Layout design. What do you think?

[irocinblue89]

Updated w/ XTRACKCAD! What do you think?

Update: I had to change some of the wye's becuase they would have caused a short. They were back to back so the reversers would have been fighting each other.

We finally have something on paper my son and I will enjoy. HO scale, and about 1/4 of the basement. There is another door in the wall that is "off the map to the left". This is just the lower level but I want to get it close before we design the upper. I have tried xtrack cad and hate it. After all it wasn't around 20 years ago, and my son and I enjoyed drawing this. He did over half himself. I think we have a really good start, it just needs tweaked. Heck it could be completly insane and have to start over. Better to have you guys tell us now than we start it and get discouraged.
So that being said what do you guys think will need to be fixed, added or removed? We plan on running long trains, right now he likes to see them go roundy round, but I want to do some switching. I also enjoy the engineering aspect of it. I.E. taking a train to and fro with helpers and everything the "real" railroads did. I hope my son grows into that but if not I want us both to enjoy it. Again I am open to ANY input. Let's have it .

Seann

 

[North Coast Railroad]

it may be a little difficult to see...

 

[irocinblue89]

it may be a little difficult to see...

Haha. I showed my son and he said "Dad I never thought of that. I wonder if we should do it in my sisters crayons?" Don't take it personal. He doesn't understand you meant the pic. I will try to repost with darker lines after we are done at the doctor and I take him to school. I'm still laughing.

 

[irocinblue89]

With no reply's I'm going to assume 1 of 2 things. Either the drawing is not up to par for viewers (to hard to read like North Coast Railroad mentioned), or there is nothing wrong with it and you guys give me the go ahead. If I was a betting man I would say the first is more likely. If more of you feel the same please let me know. My son is itching to get started.

Seann

 

[IronBeltKen]

It's great to see that your son has such a high level of enthusiasm for this hobby! But he may have to be a bit more patient if he wants this thing built properly - meaning derailment-free trackwork and plenty of room to move around comfortably. A project of that magnitude mustn't be rushed into.

You didn't mention a scale - should we assume this is HO? Another thing I'm not sure about is access: The drawing shows an opening along the top wall where some tracks go thru, but how are people going to get in- and out of the staging room - by crawling under the benchwork? Also, that locomotive terminal in the upper left corner - that appears to be 6 feet wide, will there be an access hatch in the middle? Without that, reaching those trains will be a major challenge.

Before you begin construction, one thing I would strongly recommend [if you haven't done so already] is to read John Armstrong's excellent book, Track Planning For Realistic Operation. It will help you spot potential problem areas you might otherwise have never thought about.

 

[irocinblue89]

It's great to see that your son has such a high level of enthusiasm for this hobby! But he may have to be a bit more patient if he wants this thing built properly - meaning derailment-free trackwork and plenty of room to move around comfortably. A project of that magnitude mustn't be rushed into.

You didn't mention a scale - should we assume this is HO? Another thing I'm not sure about is access: .

Before you begin construction, one thing I would strongly recommend [if you haven't done so already] is to read John Armstrong's excellent book, Track Planning For Realistic Operation. It will help you spot potential problem areas you might otherwise have never thought about.

It's funny you mentioned enthusiasm. You pointed out the lack of scale and that's because of my haste / enthusiasm. Yes it is HO scale. Sorry.

The drawing shows an opening along the top wall where some tracks go thru, but how are people going to get in- and out of the staging room - by crawling under the benchwork? Also, that locomotive terminal in the upper left corner - that appears to be 6 feet wide, will there be an access hatch in the middle? Without that, reaching those trains will be a major challenge
-To clarify the drawing that is approximately 1/4 of my basement. The wall along the top divides my basement in half long ways and has another doorway "off the map". The locomotive terminal will have an access hatch. You are correct in that regard.
Before you begin construction, one thing I would strongly recommend [if you haven't done so already] is to read John Armstrong's excellent book, Track Planning For Realistic Operation. It will help you spot potential problem areas you might otherwise have never thought about
-I have actually read that book and I even tried to read it with my son but he was having no part of it. I still have allot of reserve when it comes to this large of a project.

I am off work Thurs. & Fri. and when my son gets home from school we are going to clean the basement and start putting masking tape on the floor for the edges. I told him that way we can draw our curves in pencil on the floor and lay some of our switches and stencils for crossovers to make sure everything works. He is real excited about that. I know that this will be a slow process and even expect him to lose interest in it more than a few times. But I will be working on it if he wants to come back to it and any time we can spend together doing stuff like this is a plus. As far as I'm concerned he is learning things that he could use later in life. Carpentry, electrical, math, patience, all kind of things. Another bonus, I enjoy it too.

Seann

 

[cengel]

Looking at the swing gate you have listed in the middle of the layout. I don't think you will be able to create enough clearance with the width of that section to allow it to actually swing. that may need to be a liftout section instead.

 

[irocinblue89]

Looking at the swing gate you have listed in the middle of the layout. I don't think you will be able to create enough clearance with the width of that section to allow it to actually swing. that may need to be a liftout section instead.

