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Hi everyone,
I recently moved to an apartment and I wanna get a layout started. Not the one I would normally mount on plywood, but a wall mounted continuous run. I need some Ideas of track planning software, and mounting solutions, other then lots and lots of shelving.
I have a lot of space to work with and want to do 2 trains running in opposite directions.
Sounds like fun. A continuous-run shelf layout may be challenging, in that you have to turn the train around somewhere (or connect the ends). A full-loop four-wall layout will require a drawbridge or duck-under to get into. A turn-around on either end will require a rather larger bulb (a few inches bigger than your minimum radius). If you decide to do two decks, a helix will serve the same purpose.
How uptight is your landlord? I think most shelf layouts are bolted to the wall. If you don't want to/can't bolt it to the wall (and/or you'll be moving eventually and taking it with you), some simple wood girder benchwork pushed up against the wall should do the trick.
I know there are a lot of PC-compatible free track planning programs. If I remember right Atlas has a track design program using (of course) their standard track pieces. For my track planning, I just draw the table (using Google Sketchup, free), print several copies, and have at them with a pencil. I have yet to find a free Mac-compatible track plan program.
This is going to be a 6 wall layout. Its going to have a very long mainline run of 176"
followed by another 120" run you know minus the curves. I need graph paper but dont see to have any anywhere. I have an idea but I know when making 90degree corners which I have 8 of them its going to be a challenge. I normally run on a 4 x 8 sheet of ply wood but wanna try something different
You could use hollow-core doors laid on top of cheap bookcases (like IKEA). You can laminate foam and / or Homasote, etc onto the top of the doors. I don't think I'd lay cork roadbed directly onto the door - too noisy - but perhaps some folks have had ok luck doing that.
The nice thing about bookcases is that you have "instant" storage under the layout.
Actually, you could use 2-inch thick foam alone on bookcases if your spans aren't super long. I've found 2-in foam to be plenty strong enough on cheap shelf brackets (on 16-in centers) but I don't pile on tons of plaster scenery.
Get Iain Rice's book on shelf layouts, lots of great ideas in there! Also take a look at Lance Mindheim's site (www.lancemindheim.com) and Byron Henderson's (www.layoutvision.com) - some great ideas and inspiration there!
An old illustration I made for another thread somewhere - a foot wide shelf - 15 and 20" radius curves (which are not all that tight curves in N scale):
The center of the circle does not have to be on the shelf, eh ?
