn't get my measurements exact. I didn't realize how unsquare the room was (it's a little crooked).
 
that door leads to a small closet, It may be about 14-20 inches deep by 36 wide but i havent been able to find my measuring tape to get a solid number.
 
Try a plan that goes around the room with 30" wide shelves. Just before the door on the left and at the 3 foot mark on the right, add a 4x4 square. That will give you a failrly long mainline run, lots of scenic opportunities, and the 4x4 "blobs" will allow you have continuous running with 22" curves. It you can bring out the blobs to 52"x52", you can have 24" curves. I'd do this as the first pahse of the layout. If you decide to do a second level and helix, that can be your second phase. Two level layouts are not easy to build and can take up lots of building time (and money), when you'll be chomping at the bit to run trains. Starting with a single level and getting experience will then tell yoou iof you really want a second level or of one is enough.
 
Here is a prototype layout i came up with.

testroom.png


i plan on adding a coal mine some place on there, havent got all of Xtrackcad figured out yet but i am getting the hang of it.
 
Wel, I'll aks you the same question I ask everyone else with relatively limited space. Do you really want a roundhouse to take up all that real estate? Right now, you have a railroad that basically services a roundhouse. If you changed that to a two track engine house, you'd have enough room for nice little yard and a couple of industries. The upper part of the layout seems to be the logical place for a coal mine. You've got space for a small town over on the left side of the layout. It's your railroad, but I'd ditch the roundhouse and think about what you want you railroad to do.
 
I will say that your lift out does not need a curve on it. What you can do is if you move your roundhouse farther up the right wall, you can put your mainline between it and the wall, and your lift out will be on straight track only.

I was asking about the closet to see if it was deep enough to put your helix in (if you wanted it). I'm not sure it's big enough, but the guys who've built helices will tell you for sure.
 
I decided to build a HO RR one day. I wandered into my local retailer, the first thing i bought was the(then) current copy of MR. With a review of a brand new Broadway Limited 4-6-6-4, with QSI sound. I fell in love. The second thing I bought was the Walther's 130 turntable. The #%&$% things 20inches accross, it eats up my entire layout. Crud. Turns out, any engine larger than a 4-6-4 looks out of place. Which ony needs a 90ft turntable. Double crud. After 3 years, I figured out this.......yeah I'm kinda slow. But it fits. And allows me to run long passenger cars, if i don't mind a little overhang.
3 stalls, 90ft turntable, 22in curves. 15x12.
 
Well, after running around with several plans, ideas and failed XtrackCAD works i came up with this,

layoutav.png


It seems to fit my style more as it think about it. i get a double loop. Some switching and 26" min radii, i removed the lift out in favor of a drop leaf section i will build with hinges.

Its going to be modeled as a scenic run in a fictional place in Ohio (My home state) that sees traffic from the C&O, the B&O, and what ever els i may come across in the hobby shops :D.

I don't want to over load it with track cause i want a Scenic layout and im not much into switching back and forth. i just want to watch my trains run.

It still has a few industry switches, but over all. things just "Feel" right when i look at this plan, it still needs a bit o' tweaking though.
 
Looks pretty good so far. Lot's of room for scenery.

But, what about your yard? No yard? You NEED a yard, even if you're not into switching that much, you need a place to build your trains.

May I suggest the siding on the left, just make a small yard out of that, like 3 or 4 tracks.

Edit: Wait a minute, I just went to the link on your previous post, and I like that layout much better, and you have a yard too.

This:
layout2m.png
 
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That's a one-way yard - you'll need at least one crossover so an engine can escape unless you plan on always backing trains into it.

But first you have to decide if you want to run trains or if you want to simulate an operating railroad. That can make a big difference in design.

Two suggestions if you want an operating layout:

Pick up a copy of "102 Realistic Trackplans" by Kalmbach as suggested earlier. It's about $8 and well worth it for planning ideas.

Take a look at the Heart of Georgia (HOG) layout on Yahoo groups.
 
It's coming right along. Just like a big roundhouse, you don't need a big yard. Where the cars are shown on top, the switch coming off the main is the perfect start of a ladder track for a small yard and an engine facility off to the right. You might even be able work in a wye large enough to turn and engine in that space if you think it through.
 
Ever think about A reverse loop? It can also be used to turn a locomotive or a whole train on top of that extend the length of your mainline run??? Just a thought!
 
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