Might someone suggest some track plan ideas ?


M

MarkInLA

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Taking this benchtop footprint: 90 deg., L shape, shelf, uncommonly tapered, both wings 2' x 8', both 2' wide at center, both tapering to 6" at ends, with a 6"x 15" rectangular extension on either end..Fictitious point to point, HO, switching layout, transition, w/interchange and pos. wye, w/middle leg directly into 2'x2' corner. Can be a switchback with a grade down from main line, 6-8" above,..but doesn't have to be..NCE power. Can be quite simple if has enough RRing activity to keep me on me toes..1 RS3, 2 small steam. Thanks, Mark
 
% grade is figured by dividing rise by the length of the rise e.g. 6"/144" = 4.01% grade. But that length is not going to give much train length. You may want to "switchback" up 6". Or make some kind of elevator between levels. It could be as simple as putting a train on a staging tray then lift/lower between levels. Staging trays can be used for storing more cars than the layout can possibly hold. And if you're like most of us you WILL add many new cars!
 
Can you do a drawing on a piece of paper Mark, take a photo of it and post it here. Will give us a much better idea of what you're planning.
 
That is a really uncommon shape. The taper is going to cause the most grief. I would start with the wye and work out from there as that will be the most significant limiting factor. Use 3 wye turnouts.

Atlas has an L shaped switching layout (#19) that could be used as a starting point. I liked it so much I've built this one, but modified it to be just off of a double track mainline. I also increased the wye to 22" radius, but if you stick with 18" radius it won't need the corner fill.
horizontal%20W%20skirts%20small.JPG
 
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Why do you heed a wye? If just switching, it doesn't matter which way a diesel or steam switch engine is pointed. But if you must have one make it one loco & car long.
 
>;;,;;;;;;; Fellow members, Andy, and the rest. I'm not saying I will use one of the preordained schemes yet. I just said I like a few. Guys, I know most all the facets and foibles of the hobby and the 1:1 scale, beginning 1956-ish.. I'm a seasoned MRRer..My OP's aim is merely to have someone, if you like, post your drawing of what you feel might work well with this, my odd footprint, with or without my original vision..Datz it !
I say this so as to make it clearer what I'm about and what I'm concerned over at this junction [pun intended]. At the same time I'm relatively new to MRF, so it's understandable why replies can sometimes go in a whole other direction than they need to..I do thank everyone for my undeserved attention (or, is it phrased as 'your undeserved attention' ?) then, now, and later M ;;;;;,;;,;;<
PS. Today, Aug 15, I thinned out a lot of this post as it was stuffed with unnecessary verbiage and sounded condescending ..
 
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Well Mark ;), Both me and Sherrell were not clear about your description of the space or more accurately, the area you had for the actual layout, you know the saying, a picture is worth a thousand words? Track plan suggestions would (or might) come after that.
 
Don't read more into a post than is there. L shape, 2x2 corner, 2 x 8 tapering to .5 x 8, 6" x 16" extensions.

shelf.JPG

Just free handed this together in a meeting the other day. You can tell I like crossings in industrial areas.
Interchange is to the far right.
I would be careful not to make the two wings look symmetrical in any way.
I don't like that the right wing doesn't have a run around - but on the other hand using the wye for a run around is operationally "fun".
I don't like all the turnouts on the right side that are against the back - but it is only 2 feet.
If one was really ambitious, custom crossings could be made to go across two legs of the wye. That would add a unique item and make some really different angles (more perpendicular to the edges) on at least 1 spur track or two. Personally right now I'm not up to custom building a crossing on an 18" radius curve.
 
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IRON H, This is what I'm talkin' about..Thanks. Yeah, the crossings would be nifty. But I doubt I'd ever attempt to make them. It would be great if one of the commercial track makers would begin offering various curved diamonds (I know, the tooling-up costs)... Now that I'm looking straight down on the bench I see I could probably add a small triangular piece in front between the 2 wings for a little more real estate. CAJON, yes, the wye could be eliminated as you point out. But I'm seeing the middle leg into corner not necessarily a tail, but a track to/from outer world and so hidden via a highway bridge over it, or maybe a higher altitude main line with a switchback from it, down to the main arena ... M
 
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Iron Horseman said:
L shape, 2x2 corner, 2 x 8 tapering to .5 x 8, 6" x 16" extensions.
Click to expand...
It's the mixing of metaphores I.H. One of the necessities of plan drawing or expressing the dimesions of an area is to use one standard of measurement. Did you know for instance that, in the metric system of engineering drawings, the millimeter is the standard, no matter how small or large the object is, whether it be a pin head or a supertanker. Prevents misreadings.
 
whipped up something on SCARM. Atlas #4 turnouts, 3 wye turnouts, and 2 25 degree crossings. the rest is flex track with an 18" minimum radiius
 

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tootnkumin said:
It's the mixing of metaphores I.H. One of the necessities of plan drawing or expressing the dimesions of an area is to use one standard of measurement. Did you know for instance that, in the metric system of engineering drawings, the millimeter is the standard, no matter how small or large the object is, whether it be a pin head or a supertanker. Prevents misreadings.
Click to expand...
Well yeah, in fact I drew that diagram in units of "ink pen widths" because that is all I had in the meeting I was sitting in.
 
Iron Horseman said:
Well yeah, in fact I drew that diagram in units of "ink pen widths" because that is all I had in the meeting I was sitting in.
Click to expand...
I've done that, too. We're just using that particular measuring scale; a ruler with no numbers. KEVIN, I like your plan very much..
Thanks to all, M
 
I'm lost -- Who is Kevin? If he is the one that did that plan on SCRAM -- I like that very much!
I thought that your drawing was what you were describing. Looks good.
 
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