Scratchin my head

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irocinblue89

irocinblue89

Member
I have started the "beginning" stages and already overwhelmed. I will post some scans of the room and my rough idea for benchwork. I just look at the later and think it's just not "it". It might be that I am going from small to large to fast. I don't know. I'm hoping input from others will straighten me out.

My list of wants are:
East coast to west coast scenery
A long mainline
An interchange yard where east meets west
Some "railfan" spots
I love a "run through" yard with alot of track
Elevation changes with bridge and mountain views
I have always leaned towards spaghetti layouts and still enjoy alot of track, but if I can keep that limited to two places I think I will be happy
 
dont get overwhelmed do it in sections like i did! think of what you want first then second then third then put it all together . I`m sure it will work out and remember you dont have to do it all overnight, i`ve had 3 layouts in the last 2 years when ya get frustrated walk away from it and think about it for a day or two then just sit and stare at it :p for a while it worked for me !:D
 
With that much space, you need to come up with a project plan / timeline or the size (and cost) is going to overwhelm you.

If I were going to do another "Big Un" in my basement, I'd invest in a good track planning software package and break the thing into modules that could be completed one at a time. You could always lay down a temporary mainline if you just have to have trains orbiting. Or you might find a plan somewhere that you could adapt to your space.

Spaghetti is best kept on a plate with a nice marinara sauce and a glass of Chianti IMO.
 
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Actually quite interesting to me as I'm considering something similar with a little less space.
Have you thought out a track plan yet? That the most important consideration. What minimum cure radius do you want? Long trains and sharp curves just don't work so good. You can sacrifice a bit more of the floor space for a more broad curve radius.
Is it to be a loop to loop, point to point or folded dogbone type track plan? These are questions with a host of others that I'm dealing with for myself right now.
Click-->
th_LayoutAreaDrwg-2.png
Anyway this is what I'm considering. I'm now considering not using that 9 by 9 ft section as I'll have to take a wall out and at my age it's doubtful if I'd ever have the time to finish it.
BTW don't scratch your head too much or you'll be bald like me :D

Cheers
Willis
 
Sounds like you want to do what the museum of science and industry did in Chicago.

112307_Science_Industry10x.jpg


Pretty cool if you could make a smaller version and something of your own :)
 
Beachbum: When you did your "Big Un", did you plan the benchwork or the track for the area 1st? I was actually thinking of starting say on the west end and doing sections, however I'm not sure how to do elevations with a sectional design because ultimately it has to "come back to earth". The more I look at my benchwork design the more I think it's not gonna work. To me spaghetti is a small yard with alot of turnouts and plenty of storage for my loco's and rolling stock. With room to move. I don't like the idea of seeing a train stay in my "view" I like the out and back on different parts of the layout
CBCNSfan: 36" radius for mains and min 22" for all else. I was thinking of point to point. 1 from west to east. (to about the "middle") Then 1 east to west with an interchange yard for the two. I like the room you have as it's not a "box". makes for an interesting trackplan. I decided against taking a wall out allso or it would have been 27' x 25':eek: BTW the hair is on my pillow every morning so I'm just helpin it along:D
Thanks to both of you. It's actually helping.
 
irocinblue89 said:
I should drop my layout, move to the windy city and live in the museum. ROADTRIP! Man the ball and chain isn't gonna like this. Hehehe
Click to expand...

Hah! Wouldn't that me nice!? It really is a beautiful layout. I couldn't imagine how cool it would be to be employed to run trains!
 


Not only is the Chicago musuem layout a really amazing job, but look at those overhead views again. Looks at the total amount of space occupied by track compared to the whole landscape. There's probably a couple of hundred square feet that is just farm land, but it makes the layout look more like the real thing. The tendency of model railroaders with a lot of space is to jam in as much track as possible. This layout shows another, and I think, better way to build a layout.
 
UP2CSX said:
Not only is the Chicago musuem layout a really amazing job, but look at those overhead views again. Looks at the total amount of space occupied by track compared to the whole landscape. There's probably a couple of hundred square feet that is just farm land, but it makes the layout look more like the real thing. The tendency of model railroaders with a lot of space is to jam in as much track as possible. This layout shows another, and I think, better way to build a layout.
Click to expand...

I have to agree 100%. However I ask myself at what point am I not model railroading and just doing scenery? Sigh If I had a dream...
 
irocinblue89 said:
Beachbum: When you did your "Big Un", did you plan the benchwork or the track for the area 1st? I was actually thinking of starting say on the west end and doing sections, however I'm not sure how to do elevations with a sectional design because ultimately it has to "come back to earth".
Click to expand...

I used a track plan that was published in Model Railroader - UP Los Angeles Sub in 1984 with some modifications. They also published the benchwork plan, more or less. It was L-girder with Homasote.

