I'm new to the forum, this place looks great!
OK, I'd like some input.
Here's a (really) rough draft of my track plan.
The room is 20 feet by 10 feet, but I have to leave space for a loveseat and coffee table. The TV is under the layout. This plan is actually slightly wrong, it's two feet wider than it's supposed to be. However, compressing the middle section of the track (around the bridge) works fine.
The layout is somewhat of a practice layout for the future if/when we move to a larger place so I can expand it.
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I'll walk you though the concept.
New York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad, 1948.
The left loop is "Springfield, MA" and hidden under a hill. The loop serves to turn the trains to the other side of the double-track main (and allows me to run continuous trains for my 3-year-old daughter).
The trains coming from Springfield enter Thompsonville, CT for passenger and freight service. From my understanding, Thompsonville is serviced primarily by a local freight out of Harford, CT so there may not be much freight traffic from this direction. The track plan is based of the USGS maps.
After Thompsonville, the train will cross the CT River and go into Windsor Locks, CT. The track plan here is based off of an article in the Novemeber, 1960 Model Railroader. Along the bottom wall I may also include a small spur to Suffield, CT (on the south, or really the west side of the tracks).
After Windsor Locks, the train turns behind a ridge (as a view block) and into the second loop. The shelf at the top will probably be a coach yard. It extends off of this map a bit.
The loop represents Hartford, CT, and will consist primarily of a small freight yard in half of the loop, and engine servicing in the second half. The trains then continue north and back to Springfield.
************
Operationally, these are my basic assumptions.
Based on an idea in one of the articles in the Gateway NMRA site, each car represents 2 cars. I'll be running 5 car passenger trains and 10 car freights.
I will probably still run MU motive power though (2 DL-109s, or an FA1-FB1-FA1 combo) as the prototype did. I also have a PA1, though I haven't picked up a second one yet. Eventually I will probably have some steam as well.
The minimum radius is 24", but I am using 26" and 28" or greater for the mainline. The 24" is used for the loops (which will be used at low speed) and the freight spurs. Switches will be #6 or #8 or Peco #5 for the coach yard, and #5 or better for freight.
Passenger trains on this layout will be run on a loose timetable, but are basically there to make the job more interesting for the freight (for the future layout, passenger operations will be much greater, since they were the main traffic on the Hartford/Springfield line).
Local freights will leave and return to Hartford, and through freights will also switch at Hartford. I plan to have at least one extra loop in Springfield for through freight staging. The loops are 24" radius, so the inner loops are two severe for the passenger trains. I may have some extra holding tracks there as well if they fit.
The Springfield section can be viewed and operated from the cutout (not easily visible from the room) with a large access in the event of problems. Eventually I would like to wire sensors that will automatically stop trains entering the hidden track if the switch is thrown the wrong way and the track is occupied.
Anyway, I've been through a lot of plans so far and this is looking pretty good.
Sorry for the messy plan, I'm working on a better one using templates.
Oh, and this is HO scale:
1 small square=2" and 1 large square=20".
Thanks,
Randy
OK, I'd like some input.
Here's a (really) rough draft of my track plan.
The room is 20 feet by 10 feet, but I have to leave space for a loveseat and coffee table. The TV is under the layout. This plan is actually slightly wrong, it's two feet wider than it's supposed to be. However, compressing the middle section of the track (around the bridge) works fine.
The layout is somewhat of a practice layout for the future if/when we move to a larger place so I can expand it.
************
I'll walk you though the concept.
New York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad, 1948.
The left loop is "Springfield, MA" and hidden under a hill. The loop serves to turn the trains to the other side of the double-track main (and allows me to run continuous trains for my 3-year-old daughter).
The trains coming from Springfield enter Thompsonville, CT for passenger and freight service. From my understanding, Thompsonville is serviced primarily by a local freight out of Harford, CT so there may not be much freight traffic from this direction. The track plan is based of the USGS maps.
After Thompsonville, the train will cross the CT River and go into Windsor Locks, CT. The track plan here is based off of an article in the Novemeber, 1960 Model Railroader. Along the bottom wall I may also include a small spur to Suffield, CT (on the south, or really the west side of the tracks).
After Windsor Locks, the train turns behind a ridge (as a view block) and into the second loop. The shelf at the top will probably be a coach yard. It extends off of this map a bit.
The loop represents Hartford, CT, and will consist primarily of a small freight yard in half of the loop, and engine servicing in the second half. The trains then continue north and back to Springfield.
************
Operationally, these are my basic assumptions.
Based on an idea in one of the articles in the Gateway NMRA site, each car represents 2 cars. I'll be running 5 car passenger trains and 10 car freights.
I will probably still run MU motive power though (2 DL-109s, or an FA1-FB1-FA1 combo) as the prototype did. I also have a PA1, though I haven't picked up a second one yet. Eventually I will probably have some steam as well.
The minimum radius is 24", but I am using 26" and 28" or greater for the mainline. The 24" is used for the loops (which will be used at low speed) and the freight spurs. Switches will be #6 or #8 or Peco #5 for the coach yard, and #5 or better for freight.
Passenger trains on this layout will be run on a loose timetable, but are basically there to make the job more interesting for the freight (for the future layout, passenger operations will be much greater, since they were the main traffic on the Hartford/Springfield line).
Local freights will leave and return to Hartford, and through freights will also switch at Hartford. I plan to have at least one extra loop in Springfield for through freight staging. The loops are 24" radius, so the inner loops are two severe for the passenger trains. I may have some extra holding tracks there as well if they fit.
The Springfield section can be viewed and operated from the cutout (not easily visible from the room) with a large access in the event of problems. Eventually I would like to wire sensors that will automatically stop trains entering the hidden track if the switch is thrown the wrong way and the track is occupied.
Anyway, I've been through a lot of plans so far and this is looking pretty good.
Sorry for the messy plan, I'm working on a better one using templates.
Oh, and this is HO scale:
1 small square=2" and 1 large square=20".
Thanks,
Randy