My first stab at HO table top design… feedback welcome before I do track layout

[RetiredinIowa]

Ha ha… down the rabbit hole I go

- just discovered the coupler rabbit hole… horn hooks need to replaced with knuckle couplers

- two locomotives I received today in my batch of “untested, as-is” model railroad stuff from eBay don’t work… so I watched a few videos about locomotive diagnosis and repair

- all the rolling stock I received also needs steel wheels

- much of that rolling stock needs other TLC as well (maybe I ought to just purchase used rolling stock with steel wheels and proper couplers)

For the good news…

- the boatload of life-like track that also came in the boxes allowed me set up a small test track and try out the Tech II controllers and the new Athearn diesel. All are a thumbs up!

- lots of un assembled scenery other misc accessories in the boxes too

 

[migalyto]

Ha ha… down the rabbit hole I go

You will find many of those holes in this hobby. All part of the journey!

At least your finding out about the wheels and couplers early in the journey. It took me a while and Had several hundred pieces to convert.
Still not done yet, and Kadees have doubled in price over the last couple years.

If you ever decide to go DCC that's another black hole Abyss!

 

[Iron Horseman]

- much of that rolling stock needs other TLC as well (maybe I ought to just purchase used rolling stock with steel wheels and proper couplers)

Good investments are a coupler height gauge, and a wheel width gauge. Out of gauge wheels cause more none-track related derailments than any other single factor.

 

[RhB Michael]

It's been almost a week since the last progress report. How is it coming along?

 

[RetiredinIowa]

Just identified (finally) what will I'll be using as a 'train-saver' / barrier around the 18' perimeter (the unprotected, not-along-a-wall section)

It's 5/16" thick by 4" strips of close-celled foam (that I'm cutting from sleeping bag pads acquired from the milsurp store)

Here's an example. (Pics below)

I'll be gluing it to the perimeter.

Once again... not sure why one pic gets rotated upon upload... but you the idea.

It sticks up 1.5" above the base

 

[RetiredinIowa]

Got it painted ... took about 8oz

Next steps when it drys...

- glue it to the base Go Board
- cut 4" strips from the closed cell sleeping bag roll and glue on perimeter to made a "train-saver" barrier

Once everything is dry and firmly attached... I'll finally be ready to layout some loose track on the table to adjust my tentative design for the two tracks

Still TBD is which tracks will he elevated and where... and where ill be building the tunnels

Once "finalized" (in quotes on purpose) I'll begin lay track...

 

[migalyto]

Starting to look like a layout!

Trains will be running soon!

 

[RetiredinIowa]

Starting to look like a layout!

Trains will be running soon!

Last week I put a small track circle on the raw foamboard table just to test the two used TechII controllers and the two locomotives (and 10 rolling stock) I had recently acquired

My 7 yr old grandson saw it and promptly decorated the circle with a variety of scenery items and ran the trains quite a bit this week

Was fun to do so in the middle of the build!

 

[DeaconKC]

That's great Jim. Fantastic memories will be built along with your layout.

 

[TheXModelRailroader]

Got it painted ... took about 8oz

Next steps when it drys...

- glue it to the base Go Board
- cut 4" strips from the closed cell sleeping bag roll and glue on perimeter to made a "train-saver" barrier

Once everything is dry and firmly attached... I'll finally be ready to layout some loose track on the table to adjust my tentative design for the two tracks

Still TBD is which tracks will he elevated and where... and where ill be building the tunnels

Once "finalized" (in quotes on purpose) I'll begin lay track...

View attachment 254020

Cr-p! You are fast! Great work!

 

[diesel]

Got it painted ... took about 8oz

How much paint though?

 

[RetiredinIowa]

Coming along

 

[RetiredinIowa]

 

[diesel]

In many years, I've never had any train go off the edge of the table - one time I showed my DC layout to a prankster friend, who immediately reached for the throttle and jammed it to maximum. The Athearn loco on the track took off at about 250 scale MPH but it was on a loop. I could see, it had no problem navigating the 22" curves at that speed. It was running the entire 4x8 layout about every 2 seconds.

 

[RetiredinIowa]

Whoop whoop

 

[RetiredinIowa]

In many years, I've never had any train go off the edge of the table - one time I showed my DC layout to a prankster friend, who immediately reached for the throttle and jammed it to maximum. The Athearn loco on the track took off at about 250 scale MPH but it was on a loop. I could see, it had no problem navigating the 22" curves at that speed. It was running the entire 4x8 layout about every 2 seconds.

My 13 grandchildren will test your theory at one time or another… I’m sure

 

[RhB Michael]

My only suggestion would have been to wait and install the edging after the roadbed and track is laid. And, to use fender washers with your fasteners to spread the force from the fastener head and not rip or tear the foam.