Elevation changes can be done with modules as long as the tracks at the ends of the modules match up. Not as easy as using open frame benchwork but doable. Also, my big layout had to be torn down for a move and very little survived - I went modular after that.
 
irocinblue89 said:
I have to agree 100%. However I ask myself at what point am I not model railroading and just doing scenery? Sigh If I had a dream...
Click to expand...

You'll have a dream, it just takes time to develop when you're starting out. Getting a few good layout books and cruising the forums will give you that flash of inspiration you need. One point - model railroading is not model railraoding without scenery. How impressed would you be with the world's most intricate track plan on plywood compared to a simpler design that had some hills, woods, towns, or even big cities, if that's where your inspiration takes you? I think most of us who've been at this a while will agree that getting the actual track down and running is the easy part. The hard part is making it look like a miniature railroad, and that includes all the scenic elements you see in the Chicago layout. In terms of actual track, my layout has been complete for over two years. However, I still have scenery to add, signals to install, structures to build, re-making some areas that don't look as good as I first thought they did...it goes on and on. You can pick the level of detail that suits you, but I'll bet you a buck that, two years from now, you won't be looking for track. A traffic signal or some lighted signs will be what you'll be looking for. There's always another detail I can find to make my little empire look more like a minature world that includes a railroad.
 
CBCNSfan said:
Actually quite interesting to me as I'm considering something similar with a little less space.
Have you thought out a track plan yet? That the most important consideration. What minimum cure radius do you want? Long trains and sharp curves just don't work so good. You can sacrifice a bit more of the floor space for a more broad curve radius.
Is it to be a loop to loop, point to point or folded dogbone type track plan? These are questions with a host of others that I'm dealing with for myself right now.
Click-->
th_LayoutAreaDrwg-2.png
Anyway this is what I'm considering. I'm now considering not using that 9 by 9 ft section as I'll have to take a wall out and at my age it's doubtful if I'd ever have the time to finish it.
BTW don't scratch your head too much or you'll be bald like me :D

Cheers
Willis
Click to expand...

Don't take out the wall, cut tunnels through it and use that area for staging.
 
Don't take out the wall, cut tunnels through it and use that area for staging.
Click to expand...
LOL I've considered that too and sometime in the future I'll start a thread before I jump right into it this time around. The point I was trying to get across is it's not the scenery that is the most important, it's the track plan "does the RR serve a purpose, Is it feasible or not" then what type of curves Broad, conventional or sharp. If it were mine I'd consider increasing the shelf (module) depth from 24 in. to 30 inches where he could get 26" to 30" radius turns that would still leave lots of floor space to operate or for viewing. Just a thought.

Cheers
Willis
 
irocinblue89, you say you are overwhelmed. Maybe you are trying to start too big. Why not start with a module in the middle of what you want? Begin with a junction point where East meets West. Model the switching areas in some detail. Add staging tracks on each end and possibly a loop for continuous running. Play with it a while before you commit to anything that will be difficult to redo. If you like it, then you can build outward in easier stages.
 
alcoman said:
irocinblue89, you say you are overwhelmed. Maybe you are trying to start too big. Why not start with a module in the middle of what you want? Begin with a junction point where East meets West. Model the switching areas in some detail. Add staging tracks on each end and possibly a loop for continuous running. Play with it a while before you commit to anything that will be difficult to redo. If you like it, then you can build outward in easier stages.
Click to expand...

The reason I wanted to do all the benchwork first is because we just moved to a new house and I picked it over another one it because it has room for a basement layout. If I do not claim the realestate ASAP it will eventually become nothing more than what I threw together for my son and I now... He has never taken an interest in anything but video games until I threw down some track and said "how do we get this car to this industry with the lest amount of moves and without disrupting the other operations". He really took a shine to it. Now he wants to learn how to use power tools to build it, and I have to tell ya I'm even more determined. I did buy "102 layouts", I subscribed to MRR, and obviously posted here for ideas. Thanks to all for the help and input. I am looking forward to post some pics soon
 
irocinblue89 said:
The reason I wanted to do all the benchwork first is because we just moved to a new house and I picked it over another one it because it has room for a basement layout. If I do not claim the realestate ASAP it will eventually become nothing more than what I threw together for my son and I now... He has never taken an interest in anything but video games until I threw down some track and said "how do we get this car to this industry with the lest amount of moves and without disrupting the other operations". He really took a shine to it. Now he wants to learn how to use power tools to build it, and I have to tell ya I'm even more determined. I did buy "102 layouts", I subscribed to MRR, and obviously posted here for ideas. Thanks to all for the help and input. I am looking forward to post some pics soon
Click to expand...

Idea!!! Maybe I should buy more trains to stack in the area of the layout. Kinda like marking my spot! :D
 


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