Good point. I will have to mock 1 up so that when we do the layout on the floor I can swing it around and see. But you are probably right.

 

[irocinblue89]

Hey guy's take a look at the top of the layout where I have two wye's back to back. I was showing a friend of mine the design and he said he didn't think I could do that with DCC control. He said even with automatic reverser's it wouldn't work. If it won't does anyone have an idea to fix the issue? And why won't it? He wasn't sure why, but he said something was telling him it wouldn't.

Thanks
Seann

 

[irocinblue89]

I got it all drawn up in xtrackcad and when I try to load it it says "can not upload" I have checked the file size and it all seems ok. Any suggestions?

Seann

 

[otiscnj]

Hi,

Congrats with regards to your son, as well as with your railroad planning and tech skills. When I started in this hobby, they only used CAD in the aerospace and automotive industries, as I recall. I drew many trackplans with compass and rulers, before getting 'track templates.' How about printing a copy of your plan, then scanning it(if you have a scanner), then uploading the image. That's what I have to do with 3D RR CAD plans that I develop and post on line. I've been using that tool since the 90's as it has plenty of stuff in its libraries, + has a less steep learning curve. And that's based on a background in mechanical engineering, using various cad programs over 25 years. What a lot of software companies don't tell you about with their cad products is how steep the learning curve is, if you don't have the background. For me, 'electronics' is my weak point.

When I was planning my first layout, in middle school, back in the 70's, my Dad suggested tracing some track and switches, then laying out the components as I desired. All these years later, I still do this to some extent, as although CAD can be very helpful, sometimes seeing things laid out full scale, helps my visualization.

Moving along, I like your plan. Having said that, I concurr with the others, that access-being able to reach equipment if it derails, or stalls, and adding scenery, is very important. And I completely agree about being able to 'walk into' the layout area, without having to have a duck-under. Having been a member of a club years ago that included a swing gate to enter the main layout area, I know these can also be problematic(or at least for me). Are you good with the tools you have, etc, so that things will stay within a few thousandths of an inch allignment, so the trains won't derail, after the gate is opened each time. Unless you're a skilled cabinet maker/carpenter, creating such a gate, and getting it to function(open and close + line up the tracks 'perfectly'), the first time you build it could be a significant challenge.

From an visual standpoint, your trackplan seems to have a lot of potential to me, with several potential junctions and or interchanges between mainlines/yards/branches/railroads.

My control system is cab control DC, not DCC-don't know about your DCC wiring question. My impression is provided you wire things right, with the right number of switches/toggles, getting things to operate as desired should be feasible(although may require considerable amount of thought).

Best of luck!
Carl

 

[steinjr]

I got it all drawn up in xtrackcad and when I try to load it it says "can not upload" I have checked the file size and it all seems ok. Any suggestions?

1) File | Export to bitmap
2) Open BMP file in microsoft paint, save as JPG file
3) Upload JPG file.

As for the design - lots of hard to reach track. Less is often more.

Stein

 

[irocinblue89]

1) File | Export to bitmap
2) Open BMP file in microsoft paint, save as JPG file
3) Upload JPG file.

As for the design - lots of hard to reach track. Less is often more.

Stein

I found it in the Wiki Xtrackcad page, but thank you anyways. I agree with you on the lots of hard to reach track. If I may, the staging yard and helix in the top left are in another part of the room with a block wall separating them from the main layout. They will be unfinished. The lower helix and other track work will be under a mountain in an open grid style frame system. (I got the idea from our club. You can duck under the mountain and get to all the tracks.) The upper area where the tracks come thru the doorway is no set in stone. I think there is way to much track and I will probably slash a bunch of it. I do have a lift out right under the wye in the doorway so that helps.
I am starting another track plan after I looked thru my "102 Layouts" again. Just so I can look at a single track mainline layout side by side before it's decided. I will post it also when I'm finished. Maybe have a vote. Thanks again for all the replies, keep them coming!

Seann

 

[Y3a]

You'll HATE the singled yard. Make it double ended going UNDER the other tracks. reposition the yard towards the right side, right up to the circle. Make the new entrance to the yard by going around the roundhouse. It'll be shorter, but more fun. Have you thought of a hump? N&W style Long House instead of a roundhouse? Keep the turntable as just a point of turning, with maintenance outside for all to see, and be superdetailed...

 

[irocinblue89]

You'll HATE the singled yard. Make it double ended going UNDER the other tracks. reposition the yard towards the right side, right up to the circle. Make the new entrance to the yard by going around the roundhouse. It'll be shorter, but more fun. Have you thought of a hump? N&W style Long House instead of a roundhouse? Keep the turntable as just a point of turning, with maintenance outside for all to see, and be superdetailed...

Y3a,
I hate the yard already. But that is a block wall that I can't go thru seperating the staging yard and the rest of the layout. The drawing isn't real clear on that, but it does show a wall. I am relativly new to this, and will have to research a Long House. Thanks for the input, any ideas could make this a better layout for us.

Seann

 

[irocinblue89]

My son and I started to build the bathroom walls, marked out some of the bench work on the floor, and started working out the heights. We took some pics so let us know what you think. Especially about the heights.
Thanks,
Seann