MR hit me with ideas.


chessie_system3

chessie_system3

Well-Known Member
Was out yesterday with my wife and picked up the winter 2014 how to build small model railroads. In it they have a lot of plans for so many spaces. One in particular caught my attention and will most likely be my base for my next layout. They took a regular sheet of 4x8 plywood. Cut it into some shapes....pretty much turned it inside out and although you would lose a foot in length you gain two feet in width and opens the door for 24 inch radius curves as well as using no. 6 turnouts.
17f46076f352de0df24c64eaefa2dc48.jpg

This would be a perfect layout for me as I'm a lone gun when it comes to running trains in the house. When I saw this I kinda hit myself in the head and asked myself why I never thought of this before? I would and plan to of course to change the trackage to suit my desires rather than the spiral to the center. Of course there is the option of a continuous loop in the plan I'd much rather change the plan to suit my needs. The ability to add radius from 18s to 24s is a super plus for me cause I do have some SD40s and a U30C that I would love to run. And leaving behind those no. 4 turnouts makes it even better. Its a better gain over my usual 4x8.
 
Wow, I had to count those tiles twice to make sure it was only one 4x8 sheet they cut up. Is that N gauge? That is a lot of action in that small area, that is for sure. If you build that it would be great to see progress pictures.
 
It's modeled in HO scale. I plan on using the cuts that they made to the board but use my track plan for my needs. I was amazed at the action it can hold too and seeing as how all three of my previous layouts were on the sacred sheet this idea for losing only a foot to gain two feet sounds really good.
 
This plan has alot of good Ops potential. But don't like "switchback" yard on right side especially w/ no siding/runaround. With one there the layout could be run point to point. The track across bottom could be left in to do more switching & continuous running for loco break-in. Also there's no engine/caboose/RIP tracks anywhere for more switching.
 
The track plan I don't like cause of the reasons you mentioned. Not only that but its not the ops I plan to run. I like the base idea in which I will run my own track plan to run the ops I want to run.
 
I gave up on a formal plan. My current idea (has been for a while) is to build modules. That way I'm not tied to a single plan and can swap pieces to see what fits best. This requires a set of standards, similar to what NMRA uses.
 
I thought about doing modules as well. But in this case I would be more than happy to have a permanent layout and track plan.
 
Going modular w/ this track plan could be a problem because of switches & all the tracks especially on right side, The easiest way would be length wise & if it was built using 2" foam for the base like below. This type of module was developed by Dennis Ivison Garden Grove CA for his On30 layout. The modules for his layout are 30" by 72". But for this layout the could be 8' long but narrower because of the operating hole in middle.

1 COMPLETE MODULE IVISON.jpg2 MODULE PARTS IVISON.jpg
 
Stoker said:
A single decent building for your layout costs more than a couple pieces of plywood. A medium priced locomotive will buy a dozen sheets. To fill a layout anywhere near that size will cost a couple grand minimum. I think you should build what suits your space and desires and not sweat trying to build your whole layout around the premise of trying to "save" $20-$30 by sticking to one sheet of plywood.
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I understand where you are coming from on this. I understand what costs there may be involved. I would like to go bigger but with the space I have this is good enough for me. It fits the bill of what I want to run. I like the round and round idea. It just opens it up for me to do more with switching than my previous three layouts. My very first layout when I was 14 had no switching at all just an oval on a 4x4 piece of plywood. My second layout was a passing loop. The third had actual switching.
 
It was a really intriguing article .... I liked the whole thought of being able to gain extra track space without actually using more board space ... its funny I thought of that layout in a closet with a crawl under. Can't wait until your design comes together.
 
As did I. Even though most prefer a basement layout. I prefer a more smaller approach as it will be easier for me to keep up with my trains. I'm just happy to watch my trains go.
 
chessie_system3 said:
One in particular caught my attention and will most likely be my base for my next layout. They took a regular sheet of 4x8 plywood. Cut it into some shapes....pretty much turned it inside out and although you would lose a foot in length you gain two feet in width and opens the door for 24 inch radius curves as well as using no. 6 turnouts. ... And leaving behind those no. 4 turnouts makes it even better. Its a better gain over my usual 4x8.
Click to expand...
I really like the little point-to-point. But are you certain about those turnouts? I would say many(most) of those are #4 or #5. Especially the one on the upper left to the feed dealer.
 
I want to do a coaling layout. Though having a mainline appears to be out of the question. I managed on mine with some switching and a siding to hold my coal cars on a 6x4 layout. It was nothing spectacular. A coal branch might suit me fine on this. Do a point to point. I'm still in my thinking stage on this one. I like the yard idea on the far right but change it to hold my hoppers on it. Have any suggestions?
 
What kind of space to you have for your coal mining RR? Think you have enough room for 2-3 coal mine spurs then a place for the coal to go?
 
I figure the fun for me is switching the tipples. Not so Mich worried about getting the coal out to a certain destination. I can reset my hoppers by taking out the coal loads. Put the loads in the empties at the tipples pick up the then empty hoppers and switch again. Place empties at the tipple and pick up the loaded hoppers.
 
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