To Elevate or Not To Elevate...


brubakes

brubakes

Member
Yeah, changed my mind again, but this time I am locked into bench work that is 5' x 12' so I have to build my railroad on those dimensions.

Currently while I am planning I cannot decide on if I should worry about elevation or not. One of my requirements for my railroad is I want two trains that can run all the time with no user intervention if needed. Then I want a space for switching. Seems if I'm going up and down grades I would be limited on meeting these requirements especially if I want to keep my other requirement of nothing smaller then a 24" radius.

I've been looking at 4x8 track plans that I would then expand to fill the 5'x12' space. Maybe I'm just not creative enough with my track planning? I keep getting stuck on track planning and I'm getting very frustrated.
 
Sounds like you've fallen into the trap of "analysis paralysis". Happens to most of us from time to time.

This probably won't be the last layout you ever build, your ultimate "dream layout"; it's probably the first of several. With that in mind, just focus on learning how to (1) lay reliable trackwork, and (2) make sure it all of it is easy to reach, and setup to do the kind of operations you want to do. [Seems like you've already figured that one out LOL]

If you want to have two trains running unattended at the same time and avoid elevations and grades, I'd go with a double-track main. That way they'll always be on a level right-of-way and never collide. Then if you want to do switching, make sure to include a long 'drill' track (a.k.a. yard lead) that can be kept separate from the main line, but is long enough to pull decent-length strings of cars out of one track and push into another.

Anyways, I'd focus on just getting the track laid and powered without ballast or "permanent" scenery, and do some of your favorite kind of operations on that. If you like it, great - then you can deal with the scenery. Otherwise, just pull up the track and lay it in a different way until you find something you like.

The important thing is to actually DO something, not just worry about getting a perfect layout the first time. You have the rest of your life to accomplish that! ;)
 
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Ditto

Amen to that. Just lay some track and get started. Change is always going to happen. The early layouts are mostly a learning project and even that can be fun.

Armchair :)
 
This was my first layout 10 ½ ft X 4 ½ ft. It was just to see if I really wanted to spend the time on the hobby. It was a lot of fun to build. It kept me busy during the winter months. It could run 2 trains at once but there was little switching almost none. The grade was 4 % which meant 1 engine could pull 8 cars up the grade. It was located in our upstairs rec room. I moved it down to the basement, took it apart, stretched it out, changed the grade to 3% and incorporated it into my new 24 ft X 30 ft double deck layout. This layout has kept me busy 12 years with 8 more to go I figure. The 3 years it took to build the first layout wasn’t wasted. The one thing that stayed the same is I still struggle with the grades. I need 4 engines to pull my 50 cars up the grade. So if you’re going to add a grade make sure it’s 1 to 2 % or plan on adding some engines.
I would go in to building your layout with that thought and maybe some day incorporate it into some larger.

NYC_George

Old_Layout.jpg



jv_extra_1.jpg
 
That's mighty nice cabinetry you had there, NYC, and a gorgeous layout for a first attempt. My first did not look *ahem* nearly that good.

Re: grades - You can always contour your scenery to give the appearance of grades. If you have rolling scenery with fills and cuts for the tracks, it can trick the eye into seeing the track as rising and falling. Doesn't always work but at least it will give some variety.

Totally agree on the ballasting. Hold off for as long as you can because you WILL be making adjustments to the track plan. Actually, I really dislike ballasting so I've considered not ballasting at all - sort of a minimalist thing like David Barrow did with his last switching layout. Cork roadbed kind of looks like ballast anyway. Sort of... LOL!
 
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CSX_road_slug said:
Sounds like you've fallen into the trap of "analysis paralysis". Happens to most of us from time to time.

This probably won't be the last layout you ever build, your ultimate "dream layout"; it's probably the first of several. With that in mind, just focus on learning how to (1) lay reliable trackwork, and (2) make sure it all of it is easy to reach, and setup to do the kind of operations you want to do. [Seems like you've already figured that one out LOL]

If you want to have two trains running unattended at the same time and avoid elevations and grades, I'd go with a double-track main. That way they'll always be on a level right-of-way and never collide. Then if you want to do switching, make sure to include a long 'drill' track (a.k.a. yard lead) that can be kept separate from the main line, but is long enough to pull decent-length strings of cars out of one track and push into another.

Anyways, I'd focus on just getting the track laid and powered without ballast or "permanent" scenery, and do some of your favorite kind of operations on that. If you like it, great - then you can deal with the scenery. Otherwise, just pull up the track and lay it in a different way until you find something you like.

The important thing is to actually DO something, not just worry about getting a perfect layout the first time. You have the rest of your life to accomplish that! ;)
Click to expand...

Armchair said:
Amen to that. Just lay some track and get started. Change is always going to happen. The early layouts are mostly a learning project and even that can be fun.

Armchair :)
Click to expand...

Thanks guys, I think you have hit the nail right ont he head for where I am currently. I just wanna run some trains!
 
brubakes the layout looked as good as it did because my wife insisted that if it was going to be upstairs it wasn’t to look junky. It fell short because like you I wanted to have 2 trains running at the same time and also some switching possibilities. The track work had to be flawless because anything derailing on the wall side was extremely hard get at. Although in the end it worked out for me you should try to come up with something better. Something that has it all without a grade.

George
 
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