planning first layout

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blue02celi

blue02celi

New Member
so been looking thru the forums, still mostly lost lol but figured I have to start somewhere. measured the area where Im planning on setting up, its about 100"x32". planning on using N scale tho im not opposed to using HO. figured I'd get more options and be able to put more down if I used the smaller scale.


going to a local shop tomorrow (caboose hobbies). they are pretty close, have seen them mentioned on the site and seems like they carry tons of stuff. will pick up track planning for realistic operations book while there, after drooling over all the goodies. have alot to learn after looking thru everyones works in progress posted in this section of the forums. will start playing around with a layout program so I can at least get an idea of what will fit in that space.

will also have to work on a table. at first I was figuring using a hollow core door, but figured I might as well use up the entire side of that wall. the fiance got the bright idea of setting up a town and a graveyard like the beetlejuice model, had me looking all over the web for it. she'll get a graveyard if that makes my planning more of a reality than a fantasy, but I wont promise anything else in my scenery lol
 
Hi Blue and welcome to the forum, glad to have you.
You have taken the first step by figuring the basic size as that is esential.

Unless you can take up more space on either end to have at least a 4'x4' section for both, if you want to have continuous running in HO you had better stick with N scale unless what your considering is more of a switching layout than HO will work fine.

As far as the depth, most modelers stick to 30" as anything more gets to be a real problem to reach over. I'm building an HO std guage around the wall layout in half of my garage in a folded dog bone style like I mentioned above and even at 30" 's deep I had to bye a step/stool with a handle on top, at Wal-M, so I can half way comfortablely reach over to wsork on the upper line which is more toward the rear.

I wouldn't be too quick to purchase much of anything till you deside on which scale you want go with and even then you neeed to determine what radius of curves your going to use to ensure the equipment will operate on it properly? A little patients here will pay off in the long run.

You can down AnyRail track software for free and it's free to use for as long as you want but it is missing a couple of components but let me save what I layouted and will also alow you to print. I just down loaded it so I'm not famiar with it's restrictions but it is supposed to be easy to use and totally free! http://www.anyrail.com/download_en.html

That may help you to come up with a track plan so you can pist it and we can help you to revise it if needed.

Good to have you and don't rush into anything to quick,ok.
 
yeah i was just messing around with it as well, got the link from a post I was reading by another member... um... tank something

forgot about the reach, and since its a pretty small area wont be making access holes, or whatever they're called, Ill shrink it down to 30". Ill be sticking with the N gauge then. only reason I was thinking of HO is because it just seemed to be more common, as far as when looking locally like on craigslist or other places so figured it might be a little cheaper.
 


High Blue,
Well the thing you should also consider is that the larger size of HO will allow you to see more detail but I sure your eyes are much better/younger than mine. Even if you do go with HO you can still come up with a pretty nice layout for that area and you can even make it a double decker too if you wanted to. Also if you can be afforded the room even temporarly, you might be able to make an extentionb on one end or maybe both that are modular and can be detached and stored under the main layout.

Also if your not planning on having large Loco using a small code rail like no bigger than 83 and prefferably code 70 will give you a lot more realism to the layout.

Caboose is probably the largest hobby shop and they should have Micro Engeering rail and flex track in both code 70 & 55 for Ho and code 55 &m 40 for N guage probably a bit more expensive than Atlas but the enjoyment far outweighs the cost factor and you can also get their rail weathered too. Take a look at some of my shots and you'll see their rail except I hand lay, using spikes, my own rail on wood ties.

Are you thinking about having steam or deisel loco's? Some of the small steam Loco's in HO can sure be enjoyable to watch the drive rods moving to enhance the operation aspect.

Take care.
 
sooo much to learn lol, different scale gauges, different track sizes, different ways to lay them down....

never thought of having an extension that would be moveable to go under the main. the size of it now brings it wall to wall (the room is longer than 100" but the washer/dryer are also along that wall). a smaller table that I could move would add more room, the other wall has the back door but if I'd be able to move it out and under the main table that might be feasable, just didnt know how to do it.

as far as loco's im still in the air. im more of a visual person, which is why I wanted to take the trip to caboose, figured it might be easier if I saw them in person, maybe something might pop out for me. and them being one of the largest stores is definitely a plus.
 
You can do a decent HO shelf switcher in the space you have, maybe have some removable or swing up staging for a fiddle yard. But it'll be tough to have continuous running as Truss said. Could you put a narrow shelf OVER the W/D? Just a thought.

