Latest Layout Plan


D

Dougget

Member
Here's what I'm thinking so far. Track is not to scale, going for concept before I put it in xtrkcad. Going for a mountain/tunnel on the left, river on the right, and a basic double oval with double crossover. With the double crossover set to cross over, a single train will run on both ovals (maximized running distance). I also plan to insulate the outer oval from the inner at the crossover. For now, the DC Bus will be from a single powerpack, but I plan to split it and use a second powerpack to run the ovals independently in the future.

I'm going to try to make a couple of bridges. I have a couple of ideas sketched out.

Still deciding on remote or manual turnouts, leaning toward remote.
What do you think? Any suggestions?
Thanks,
Doug

Layoutv3.png
 
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Hi Doug,
Your getting a start alright and that's good but be aware that what looks possible on paper often won't work when you start laying track especially if your planning to run HO! Now with the plan you show N guage might work just fine.

Having built various layouts over the years it always seems to work out that what looks plausiable on paper won't always function once you get to laying track. For example the siding you have comming of the inner loupe seem a bit too steep to accomplish what your planning but possibly it will work.

The basic crux of planning a layout is knowing what radius curves the loco's your planning of running will handle as that is your limiting factor as well as the length of the cars you expect to pull with relation to the radius as your going to have some really tight curves on the inner loupe which might be OK for some small steam Loco's or possibly some of the earlier Deisels.

HTH
Btw; what program did you draw your plan with?
 
Trussrod,
I used visio for the layout. Unfortunately, the only "track" shapes available are straight and 90* curves. No scale choices either. My basic plan is a double oval with a double crossover. I can railfan it by setting the crossover and letting the train run on both ovals, or uncross it and run two trains.

Beyond the basics, I'd like to have a stock yard area and a passing siding. I agree, paper is one thing, actual track is another. I'll probably attack this in stages. First put together the double oval with the crossover. Then decide where the staging tracks and siding will fit.

Wiring is the fun part for me. I want to be able to insulate and switch power to sections of the track so I can store locos on the rail, but shut down. I also plan to gang switch the double crossover (4 turnouts operated by one switch). My plan is to have it all set up and wired on plywood before I start working with foam and roadbed.

I'm going track shopping on Saturday :)
Thanks for the feedback.
Doug
 
Just finished my double crossover. Here are a couple of pics...
DoubleX1.png


DoubleX2.png


I'm having a problem with one of the turnouts. engines only want to go straight... or the front half goes straight and the rear half turns... Not good. It's an old turnout and may be slightly damaged.

Once I get all of the track figured out, I plan to put a 2" think piece of Dow foam under it. I'll outline the track and then cut and fit some track-bed. Finally, solder all joints and add some extra power feeds.

What do you think?
Doug
 
Those are some old turnouts. It might be worth the money spent on a few new ones to save the trouble of derails in the future.
 
I had the same problem. I dont know the technical term but where the moving part met with the non moving part (in the center of track) there was some extra metal sticking out that grabbed the wheels. I filied it down and now they work fine.
 
I have been playing with XTrkCad and I think I have a version that will work for my space. Basically three ovals with some sidings and crossovers to get from one oval to the next. The inner oval will probably be all flex track and due to the tight curves, limited to small engines, 0-4-0 or switcher diesels.

Layout5x8v6.png


Well, what do you think?

Doug
 
It looks really simple and quite boring. There's no industries to switch, no loco servicing facility, no yard, and no sufficient passing siding...it's just a racetrack, that you'll soon get bored with. No offense, just suggesting that you understand that modeling railroads is modeling a working TRANSPORTATION company taking something like a boxcar full of paper from that paper mill to the newsprinting facility, or coal to a powerplant, or chemicals or corn syrup from chemical plant to factory, etc.

Check out "Track Planning for Realistic Operation" by John Armstrong, you won't regret it and you'll learn alot. It'll also save you money and make the hobby alot more enjoyable for you and whoever you share this hobby with for years to come.
 
Hi,

Here's a couple links for you. First read my Beginner's Guide to Layout Design, clickable from my signature. Recently I held a 4 x 8 design contest. They range from simple to complex.

4 x 8 Design Contest
 
Just remember in the end you have to live with it and it is your's to run and enjoy ! So think twice and lay track once !
 
Thank you. Input has been very well received. I've added some detail to the drawing to show my ideas for scenery and industry. Makes it much more exciting than a race track on the plywood prairie. My purpose for this 5x8 layout is not necessarily operations. I do have a plan to use one spur for a mine and one for an industrial area.

Layout5x8v6d.png


The grand plan calls for another, probably smaller layout, with a point-to-point section connecting them. So this is not the final product. I just don't have the time to do it all in one shot.

I have left the door open, on the sides with no mountains, to allow for turnouts that would get me off of this layout.

Thanks,
Doug
 
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Other than the fact that you ether have to back into or out of the center circle, the main thing I would ask is what does the railroad do?

If you design the model railroad like a railroad, you can operate it like a railroad and it will grow as you grow.

If you design it like a toy, it will always be a toy.

A train comes from somewhere and goes somewhere and has a purpose. Where does your train come from and where does it go to? Why?

