MilwRoader_Steve
Well-Known Member
Greetings all,
Been a busy week, but hereby submitted two track plan ideas. I would appreciate your review comments and suggestions.
1. HO, DCC, Mostly solo ops, 1930s - 50s era. I want continuous loop ops plus some interesting switching. Anyrail track planner. 18 inch minimum radius, except for some industry spurs worked by an 0-6-0 or a Plymouth two axle.
2. North is 'up.' Entire north edge is against a wall; entire west and south edge is free; most of the east edge is free, except the "Ell" that runs full into an alcove formed by a closet. The walls are shown by the heavy red lines, except on the north edge. Dimensions shown in the image "TwiceAround."
3. I am former Navy officer, so entered this hobby with the idea of a port scene. I am now coming to realize that I might be pushing too hard, but attached is best design to date. I am a bit concerned that bascule bridge would be so heavy that it would visually overpower the layout. Also a bit concerned that my novice sills could get it installed so as to provide trouble-free operation. Plus, the 'main' would have to cross the bridge each loop. I do have a line on the ship (coasting steamer) and pier (Frenchriver? IIRC) and they are drawn to scale. But just can't devote much space of the 4x8 to the port, making it look significantly out of proportion. Open for suggestions.
4. So I switched in my head to a modified Twice Around, which is the other image. Op plan would be for road freights to leave the yard head first and take the outter loop (22 inch R), then inner loop (18 inch R), then drop cars for the industries, and then take the reversing loop back to the yard head first. I have one steam road loco, and two diesel switchers in hand with a Plymouth on pre-order.
5. I don't really ***need*** the second reversing loop, but want to serve the industries both north and south of the primary reversing loop track, and just kinda worked out that way. But open to suggestions.
6. The southern loop/s extend 'off-table' by a max of 4 inches. This edge abuts my living room TV area and I foresee this as the premier rail-fan vista. I will make those extensions with hardboard and foam with some guardrails to keep the vertical drops to a minimum. I'm also thinking some clear plexiglass 'guard' along the entire west edge, which is a pretty tight aisleway.
7. Benchwork is all built and is 1/4 or 1/2 plywood topped by 1 inch foam, the good stuff. Joint is shown on the Twice around. Ideally, I ought to build/wire it so that I could potentially take down the 4x8, which is on bolted legs. The "ell" is attached to the wall, not the floor.
8. Goal is to operate turnouts by both DCC accessory decoders (looking at Cobalt or Walthers) and pushbuttons. Current idea is to install a 12" wide hardboard fascia and mount switch controls locally instead of a master control panel. I would definitely appreciate advice here.
Right now, I am leaning toward the twice around layout. There is more, but please ask questions. I look forward to your constructive criticism. Thanks in advance!
Steve
Been a busy week, but hereby submitted two track plan ideas. I would appreciate your review comments and suggestions.
1. HO, DCC, Mostly solo ops, 1930s - 50s era. I want continuous loop ops plus some interesting switching. Anyrail track planner. 18 inch minimum radius, except for some industry spurs worked by an 0-6-0 or a Plymouth two axle.
2. North is 'up.' Entire north edge is against a wall; entire west and south edge is free; most of the east edge is free, except the "Ell" that runs full into an alcove formed by a closet. The walls are shown by the heavy red lines, except on the north edge. Dimensions shown in the image "TwiceAround."
3. I am former Navy officer, so entered this hobby with the idea of a port scene. I am now coming to realize that I might be pushing too hard, but attached is best design to date. I am a bit concerned that bascule bridge would be so heavy that it would visually overpower the layout. Also a bit concerned that my novice sills could get it installed so as to provide trouble-free operation. Plus, the 'main' would have to cross the bridge each loop. I do have a line on the ship (coasting steamer) and pier (Frenchriver? IIRC) and they are drawn to scale. But just can't devote much space of the 4x8 to the port, making it look significantly out of proportion. Open for suggestions.
4. So I switched in my head to a modified Twice Around, which is the other image. Op plan would be for road freights to leave the yard head first and take the outter loop (22 inch R), then inner loop (18 inch R), then drop cars for the industries, and then take the reversing loop back to the yard head first. I have one steam road loco, and two diesel switchers in hand with a Plymouth on pre-order.
5. I don't really ***need*** the second reversing loop, but want to serve the industries both north and south of the primary reversing loop track, and just kinda worked out that way. But open to suggestions.
6. The southern loop/s extend 'off-table' by a max of 4 inches. This edge abuts my living room TV area and I foresee this as the premier rail-fan vista. I will make those extensions with hardboard and foam with some guardrails to keep the vertical drops to a minimum. I'm also thinking some clear plexiglass 'guard' along the entire west edge, which is a pretty tight aisleway.
7. Benchwork is all built and is 1/4 or 1/2 plywood topped by 1 inch foam, the good stuff. Joint is shown on the Twice around. Ideally, I ought to build/wire it so that I could potentially take down the 4x8, which is on bolted legs. The "ell" is attached to the wall, not the floor.
8. Goal is to operate turnouts by both DCC accessory decoders (looking at Cobalt or Walthers) and pushbuttons. Current idea is to install a 12" wide hardboard fascia and mount switch controls locally instead of a master control panel. I would definitely appreciate advice here.
Right now, I am leaning toward the twice around layout. There is more, but please ask questions. I look forward to your constructive criticism. Thanks in advance!
Steve
