Comments On My 4x6 Layout Plan-N Scale noob!

[Sammy V]

Hey guys, first post here and I'm anxious to learn more about this somewhat confusing hobby! I'd also like to share my first layout that I've started building.

It actually fits on 4x5, even though I have 4x6 benchwork built, but eventually I'd like to add on to both sides where the 4 "dead end" spurs branch off (two on either side). Attached is the plan I made with the Right Track Software, and I apologize that it's not very detailed yet (it is in my head!)

Basically the bump out on the north side will be the start of a small mountain town, in the bulge between tracks with a spur where a depot will sit. Trains will run counter-clockwise, and where the tracks rejoin at the curved turnout in the lower left will be a steep hillside and the end of a tunnel, with the outside curve running through the tunnel, the inside curve on a trestle along the hill. The spur on the lower left will run into a mountain-side mine, and there will be some small industries in the lower right (probably a Brewery with a "Rocky Mountain Hops" Farm nearby). Most of the center area will be carved down for a deep river and canyon that will cut through, with small cabins along the cliffs. The spur at the lower right that criss-crosses the main oval will be brought lower with the main oval brought higher so that hopefully I can pass it under a tunnel with no more than 1.5% grade or so. Train era is 1940s, but with an active mine that might use a steam locomotive at some point, and still be believable for a late 1800s town.

Anyway.. that's it in a nutshell. It's loosely based off a small mountain town near Silverthorne, Colorado, where my family has a cabin. I've been building models since I was kid, and building architectural models is what got me through a couple degrees in architecture, so the end result of this layout will be more of a mountain town model that just happens to have a train running through it. The model building piece is old hat for me, but the trains are a whole new world and I've fallen head over heels in love!

Comments welcome, it's not too late to change things.. but hopefully I haven't overlooked any major problems. Oh, track will be Atlas Code 55, and Atlas under-table switch mechanisms, hopefully carved into the foam just below grade.

 

[DoubleDAZ]

I'm new at this so you are free to ignore my comments.

You say you are going to run trains counter-clockwise. Doesn't that mean you willl be heading into your spurs? How are you going to pick up/drop off cars? Isn't it more natural to back into spurs? I only ask because maybe I'll learn something.

 

[Sammy V]

I'm new at this so you are free to ignore my comments.

You say you are going to run trains counter-clockwise. Doesn't that mean you willl be heading into your spurs? How are you going to pick up/drop off cars? Isn't it more natural to back into spurs? I only ask because maybe I'll learn something.

You know, I hadn't really thought about picking up/dropping off cars. I guess the way I justified pulling head-first into a spur (and backing out) was that a train would be coming into town every few days, dropping residents off at the spur, backing out, and maybe heading to the industrial area to pick up Hops or whatever. My train is a 40s Diesel pulling a combination of passenger cars and old beer cars, so I guess I assumed it would be a combo of passenger and freight. For the mine spur, I envisioned a steam locomotive backing into the mine, then pulling out and heading to the industrial area, or taking the spur "out of town" and returning on the line at the top right (if/when I extend beyond the initial 4x6).

But now you've got me thinking.. so.. thanks! I'll take a look at running them clockwise, maybe that makes more sense.

 

[Sammy V]

Hmm, clockwise seems to work just as well, with the exception of the two dead ends at the upper left and lower right, which would have to be "backed out" in order to leave town. But those will likely be dead ends for a long time, and maybe I can re-arrange some pieces or just leave them off.

Shows you how new I am at this as well.. I assumed trains backed into spurs to drop off people, but now that seems kinda silly.

It also points out the fact that I didn't look at many layouts before I started planning this one. I wanted to see what I could come up with without being influenced by other plans. Not sure that was the best way to get started, but it'll keep things interesting I guess.

 

[DoubleDAZ]

The idea of pulling in head-first will certainly work for loading/unloading passengers, I hadn't considered that.

One other thing to consider is how you intend to work with the 4 spurs heading to other parts of the (eventual) complete layout. Counter-clockwise lets you go upper-left and lower-right. Clockwise uses the other 2 spurs.

Like I said, I'm pretty new at this, so I'm not sure what the rules are for entering spurs like these. Also, now that you have a layout to work with, it might be a good idea to look through other plans to see what can be done in the same space. Most designers of just about anything borrow ideas from others, they don't reinvent all the wheels, as it were.

 

[steinjr]

Hmm, clockwise seems to work just as well, with the exception of the two dead ends at the upper left and lower right, which would have to be "backed out" in order to leave town. But those will likely be dead ends for a long time, and maybe I can re-arrange some pieces or just leave them off.

Shows you how new I am at this as well.. I assumed trains backed into spurs to drop off people, but now that seems kinda silly.

At end of line terminals, passenger trains would do both - some places and some times they headed into the track engine first, trapping the engine while passengers disembarked.

Other places the train would back into the station, passenger cars first, with the conductor standing in the last car ready to signal to the engineer if/when he needed to stop.

If engines were trapped at the end of the track, you could do a number of things to free it again.

You could back the entire (empty) train out of the station and turn it on a wye somewhere.

You could have a second engine (a switcher) that grabs the passenger cars and pulls them away from the trapped engine, setting the cars on a second spur, allowing the formerly trapped engine to escape.

You could cut of the engine, switch it into a parallel track, back it up past it's passenger cars, then switch back onto the same track as the passenger cars, and then have the engine couple onto what used to be the rear end of the passenger train, ready to depart with the engine at the other end of the train (possibly with the engine running backwards, pulling the passenger cars behind it).

For freight switching, trapping the engine in a single ended spur is generally a bad idea. In order to pick up outbound freight cars and drop of inbound cars, your engine needs to be on the outside of the cars at the spur

But even there you can do it at a station - if you have a second engine that can pick the cars off the rear of the just arrived train.

Main difference between passenger and freight is that passengers are self ambulatory and impatient - they want to get off their train fast when they get to their destination.

Also - what track plan would make sense depends on why you want to run trains - if they are just a moving (possibly automated) element in an otherwise static display, you will likely not be doing a lot of switching - picking up cars, dropping off cars, throwing switches and so on and so forth.

So the first order of business is generally to decide what you want your trains to be able to do.

Smile,
Stein

 

[Sammy V]

Wow, great info. I wish there was a train yard somewhere nearby I could go observe for a while. There probably is, I just need to dig a little bit. I do want to ride the Georgetown Loop someday, and there's also the Durango-Silverton loop that goes through some absolutely gorgeous scenery.

As for the layout, I think I'll stick with what I have, since my focus from the beginning was to create a model town, replicating a real town, and having a train run through it is just an added bonus. I do want to keep a sense of realism with the tracks though, and I'm still struggling with how to "justify" the fact that I have a line that runs through a tunnel, with another line 20 scale feet away on the side of the mountain. But I'm finding that the beauty of this hobby is that you can create any story you want to explain away almost anything you do that might seem quirky or off in some way.

I'll still be wiring up all the switches, and eventually add a second engine to move things around. But the priority for me is scratch building some replicas of actual structures that exist in this town (our cabin, for example), pretty intense forest landscaping, and I want to light the heck out of it, so I can use street and building lights to add a little bit motion to an otherwise static display.

 

[Sammy V]

Yikes. I went a little nuts with AutoCAD today.

Here's what's in my head, we'll see how it shapes up in real life.