Here's a layout I designed for your size a while back.

layout02.jpg


Actually that was only 4' 4"--I added staging to get to 5' feet.

staging01.jpg


The top (Rock Ridge) and the bottom (Train City) represented different destinations. Goods and services could go from staging to Train city to be sorted then off to staging (the rest of the world) or on to Rock Ridge.

See: "What is Staging and why do I need it?"

Rock Ridge and Train City are separated by visual elements giving them a real look of being different places even though they butt into each other.

RIP01.jpg

RIP03.jpg


So like I said, before take some time and expand on what you can do with your space. You don't need to settle for a layout that you will out-grow before you get to the scenery.
 
Is there some reason you HAVE to use that double slip switch at the bottom? Real railroads avoided these things on the mainline because they were a never ending source of trouble. Even in yards, they avoided them where possible but at least the were operating at low speeds.

You can accomplish the same thing by using four #6 switches, one on each track, offset from each other. You'll have more reliable operation, can go from one loop to the other at higher speeds, and it will look a lot better. I'd urge you to rethink the reason for that double slip.
 
Double slip... That's for the railfan in me. I wanted to be able to set all 4 switches to crossover so a single train would run two connected ovals. Now that I have the Atlas crossover working (flangeways were not deep enough) the double crossover seeme to be working fine.

Nothing is glued down yet, so all options are open.

Thanks,
Doug
 
Dougget said:
Thank you. Input has been very well received. I've added some detail to the drawing to show my ideas for scenery and industry. Makes it much more exciting than a race track on the plywood prairie. My purpose for this 5x8 layout is not necessarily operations. I do have a plan to use one spur for a mine and one for an industrial area.

Layout5x8v6d.png


The grand plan calls for another, probably smaller layout, with a point-to-point section connecting them. So this is not the final product. I just don't have the time to do it all in one shot.

I have left the door open, on the sides with no mountains, to allow for turnouts that would get me off of this layout.

Thanks,
Doug
Click to expand...

What do you plan on running in that inner-most oval? From the looks of it the radius is about 12 or 14". That's pretty tight in HO.....

-G-
 
MilesWestern said:
It looks really simple and quite boring. There's no industries to switch, no loco servicing facility, no yard, and no sufficient passing siding...it's just a racetrack, that you'll soon get bored with. No offense, just suggesting that you understand that modeling railroads is modeling a working TRANSPORTATION company taking something like a boxcar full of paper from that paper mill to the newsprinting facility, or coal to a powerplant, or chemicals or corn syrup from chemical plant to factory, etc.

Check out "Track Planning for Realistic Operation" by John Armstrong, you won't regret it and you'll learn alot. It'll also save you money and make the hobby alot more enjoyable for you and whoever you share this hobby with for years to come.
Click to expand...

After looking back over the thread I have to agree with what Miles said. It's just a loop-within-a-loop-within-a-loop. Dullsville. Please don't take offense at this but that's my opinion. You could do a lot more with a 5x9 surface area.

Now, if you're only purpose is railfanning then I guess it's OK, but I think you're going to get bored with it very quickly once you get the track layed and start running trains.

I know there's a tendency to get "locked-in" to a certain paradigm when you plan for a rectilinear layout surface. But look at the room your layout is going to occupy. Does it have to be a rectangle that sits in the middle of the room? Can you move it to the circumference of the room? For a 5x9 layout you're going to need at least a 9x11 room to keep it in (assuming minimum of 2 foot aisle space on three sides with one of the short sides up against a wall). You could do much more with that 9x11 space and still have a railfan type layout (if that's what you are going for)

Give us a bit more on the specifics of what you're after, your grand vision, so-to-speak....

-G-
 
Well, here's an example of the type of expansion I'm thinking about. These images are from ThorTrains.

Basic loop in a loop layout...
nsmall1.gif


Expanded with another big loop plus some industry/staging area...
nsmall2.gif


At this point, I'm enjoying the build and don't really plan to operate. I know, for some, that is the goal. I may get there, and use phase II of my build to support staging and operations.

Not sure of the raidus of the inner loop. I think I used 15" track on XTrkCad. I will use flex track and make the raidus as wide as I can. I plan to run a 4 wheel switcher and probably my 2-6-0 smoker on that loop.

Thanks again,
Doug
 
You don't need a layout made for operations to have a layout that will grow with you.

To me, however, it makes sense to create a vision of what you want to see in a layout and develop it.

If you have a loop layout and run slowly at 8 laps per minute and run for an hour a day within a year you will have completed 130,000 laps. Even with 3 loops, the potential for boredom is pretty high. It is faulty reasoning to think that if one loop is boring that three are less boring.

And the center loop has only one access. Once in, you have to back out.

Now since the average layout costs between $50 & $100 per square foot and takes 50 hr/sq ft to build, how much time and money do you think is appropriate to spend before you research a little and figure this stuff out?
 
I'm with SpaceMouse. This looks life a very expensive way to be bored to death.

Hold off 30 days before you start building and do some research. Or, just build a loop on your kitchen floor, add power and an engine, and see how long that holds your interest.
 
Alright... you guys are wearing me down. Can someone point me to an example of a good 5x8 layout?

I absolutely do want some type of continuous loop and I would like to keep my double crossover because I think it's cool.

So, take those two elements and show me what I'm missing.

Thanks,
Doug
 
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