Layout design

[firetacoma]

Ok, so I've tried what spacemouse suggested... when I put the turnouts in it says the links between the switches and the siding are out of spec... ok, or am I using the wrong switches?

 

[SpaceMouse]

I used peco medium switches because the are right on NMRA specs. I would use Atlas only as a last resort. That might be the problem.

 

[firetacoma]

Excellent information! (once again!)

My layout is forever in your debt!

 

[firetacoma]

Here is the update!

Let me know what you think!

Now, how do I go about figuring out what I need to buy based on this design?

How do I lay it out with flextrack taking into consideration the curves, that is, how do I know I'm getting the right radius when I lay the flextrack out?

I'm sure many more questions will follow!

 

[lmackattack]

to lay flex track in a circle I did this..


Use a pencil or pen and tie it to a string. now picture your curve as a full circle. find the center of that circle and put a nail to mark it. knowing your intended radius tie the string to the nail.your pencil to the nail should be the radius you want. Now just draw the curve on the layout. rechcek your marks to make shure its correct. Now if you lay cork road bed lay half on one side half on the other. just follow that pencil line and it will be perfect. to lay the track just keep it centered on the cork.
also just a suggestion if it will fit.... add a switch track to the other siding as I think you may get board with so few switches

it looks as if you will need about 8-10 pices of flex and 15-20 pices of road bed. your switches as called for.
hope this helps

 

[SpaceMouse]

Instead of a string I would sacrifice a cheap yardstick. No stretch.

As for the plan, I think you have a lot more room for action if you want it. Some people are probably tired of seeing this, but here's my 42" wide "door." One side is mountain railfanning with a abandoned mine siding. The other side is urban canyons with a full featured yard and tall industrial buildings.

 

[firetacoma]

The book I have recommends laying out all of the track and then drawing the centerlines in. Is the suggestion here to just use the yardstick/straight edge to draw the whole layout and then lay the track down to make sure it works, then glue the roadbed, then lay the track?

I DO have a lot of empty space, but there will be a creek, a sizeable mountain that hides the staging tracks in the rear, and a fairly good sized town.

This is my first layout that I'm interested in more than just watching trains go in circles. I kind of want to try my hand on a simple layout before I get more complex at some point in the future.

 

[SpaceMouse]

Fair enough. But still, you want to build a layout you can grow into.

I am assuming you have read my Beginner's Guide clickable from my signature. I have been thinking about writing a sequel about designing a 4 x 8 HO layout, but an N-scale door kinda sorta fits.

Your layout can go in circles as a necessity, but you want to start thinking of your railroad as a business that you are modeling a small portion of.

Think of it this way. If you have a board on legs in which your train goes around and you watch from above, it sort of like a ride at Disneyland--you have a toy train.

If however your train is a section of railroad from Spokane to Portland that specializes in lumber in the the 1920's then you can set up a commerce, that logically delivers and picks up cargo in a way that makes sense.

In the first case, in which you watch your trains run laps, you will probably outgrow your layout before you get to the scenery stage.

But if you think it through, maybe do a little research, you can build a model of a railroad. Things go from place to place and you deliver them. Instead of have tracks where your trains can go, you have industries to service and you build tracks to take care of those industries.

Build the logic, then create the system to take care of the logic. Your thinking should go as follows:

Pick a road name you wish to model.
Pick a location and era. This two are co-dependent and does not matter which comes first.

But these two determine your scenery and industries. And these two must be considered early. One of the biggest rookie mistake is to lay track start running then try to fit scenery and industries in after the fact. You end up with a permanent Plywood Central railroad.

Your choice of industries is limited by available models and/or your ability to scratch build.

Available models address the track in certain way and you must provide track to get to your industry models.

Your industry models need roads for shipping by truck and for the employees to get to work. All this must be worked out or you end up with a half ass toy train layout or you see your mistake and rip everything out and start over.

Here's the layout I am working on now. Notice that the roads and buildings are identified and laid out.

I sorta cheated in that I copied the railroad in the town I am living in back in 1950.

Goods come in from the left and are delivered to the various industries by a dedicated switcher. It is something I can use to run trains on while I am building a larger layout. I plan to work on it slowly and scratch build the buildings from old photos if I can find them.

************************************

Here's is my first layout, and to be honest I was extremely lucky. I built it my way as something for my kids and then converted it to a layout for me. Luckily, I had design help and listened to the people who knew and I got a decent layout in spite of my stubbornness. I accidentally could work scenery and a layout into my plan.

The HO 4 x 8 plan.

This started out as Hogwart's layout for the kids, but after a month it got to this point and the kids were bored. I converted it to an 1885 layout set in Central California between the fictional towns of Rock Ridge and Train City.

Luckily, I was able to create a scenic divide between the two towns so that the layout had the illusion of going from here to there. While you were working the mine in Rock Ridge, Train City seemed like a town in the distant valley and while working Train City, Rock Ridge was in the highland forests. I created this illusion using a tree line and change colors of the ground and even the ballast on the tracks.

Rock Ridge from Train City

Train City from Rock Ridge

I eventually added staging to give it even more of a feel of being in a railroad system. The fact is, the smaller the layout, the more you need staging.

See my article: What is Staging and Why do I Need it?


I told you all that to tell you this: Think in terms of creating two scenes. Your train then will travel through the scenses and maybe stop to work.

Anyway, this should give you a whole crap load to think about.

 

[teamanglerx]

Is this the Carolina Central Plan from 9 N-Scale Layouts? If so I have built a similar verison using Bachman EZ-Track. I am adding a yard and a additional spur as well.

 

[firetacoma]

Yeah, I actually found the plan in N Scale Model Railroading, but yeah, same plan.

Mine will be based along the foothills of Colorado (an area that I know) and assume a small modern logging town.

I'd love to see your track plan if you could post it!

 

[firetacoma]

I decided to go ahead with this track plan. It will serve my purposes for now. I can run a couple of trains and do some very light switching moves. I will have 2-3 industries centered around timber. A lumber mill, a lumber yard, and a paper mill (maybe). I plan to use smaller locomotives (gp38, gp30, not sure what else) and be a small BNSF line. The location is freelanced based on the front range of colorado with heavy influence of eastern washington (northwest of Spokane).

DRGEOLOGIST posted some cad drawings from Google Sketchup that I thought were really cool... so I followed suit and built my table. Then I imported my track plan. Now I'm going to try to figure out how to add my terrain.

BTW I will be happy to provide the cad file if anyone has an interest.
-Andrew

 

[firetacoma]

Another question:
Should I try to draw out my entire layout on the table (foam, so I can't use pencil) or start by pinning my track in place (and making all necessary cuts, flextrack) and then mark the center line?

I think I can lay the track out pretty well using my xtrackcad file as a guide. Is that the best way? Is that the easiest way?

 

[lmackattack]

i like to lay the track down using a few nails to hold it steady, then sketch the center and aera for the roadbed. this helps me keep a clear view of the track plan when under construction.

just my .02

 

[UP2CSX]

I like to actually lay out the track following my plan as best I can. You'll find there are parts that won't quite match up so don't be surprised if you have to make a few small changes. Assuming you're using 2 inch foam, stop at a craft store and pick some florist's pins. They will hold your track in position on foam while track nails won't. Use a black magic marker to make the centerline of your track once it's laid out, remembering the additional roadbed you'll need for turnouts. You can then pull up the tracks and lay your roadbed with a fair certainty that it will match up to your tracks.