Need help/Input on layout plan


S

SP4439

Member
Hello,
Planning a layout, i have been using Atlas RTS design software. Attached is a rough idea ive come up with. Anybody have any suggestions, additions, subtractions? Any help would be appreciated. Thanks
 
Well it's a little early and I haven't had my morning coffe but off the top of my head I'd change the upper crossover of the runaround to face the other way.
Otherwise it looks like a great switching layout. If you lower the scenery at that point you could add an underpass with retaining walls, emankments, and all kind of scenic definitions.
Once you start laying out the track more ideas will come to you, even more once you run a train.
 
Still has good switching possibilities but again I'd change the direction of that upper crossover (4' mark) for the runaround. It's still leading into a dead end which would get tiring pretty quick.
If I may quote the immortal Jim Varney: "Ya know what I mean Vern?"
 
I just took a brief look at your plan and have a couple of suggestions. Not sure they're the best way to go without thinking about this some more. Hard to see in the attachment but the tail track in the right hand corner (arrowed) is way too short so I'd lengthen it as much as possible.
 
SP4439
Take a look at this version. Gave you a small 3 track yard & engine/caboose track off the siding. Plus there's no saw backs in your switching area. They may look nice but if you do alot of switching on them you'll soon regret it. As an experienced RR civil engineer told me "if it's on paper, treat the lines like wet noodles".
 
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All great comments and mirror what I would have written. I especially like the track plan that Andy posted. It gives you a yard for storage and making up trains but still gives you some switching opportunities at the tope if the layout. With the right scenery dividers, you can make both halves look like different areas. One thing I've found really helps, assuming the bechwork dimensions are set in stion, is to build the benchwork and then do a temporary track layout to see how things really look. I've found that even CAD produced track plans need some fudging around when you get to really laying track. Getting some track down may also bring some ideas in you head on how certain spurs would look better or be better operationally in another place. Doing some cardboard mockups of what structures you're thinking of using will also show you if you have any clearance problems that need to be dealt with. Small switching layouts can be a lot of fun but they can also quickly become boring and frustrating if they are hard to operate.
 
Have to agree w/ Jim wholeheartedly about laying out your track b/4 nailing it down. Also recommend using flextrack vs "snap track" to give you even more flexibility in your track design.
 
Agree - use cardboard mock-ups of structures (most retailers list the dimensions for buildings in their descriptions if you're buying standard kits) and don't trust your design software 100%.

See if you can Google "Ateton and Footnine" or maybe it's "Footnine and Ateton". That's a nice L-shaped layout that might give you some ideas on a yard.

Edit: Here ya go:

http://www.shenware.com/layouts/ateton.html
 
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Beachbum said:
I just took a brief look at your plan and have a couple of suggestions. Not sure they're the best way to go without thinking about this some more. Hard to see in the attachment but the tail track in the right hand corner (arrowed) is way too short so I'd lengthen it as much as possible.
Click to expand...


cajon said:
SP4439
Take a look at this version. Gave you a small 3 track yard & engine/caboose track off the siding. Plus there's no saw backs in your switching area. They may look nice but if you do alot of switching on them you'll soon regret it. As an experienced RR civil engineer told me "if it's on paper, treat the lines like wet noodles".
Click to expand...

That tail track is going around a jog in the wall to a small "staging yard/engine and caboose area. The tails of each saw backs will be one or two car spots for industries.

And as for the snap track, i was just using that as a radius reference, In my construction i will be using flex track exclusively.
 
SP4439 said:
That tail track is going around a jog in the wall to a small "staging yard/engine and caboose area. The tails of each saw backs will be one or two car spots for industries.
Click to expand...

Ah. Well that will certainly give you some more flexibility. I'd still get rid of the switchback in the upper right corner though.

And as for the snap track, i was just using that as a radius reference, In my construction i will be using flex track exclusively.
Click to expand...

RTS also allows you to draw in flex although it's not intuitively obvious how to do it with RTS IMO.
 
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