 

[William Burg]

When buying your motive power and rolling stock, keep in mind that if the blobs at either end are 30" and 28" wide, the widest radius your curves will have is 12"-14", so you're going to be limited to very small one or two truck engines (if diesel) or 0-4-0 or 0-6-0 steam (if steam), and 40' or shorter cars. And while you can reach the back corner of the room, can you perform detail work (applying scenery, painting, filling holes, soldering feeders, rerailing a derailed locomotive) at that distance? Also note that when trains come out of each blob, in the foreground they will immediately curve sharply in the other direction--model railroaders call this an "S-curve" which causes derailments because the bodies of the cars are no longer parallel to each other, meaning one or the other car (typically the lighter one) gets pulled off the track. And all of the above assumes operation at slow speeds--which is a speed that kids do not want to run trains at. And if you decide what I'm saying is bunk and buy yourself a modern diesel with six-wheel trucks, or a big steam engine, good luck even getting it to sit on the track, let alone running it.

Of course, there is another option--pick up a couple of streetcars! They're intended to run on even sharper curves than these, and don't have to pull trains of cars. For a single-truck Birney or even a two-truck Brill or PCC streetcar, 12" radius is comfortably broad--and some operate on curves as tight as 6-8" radius.

It's easy to hand-draw loops on a template and assume everything will work out all right. In practice, it's always a far better idea to either draw a detailed schematic, one you can measure, or use free track planning software to map out what you want--or even just grab a bunch of Snap-Track and stick it together on the floor or on a tabletop so you can see for yourself what will fit in the space you want, and what won't fit. Because it seems like what you want is not going to fit where you want it, unless you are willing to change some of your expectations.

How easy is it to drill through that 1/4" bathroom wallboard? Keep in mind that you'll want to put holes through it for power leads, and controls for turnouts, unless you were planning on leaning over to control them manually (which is fine, but again, it's always better to plan for these things in advance than just start knitting a parachute on your way out of the burning airplane.)

 

[RetiredinIowa]

My only suggestion would have been to wait and install the edging after the roadbed and track is laid. And, to use fender washers with your fasteners to spread the force from the fastener head and not rip or tear the foam.

Good observations and here's my rationale for what I did... hope it pans out! Ha ha

I actually used Liquid Nails (foam friendly version) to secure the foam edging to the foam board

So the screws are not being used to provide any retention of the edging... I put them in only to help hold foam momentarily as I wrapped it around and pressed it against the bead of Liquid Nails... and while the Luquid Nails was setting

I purposely chose 'near headless' deck screws and put them in deep enough so they wouldn't catch on clothing

I also thought about waiting to put on the foam edging until the rack was laid... but since my table is very low 29" or so... the extra inch doesn't impede me as I work over it

I also know that I'll be running the trains right away (probably on temporary track layout) even as I work on the landscape, terrain, scenery, tunnels, etc and work on final track layout... so I wanted some protection right away

Those pesky grandchildren will probably go full throttle at some point even when I am guiding them

 

[William Burg]

good question… I’m unsure at this point… just wagging the design right now

Likely an up and over… since I want (dreaming about) elevation in that corner and with a tunnel or two

Second track something like this if possible

I need to do more detailed layout on graph paper or something similar to check feasibility and dimensions

Might just make some templates and layout on the table… maybe just some rope to see what is possible and measure distances of turn radii

View attachment 253394

This is not something you're going to be able to build in HO scale using anything but streetcars. Keep in mind that, with the size of those blobs, your outer radius will be 12-14" at most, and an inner radius has to be at least 2-3" inside the other loop to avoid having the trains bash into each other (ordinarily it's less than that, but the sharper the curve, the more cars will stick out into the middle of the curve) so the inner turning radius will be between 9 and 11 inches in radius. Re elevation changes: there's no way these tracks will be going up and over each other (not that it would be possible anyhow, unless the entire train consists of flatcars, including the locomotive.) Model trains can handle maybe a 4-5% grade, with good trackwork and not on sharp curves, and you need enough room to get things up to a higher grade, which you do not have here.

Also, assuming that you have soldering and brass fabrication skills necessary to build those meticulously detailed diamond crossings, your grandkids will bash trains into each other at the crossings constantly, since there is nothing stopping them from running into each other.

Model railroaders are, ideally, a supportive bunch, and the moderators of forums really try to encourage people to use positive feedback, rather than criticism. But I don't see how you are going to be able to get where you want to be with HO scale--and yes, I recognize that you don't want to go to N scale, I'm likely a bit younger than you and N scale is too small for my eyes and hands too. But there might not be a way to get what you want, without some changes in your expectations, and a willingness to plan a layout before you start building.