Caboose Hobbies is a great place, although last time I was there they were a little light on eastern RRs (which would make sense...)
 
haaaa, I was at caboose two times already this week! Awesome place.

Blue, you must live in Denver? I'm in Broomfield. Anyways, good luck with your new layout. I started mine about a month ago...
 
the w/d are stacked so not able to put anything over it. so the size listed is the remaining space along that wall. bringing the table wider would put me out in the way of the back door, but wouldnt matter since it would be too far for me to reach anyway, so was thinking, if I found or made a layout that I just loved then I could try what truss said and have a moveable part to get infront of the door. we dont use it much, no one goes out back, but I know I wouldnt want to block it permanently. so that would give me an L type shape
 
so went to caboose, just took my time walking thru the entire store. started in the back, for those who have been there, so I didnt see the N gauge stuff until the end and realized 2 things.. 1- wow those things are tiny, and 2- I better find a company/paint i like cause theres NO way im painting those things lol.

thought going to the shop would help make some decisions on stem or diesel, company, era type, but it just confused me more. they didnt have foam but they had styrofoam type stuff. they had a sign up saying they couldnt sell the pink/blue stuff anymore. not sure why...

also, i saw train sets there at the shop, im assuming those arent just 'toys' and would be ok if I decided on getting one to start out with? most likely wont because I cant pick and choose what it comes with, but just asking. they were made by atlas
 
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after messing with RTS for hours this is what I have... im sure there will be a few versions before Im finally done but for now not sure what else I can improve on.

Layout02.jpg


grey area on the left will be elevated, along with the track climbing on top.
now that I think about it, will kinda suck since I wont be able to turn the train so i'll be going (facing) the same direction when its going up and down.
more I look at it the more Im realizing i just may have to add extra room, even if its just for up top in the grey area, for the engine to at least turn around up top. also maybe getting some switches up there so that those 3 sidings arent isolated like that

white track planned for a passenger train, with the yellow going into the mountainside or whatever I plan on making that.

this is my first time, so Im sure i've made mistakes. the long stretches I just used the flex track so i wouldnt have to add bunch of small pieces. I saw them when I went to visit the shop, can you cut those up to fit whatever size you want?
 
blue02celi said:
...will pick up track planning for realistic operations book while there, after drooling over all the goodies....
Click to expand...

Hi yall, Blue! Welcome

In your first post, you indicated that you were going to get John Armstrong's book.

Did you get it yet? If not, get it before doing anything else trackplan wise. Read the book through before trying to settle on one. Not only will you be wiser in the long run, it will allow you to develop a plan that will satisfy you now, and for years to come.

As to trackplanning programs, may I recommend XtrackCad. As you saw here in this thread: http://www.modelrailroadforums.com/forum/showthread.php?t=16419

It allows you much more versatility than RTS or AnyRail's free version. As stated in the other thread, its free as well for the full version and now is open source meaning improvements are made to it often. It also has a large support group on Yahoo.
 
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I can't agree with CJ more. You really need to read and absorb the information in John Armstrong's book. I can tell you'll be a fast learner because you already recognized some of the shortcomings in your current track plan. :) One thing almost all new modelers is plan grades without calculating how steep they will be. Your goal should be to keep your grade below 2% if possible. The basic formula for calculating grades is Gradient(%) = Rise / Run. For example, if you want to rise 4" and you have 100" of track to make the grade, you's have a 4% grade. That's steep for a mainline run, and you'd want to either reduce the rise or increase the run. Keep this in mind as you plan out your layout.
 
havent gotten the book yet, spent soo much time looking at engines and track that I totally forgot about it. will make another trip out and make sure I grab it first thing... kinda hard cause they have then N scale engines and stuff right next to the door lol

halleleuja for tax season! lol got my w-2 yesterday and did it online :D
not like im in any rush because I dont think I'll be doing anything besides scenery for the next 2 months, since Im still working on the layout and i've never done anything like this before. which reminds me, have to look up how to make a table. was gonna do the hollow core door thing but since I went a little bigger...

another thing I've learned. if I keep the misses involved, it makes things a lot easier lol. letting her pick stuff out, involving her in some of the planning and such makes it more of an us thing instead of a ME thing and therefore its not what I'M spending money on even tho I work and at the moment she doesnt lol. what makes it even worse is the past week shes gotten 3 playstation 2 games and a few instruments for rock band/guitar hero and I still hear about how much money im PLANNING on spending :confused:
 
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