Need help achieving a 22" radius


H

hotwinger

HO Switchman
latestlayout.jpg

I'm trying to figuere out how to use this layout so I can have 22" radius turns. And also have enough room on the out part of the track for scenery. This originaly was a 4x8 layout from John Carpenter's Pennslavania and Potomac. I was thinking about adding the extra foot or two to make it a 5x8. or 6X8. I'm not sure. And I plan on adding to the Interchange to make a L girder layout in the future.

*edit: This is in HO scale

Anyone feel free to throw out thier ideas!
Thanks
 
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You cannot have a 22" radius on the right side of the layout because the track curves in too far from the interchange track. You could make a 22" radius by starting your curve from where the interchange track is now.

The left side should have a 22" curve on the outside and an 18" curve on the inside, maybe 19" if you use flex track and move the two tracks a little closer together. I also see no indication on how you're going to handle that grade that goes from the center of the layout to the team track and diesel shops, which must be on top of a raised area to have a tunnel run underneath. You're not going to have enough run on a 4x8 to make this a reasonable grade.

You would certainly be better off from the point of view of curve radius if you went to 6x8 but it would be even better if you could go to 6x9 or 6x10. If you can't increase the length, you are going to have to rethink the tunnel and the grades you'll need to reach the flats above the tunnel.
 
Well I was going to go with at least a 5x8. I might play it safe and just do a 6x9. So I know Ill have enough room. The middle reverse loop will be a cross section of track. The tracks that go to the yard and the diesel house will be all on the same grade.
 
If you go 6 x , figure on putting an access hatch as scenniced reach is 30".

And if you are going 6 x 9 figure that the space you are using is at least 11 x 14 counting the area you need to walk around. In that same space you can have a heck of a lot nicer layout than a modified 4 x 8, wich is just about the most limited configuration in the hobby.
 
So with a 6X9 layout I would have to make a access hatch in the middle?
How do they make those? The room I working with is 10 wide x 9 long.
So I'm trying to squeeze as much as I can out of this space.
I would just be fighting up against 2 walls on apposite sides.
 
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I'm confused. How can you have the yard and diesel shop on the same level as the tracks in the crossover when you have a tunnel running under them? I'm assuming that dashed line represents a tunnel. If so, it has to pass beneath a raised area where the yard and diesel shop are shown. How do you get there without a grade?

With a 10'x9' room you don't have enough room for anything larger than a 8' wide by 7' long layout and even that is really squeezing it since you'd only have 2 foot aisleways. Have you though about running the layout around the room instead of taking up the whole room wth one big layout? You could run an 8' long shelf around each of three walls (I assume you have a door on one wall) that's 2' wide and then bring out a 4'x4' island one each end if you wanted a loop. Thr room wouldn't be anywhere near as crowded and you'd have way more space for track and scenery than using one big board.
 
UP2CSX said:
I'm confused. How can you have the yard and diesel shop on the same level as the tracks in the crossover when you have a tunnel running under them? I'm assuming that dashed line represents a tunnel. If so, it has to pass beneath a raised area where the yard and diesel shop are shown. How do you get there without a grade?

With a 10'x9' room you don't have enough room for anything larger than a 8' wide by 7' long layout and even that is really squeezing it since you'd only have 2 foot aisleways. Have you though about running the layout around the room instead of taking up the whole room wth one big layout? You could run an 8' long shelf around each of three walls (I assume you have a door on one wall) that's 2' wide and then bring out a 4'x4' island one each end if you wanted a loop. Thr room wouldn't be anywhere near as crowded and you'd have way more space for track and scenery than using one big board.
Click to expand...

Oh sorry The dashed line is from the original layout. That won't be a tunnel. It will be level with the rest of the layout.

I actually considered going all the way aroud the room but there is a cutout in one corner of the room with a computer on the same wall is a sliding closet.
Theroomlayout.jpg

So technically one whole wall can't be used.
On the oppisite side is actually a retractable wall to the living room. I am builing this in a apartment. So I plan on moving in 5 months. That would defenetly make a differance as well.
 
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A shelf layout doesn't actually have to be on a shelf. You can build the same type of benchwork that you would for a regular layout only skinnier. You could start it just past the entry door, run it around that retractable door (I'm assuming that stays closed) and end it just before the computer desk. That would give you about 6 feet on the right wall, 11 feet along the retractable door, and about 7 feet to the computer desk. You can go two feet wide except at the ends, where you'd bring it out an extra two feet so you can have 22" radius curves. That gives you 24 feet of running space and leaves the center of the room open. It will look way better than a big board in the center of the room, will be easier to work on without worrying about pop-ups, and can be dismantled and moved pretty easily of you use nuts and bolts for most of the benchwork. A big layout in the middle of the room won't fit through the door without sawing it up and I can tell you from experience that you'll end up trashing the whole thing and will have wasted a lot of money.
 
That would realy make a better layout I completely agree with you.

Somthing like this.
theroomlayoutwithbechwork.jpg


The only other problem I run into is starting a whole new track layout. Which I have creative problems haha.
I wonder if theres somthing I could go off of.
I found this on here.
mike02.jpg

Can't remeber who's layout. But I'm not sure if i can fit it. I'm better of copying off of another layout since this is my first.
 
You can lose the lower level staging until you move. I think this might one of SpaceMouse's but I'm not sure. I can't tell the scale but you can adapt that track plan to your space. Lay out the mainline as shown but wth 22" radius track. That will give you an idea of how much space you have leftover for yards and industries. I suspect this layout is bigger than the one you have space for but you can always remove some of the industries and shorten up the yard to make it fit. Some planning software like xTrackCAD would simplify this once you learn the program.
 
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