On to Track Laying


Topherisme

Chris wants more hobby time!!!
Bench work 95% complete, time to get some track going…. FINALLY!!!
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I lost patience with SCARM, the Atlas track program on it is not the best. Don’t really want to pay for anything…. I know what I am after, not exactly winging it, more like controlled chaos, but I enjoy that part, trying a couple different looks before I settle…. Top picture will be yard, a couple industries, bottom picture will be switching operations on the left long piece, town scene on the peninsula with a water scene close to middle harder to reach area…
 
Structures and backdrops
Do you have specific structures you want to place on the layout, or are you still juggling around ideas? I juggled ideas forever when I was building my new layout,...I termed it musical chairs (oldy term) as I moved some scenes from place to place around the layout. ( I think I moved my steel making scene at least 4 times,..corner to corner)

Naturally that meant I could NOT develope my backdrop images first,...so i am going to have to add those backdrop images (and flats) after the fact.

BTW I have a whole bunch of small built up structures that I can sell you relatively cheap (just ones I collected up over the years and don't have room for them on my layout).

EDITED: Probably the cost can only be justified in these days of high postage rates, is to combine a number of these plastic structures in one box with foam peanuts.
 
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BTW I did not use a computer track plan software either. I laid out some brown paper on flat surfaces and did some track planning that way,...
https://modelrailroadforums.com/for...full-size-paper-templates-of-trackplan.30958/

brown paper rolled up
https://modelrailroadforums.com/for...per-templates-of-trackplan.30958/#post-447034

I made some zerox copies of some of the turnouts, etc that i did not have on hand to assist in the full scale planning

This was a fun exercise and good planning method to assure that the turnouts would really be workable.
 
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I lost patience with SCARM, the Atlas track program on it is not the best. Don’t really want to pay for anything…. I know what I am after, not exactly winging it, more like controlled chaos, but I enjoy that part, trying a couple different looks before I settle…. Top picture will be yard, a couple industries, bottom picture will be switching operations on the left long piece, town scene on the peninsula with a water scene close to middle harder to reach area…
Since you tried SCARM, I assume you are using Windows. If you have access to a Mac, or an iPad, you can give RailModeller Express <https://www.railmodeller.com/express-edition-en.html> a try. It is very good and FREE. If you fall in love with it, there is a Pro version.
 



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