SpaceMouse
Fun Lover
My base track will be 49" I'll try to limbo under a stick.
Jos, I'm calling you out!
- Thread starter SpaceMouse
- Start date
My base track will be 49" I'll try to limbo under a stick.
grove den
naturally natural trees
whow Chip,,I am still awake...
I did not mean a two levelled layout but as you look at my "very very rough scetch" I ment a "basic" level and from there , goes a track "uphill" to the continuous route so the total layout looks like it is "one" part/level....Oh man my skills about the englis language are not as good as I wish but I hope you understand what I am trying to say/tell...
Jos
I did not mean a two levelled layout but as you look at my "very very rough scetch" I ment a "basic" level and from there , goes a track "uphill" to the continuous route so the total layout looks like it is "one" part/level....Oh man my skills about the englis language are not as good as I wish but I hope you understand what I am trying to say/tell...
Jos
SpaceMouse
Fun Lover
I have no problem with layouts that have more than one level in that sense.
SpaceMouse
Fun Lover
Okay, in this version a lot of the problems I mentioned before are gone. Crandell convinced me that I could build a gate that could stand frequent use.
There's a small blob in the area in the area of the roundhouse. The track along the left wall has been brought out of the tunnel and I added a passing track. This allowed me to move the yard 3" to the left and that gave me room to put a road and industries down in front of the yard. This took pressure off Train City and I was able to organize the roads and put in the icing platform, although it would have been better on the siding than on the main. I also got the false front buildings that will help extend Train City into the back drop.
I still have some work to do in Rock Ridge area. I need to get engine service for the Rock Ridge Mine switcher. I also have to figure out the new industry and place the company town.
All in all, I like it.
There's a small blob in the area in the area of the roundhouse. The track along the left wall has been brought out of the tunnel and I added a passing track. This allowed me to move the yard 3" to the left and that gave me room to put a road and industries down in front of the yard. This took pressure off Train City and I was able to organize the roads and put in the icing platform, although it would have been better on the siding than on the main. I also got the false front buildings that will help extend Train City into the back drop.
I still have some work to do in Rock Ridge area. I need to get engine service for the Rock Ridge Mine switcher. I also have to figure out the new industry and place the company town.
All in all, I like it.
grove den
naturally natural trees
Tracks to close???
Hi Chip,
When I was printing out your plan, by accident, I printed it in a scale from 1cm to 5 cm.so 1: 5 . ( 12 sheets of paper A4 !!) ..... That is not the problem, I saw on the left side at the yard, that the tracks are , I think, to close to each other. There are 6 tracks from the wall at the left. So between each track there has to be a space from about 2,5 cm. The track itself: about 3 cm
When I counted it well, the yard has to be almost 40-45 cm= about 16-17 inches?
Don't you think that the distance between 2 tracks in a yard has to be at least 2 inches( centre of the tracks) . In case you have to couple or uncouple by hand and that there will be no danger to derail other freightcars...
BTW: Just an idea: did/do you check, during the designperiod of your new layout, if the tracks/buildings etc fits in the space you designed them, I mean take some pieces of track and the buildings and put them on the floor and have a critical look at it. so 1: 1..I did so during my designproces of my Nlauout because the space I had was very limited so I had to be sure that every inch was designed at the "right spot"
Now I am going back to my drawing room/office, with lots of coffee...lol
Jos
Hi Chip,
When I was printing out your plan, by accident, I printed it in a scale from 1cm to 5 cm.so 1: 5 . ( 12 sheets of paper A4 !!) ..... That is not the problem, I saw on the left side at the yard, that the tracks are , I think, to close to each other. There are 6 tracks from the wall at the left. So between each track there has to be a space from about 2,5 cm. The track itself: about 3 cm
When I counted it well, the yard has to be almost 40-45 cm= about 16-17 inches?
Don't you think that the distance between 2 tracks in a yard has to be at least 2 inches( centre of the tracks) . In case you have to couple or uncouple by hand and that there will be no danger to derail other freightcars...
BTW: Just an idea: did/do you check, during the designperiod of your new layout, if the tracks/buildings etc fits in the space you designed them, I mean take some pieces of track and the buildings and put them on the floor and have a critical look at it. so 1: 1..I did so during my designproces of my Nlauout because the space I had was very limited so I had to be sure that every inch was designed at the "right spot"
Now I am going back to my drawing room/office, with lots of coffee...lol
Jos
SpaceMouse
Fun Lover
Good catch! I didn't figure I could have a problem with XtrkCAD that way. The "Parallel Tracks" feature puts the distance between the tracks at 2.25 inches while if I just build a ladder using #5 turnouts, the distance between is 1.5 inches. I need to find 1.75" in that yard.
