Hi all,
New guy here, been dabbling on and off with model railroading for a long time (almost 15 years). We recently moved back to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, and in our new house, there is a 9'X9' spare area in the basement that I can use to finally set up a permanent layout. I have been toying with different track plans and ideas, and I think I finally have something that I like.
Im a 29 year old Mechanical Engineer, and as such, being a guy that likes moving things, logging steam engines have always appealed to me. I like rugged scenery as well, particularily where it involves water as well as dramatic grades, so the plan for the line is this:
Time period: 1920's/30's
Location: Either Pacific Northwest, or New England.
Curves: 18" minimum
Turnouts: mostly #4, some #6
Theme: Costal or island logging and mining road, with some town infrastucture in one corner.
Rolling stock: A DCC shay, and Climax for sure, maybe a Heisler and 0-6-0 as well. Mostly logging and mine cars with a few box cars for in the town.
Grade: 4% max, mostly for switchbacks up the mountains
Style: Visally a point to point, but, with a dropdown that would enable a continuous run
Train length and run: Mostly 1-5 cars, max, depending on where the train is going. up the mountain switchbacks, it could be as little as a single car. I realize that that can make for some challenging if not possibly boring operations, so I have less than 1.5% grade on the loop line, enabling me to run a longer more "interesting" train continuously.
Attached is a track plan scan. The first page is the rough hand drawing with proposed scenery elevations graded in. Water is shaded dark. Second page is the track grading, showing where the height of the tracks would end up, and last page is a CAD drafting of the track plans.
http://www.2shared.com/document/1GJMiIHH/track_plan.html
On the first page, witht he elevations, the drop down is in the lower left hand corner, by the door. The grid is 1"=12", so a 1 foot square breakdown. The aisleways are 2 feet. I know that is a bit tight, but, we don't have any kids, and I will pretty much be the onyl one playing with it, so, I'm not too concerned about it. The town is in the lower right, it has a barge with a tubgoat in the harbor, meant to transport the cars back to the mainland. There would be a few stores or a business or two at the town. The line would head counterclockwise around the room, there would be two logging areas, up in the upper right hand corner, and just to the left of the wye. The 4 spur tracks on the left in the middle would service a mine. The peninsula jutting out into the room would be the focal point of the roalroad. There would be an iron arch bridge reaching out the the island at the tip, and sitting on the island would be a lighthouse that the railroad services with coal for their boiler.
I know it is very dramatic with the multiple tunnels, bridges, switchbacks, grades, barge, wye, and lighthouse, that I am pulling in a lot of difficult to model features, but I have all the time in the world to get it right.
Please take a look and offer up any comment, suggestions, thoughts etc.
Thanks!
Josh
New guy here, been dabbling on and off with model railroading for a long time (almost 15 years). We recently moved back to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, and in our new house, there is a 9'X9' spare area in the basement that I can use to finally set up a permanent layout. I have been toying with different track plans and ideas, and I think I finally have something that I like.
Im a 29 year old Mechanical Engineer, and as such, being a guy that likes moving things, logging steam engines have always appealed to me. I like rugged scenery as well, particularily where it involves water as well as dramatic grades, so the plan for the line is this:
Time period: 1920's/30's
Location: Either Pacific Northwest, or New England.
Curves: 18" minimum
Turnouts: mostly #4, some #6
Theme: Costal or island logging and mining road, with some town infrastucture in one corner.
Rolling stock: A DCC shay, and Climax for sure, maybe a Heisler and 0-6-0 as well. Mostly logging and mine cars with a few box cars for in the town.
Grade: 4% max, mostly for switchbacks up the mountains
Style: Visally a point to point, but, with a dropdown that would enable a continuous run
Train length and run: Mostly 1-5 cars, max, depending on where the train is going. up the mountain switchbacks, it could be as little as a single car. I realize that that can make for some challenging if not possibly boring operations, so I have less than 1.5% grade on the loop line, enabling me to run a longer more "interesting" train continuously.
Attached is a track plan scan. The first page is the rough hand drawing with proposed scenery elevations graded in. Water is shaded dark. Second page is the track grading, showing where the height of the tracks would end up, and last page is a CAD drafting of the track plans.
http://www.2shared.com/document/1GJMiIHH/track_plan.html
On the first page, witht he elevations, the drop down is in the lower left hand corner, by the door. The grid is 1"=12", so a 1 foot square breakdown. The aisleways are 2 feet. I know that is a bit tight, but, we don't have any kids, and I will pretty much be the onyl one playing with it, so, I'm not too concerned about it. The town is in the lower right, it has a barge with a tubgoat in the harbor, meant to transport the cars back to the mainland. There would be a few stores or a business or two at the town. The line would head counterclockwise around the room, there would be two logging areas, up in the upper right hand corner, and just to the left of the wye. The 4 spur tracks on the left in the middle would service a mine. The peninsula jutting out into the room would be the focal point of the roalroad. There would be an iron arch bridge reaching out the the island at the tip, and sitting on the island would be a lighthouse that the railroad services with coal for their boiler.
I know it is very dramatic with the multiple tunnels, bridges, switchbacks, grades, barge, wye, and lighthouse, that I am pulling in a lot of difficult to model features, but I have all the time in the world to get it right.
Please take a look and offer up any comment, suggestions, thoughts etc.
Thanks!
Josh
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