BTW: Just an idea: did/do you check, during the designperiod of your new layout, if the tracks/buildings etc fits in the space you designed them, I mean take some pieces of track and the buildings and put them on the floor and have a critical look at it. so 1: 1..I did so during my designproces of my Nlauout because the space I had was very limited so I had to be sure that every inch was designed at the "right spot"
Now I am going back to my drawing room/office, with lots of coffee...lol
Jos
If you are asking if all the buildings are built, the answer is not all of them. However, I took the measurements off the models. In the case, of the industries, I tried to leave extra space to fill in details, etc. I did have a lot of different models that circulated through my last layout, so I ave a fair idea of what I am looking at.
The town structures are estimates based on models I have. Since I plan on scratching the majority of the unimportant buildings, I have a little play.
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SpaceMouse
Fun Lover
Jos,
All that worring about spacing made me worry about my turnout spacing.
I have been worried that the Fast Tracks Jig I'm going to buy is different than the Peco #5 turnouts I've been using for the XtrkCAD design. For what I understand, FastTracks uses NMRA standards and XtraCAD has a turnout called NMRA #5.
When I put the Peco Small turnout up against the NMRA #5 turnout, the appeared to be identical.
So I used a couple of test where I alternated Pecos with NMRAs and found that in parallel tracks generated by the turnouts, the spacing 3 feet away was identical between the tracks.
I have determined that for all intents and purposes, at least how XtraCAD draws their library of turnouts. The Peco small turnout is identical to the NMRA #5.
I'm not going to worry about it.
All that worring about spacing made me worry about my turnout spacing.
I have been worried that the Fast Tracks Jig I'm going to buy is different than the Peco #5 turnouts I've been using for the XtrkCAD design. For what I understand, FastTracks uses NMRA standards and XtraCAD has a turnout called NMRA #5.
When I put the Peco Small turnout up against the NMRA #5 turnout, the appeared to be identical.
So I used a couple of test where I alternated Pecos with NMRAs and found that in parallel tracks generated by the turnouts, the spacing 3 feet away was identical between the tracks.
I have determined that for all intents and purposes, at least how XtraCAD draws their library of turnouts. The Peco small turnout is identical to the NMRA #5.
I'm not going to worry about it.
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grove den
naturally natural trees
don't worry...........be happy taaatadidadiada....
Hi Chip,
It wasn't my intention to worry you!
Jos
BTW I am glad you wrote that the peco small turnout is the same as the nmra #5 so my plan can be made more acurate concerning the angle of the turnouts etc....thanks
Hi Chip,
It wasn't my intention to worry you! Jos
BTW I am glad you wrote that the peco small turnout is the same as the nmra #5 so my plan can be made more acurate concerning the angle of the turnouts etc....thanks
Last edited by a moderator:
grove den
naturally natural trees
CHIPJOplanNOT
Finaly I've got something to show you..
It is , as Chip wrote, designed from out a totaly other angel...
My thoughts where at a place/era in the ( wild) west somewhere IN the Rocky Mountains, end 18, start 19 th century. So there are a lot of curved tracks because there wasn't much space for tracks between the mountains
The layout is also designed only for small/short steam engines and cars, not the one they drive today( 40-60feet )
I tried to give rockridge( the town/buildings a place on the layout but I could find/make it So I only "put" the building of the Rockridge station on the bottom of the rightpart of the layout.
Traincity is situated on the left side : a down town part and an uptown part. The uptown part is made with only facades and a road before the buildings leading to...the wild west.
The dontown part consists out of some buildings at the other side of the stationbuilding: saloon(s) hotels, shop?
Because there is an uptown, about 4 inches higher than the trakcs at downtown, I think the "viewer"of the layout can see more of the landscape or trains. It is build upwards, you look almost against it and the details can be seen much better. It is more dramatical than building it on a "flat' way.
I tried to do the same on the right part: the "continuous run" line, the tracks to Train City and at the "bottom" the canyowith the "transperant" trestle....
And, don't forget it, we're at the Rocky Mountains so not much space( those days) Just like us mrr -ers today....
I will post the drawing of the "underground" : staging and "tunneltracks" as soon as poss. I am "working" on it
Jos
Finaly I've got something to show you..
It is , as Chip wrote, designed from out a totaly other angel...
My thoughts where at a place/era in the ( wild) west somewhere IN the Rocky Mountains, end 18, start 19 th century. So there are a lot of curved tracks because there wasn't much space for tracks between the mountains
The layout is also designed only for small/short steam engines and cars, not the one they drive today( 40-60feet
)I tried to give rockridge( the town/buildings a place on the layout but I could find/make it
So I only "put" the building of the Rockridge station on the bottom of the rightpart of the layout.Traincity is situated on the left side : a down town part and an uptown part. The uptown part is made with only facades and a road before the buildings leading to...the wild west.
The dontown part consists out of some buildings at the other side of the stationbuilding: saloon(s) hotels, shop?
Because there is an uptown, about 4 inches higher than the trakcs at downtown, I think the "viewer"of the layout can see more of the landscape or trains. It is build upwards, you look almost against it and the details can be seen much better. It is more dramatical than building it on a "flat' way.
I tried to do the same on the right part: the "continuous run" line, the tracks to Train City and at the "bottom" the canyowith the "transperant" trestle....
And, don't forget it, we're at the Rocky Mountains so not much space( those days) Just like us mrr -ers today....
I will post the drawing of the "underground" : staging and "tunneltracks" as soon as poss. I am "working" on it
Jos
SpaceMouse
Fun Lover
Wow Jos.
Isn't it amazing how two people with the same space can come up with two completely different ideas of what to do with that space. What I like about your design is the vertical dimension, that when you walk in you are surrounded and enveloped by the layout.
Isn't it amazing how two people with the same space can come up with two completely different ideas of what to do with that space. What I like about your design is the vertical dimension, that when you walk in you are surrounded and enveloped by the layout.
grove den
naturally natural trees
Thanks Chip!
Once'n a while I surf on internet to MRRforums and often I "watch/discover" your name and the comments you gave on layouts from people who try to design one. I do have respect for that! It is not "a piece of cake"' to respond or give comments/critics to something that even doesn't exist yet...and to try/convince people to do it this way or that way because of so many reasons they are not aware off( When you are 35 years involved into mrr there must be some skills/ knowledge left in our minds...=)) )
Btw. I realy would show you some pictures of a HO layout from some people here in my country who built a "wild- west" layout in the rocky's too. With the same timeera as yours.
But at this moment I cannot find them, I'lltry to search them this weekend.
On that layout you could see too saloons, horses/cowboys, and( maybe a joke) the first car, auto-mobile . The background were too tarrific/super.
The best thing of this layout was the "dust ": everything was weathered as if it wasn't cleaned up for years...( ha ha actualy: very common/normal! in that time era and place)
Jos
Once'n a while I surf on internet to MRRforums and often I "watch/discover" your name and the comments you gave on layouts from people who try to design one. I do have respect for that! It is not "a piece of cake"' to respond or give comments/critics to something that even doesn't exist yet...and to try/convince people to do it this way or that way because of so many reasons they are not aware off( When you are 35 years involved into mrr there must be some skills/ knowledge left in our minds...=)) )
Btw. I realy would show you some pictures of a HO layout from some people here in my country who built a "wild- west" layout in the rocky's too. With the same timeera as yours.
But at this moment I cannot find them, I'lltry to search them this weekend.
On that layout you could see too saloons, horses/cowboys, and( maybe a joke) the first car, auto-mobile . The background were too tarrific/super.
The best thing of this layout was the "dust ": everything was weathered as if it wasn't cleaned up for years...( ha ha actualy: very common/normal! in that time era and place)
Jos
SpaceMouse
Fun Lover
Thanks.
When I built my first layout I got a lot of help on the forums. I did everything I could to create a piece of junk, but the guys there kept after me until I got something good. It was only after working with it and learning how to use it that I figured out just how good the design was. Once I added staging, I was able to run really good ops on a 4 x 8 layout.
So I figure to help newbies design something good to give back.
I'm looking forward to those pictures.
When I built my first layout I got a lot of help on the forums. I did everything I could to create a piece of junk, but the guys there kept after me until I got something good. It was only after working with it and learning how to use it that I figured out just how good the design was. Once I added staging, I was able to run really good ops on a 4 x 8 layout.
So I figure to help newbies design something good to give back.
I'm looking forward to those pictures.
grove den
naturally natural trees
Found the pics+ the website
Hi Chip.
Found the pictures at last AND they've got their own website:http://www.slimgaugeguild.nl/
Look at the left for Layout nr. 2, the other ones are great too! The pictures aren so good but they are from an era that digital camaras was not a piece of object "the man in the street "could effort...
Now this group of mrr enthousiasts are working on a On3 layout...Again a masterpiece...
BTW their website is in english enjoy the pictures... and about the dust... when I see the pics now after some years.. I think the dust is/was in my head so my imagination got a little bit out of control..
Jos
Hi Chip.
Found the pictures at last AND they've got their own website:http://www.slimgaugeguild.nl/
Look at the left for Layout nr. 2, the other ones are great too! The pictures aren so good but they are from an era that digital camaras was not a piece of object "the man in the street "could effort...
Now this group of mrr enthousiasts are working on a On3 layout...Again a masterpiece...
BTW their website is in english
enjoy the pictures... and about the dust... when I see the pics now after some years.. I think the dust is/was in my head so my imagination got a little bit out of control.. Jos
SpaceMouse
Fun Lover
Jos,
That is an amazing drawing. I saved it and it will cycle with my screen savers.
I almost missed it. I remembered that I had forgotten to complement you on the Western Layout you posted and I came back to do that. Thanks for everything.
