N newbie


P

PartsMan

New N gauge guy
Hello all.

I am jumping into N scale trains. Had a HO figure 8 in grade school but had to give it up when I got a smaller bed room. Still being cramped for space I decided to go N this time around. I am building a 2x4" oval with a small switch yard. I favour diesels and freight cars so I think I will be OK with tight radius curves.

Oh, I do have a question. How much space would I need between tracks if I decided to do a double loop?
 
Good Luck and have fun with it and welcome. I am an HO person so I cant answer your question off the top of my head but someone will soon I am sure.
 
Thanks guys. It looks like 1 1/4" if I use shorter cars.
I might just save that for a later project.

BTW I was talking about side my side not over and under.
 
Partsman- Welcome and you are at the right place to ask questions.

You may want to go to a little larger base for your layout.
A 24" x 48" board with track centered 2" from the edge will be 20" diameter or a 10" radius, and 2" centered off the outer track would give you an awfully tight 8" radius.:confused:
If you change to a 36" x 48" base, you can use 16" and 12" radii. Six-axle diesels will run on the 16" radius curves easily and carefully on the 12" radius curves if your track work is good. If not, you will be limited to shorter 4-axle diesels. Now you have room for a couple of turnouts and sidings to service rail customers. A 3' x 4' board should still slide under a bed, out of the way.

Others may have additional thoughts for you to consider.
Mikey
 
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Do I need to be 2" from the edge?
I was playing with 11" and 9.75" radius on Atlas' free program. It fit on the board but I didn't know if trains could pass on it.
This little layout will be more about the yard than the loop(s) anyway so I will be sticking to 4 axle diesels and smaller switchers anyway.
 
You need to be at least 2" from the edge assuming you don't want your trains taking a dive off the layout every so often. :) Have you thought about the idea of a single track mainline with passing sidings. You can use the bigger curves and it makes operations more interesting.
 
I think I will stick with a single loop this time. Not much extra space on 2x4'.
Also eventualy this little layout will have sides and a lid so falling of will be tough.
 
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Partsman- If you have not already started laying track, consider using 3/4" to 1" thick blue or pink foam board on your base.
It will make attaching the track easier and you can contour your landscape by cutting ditches, creek and ponds into the foam. Stack glue the foam with caulk or carpenter's glue in pieces to add elevated hills and tunnel sections to the layout.
You can sculpture the foam with a steak knife and use a plastic spoon handle to make drainage ditches on each side of your track. You can use tan or light brown acrylic craft paint to color the foam before putting down any track cork or scenery.
Are you going to use flex track? Couplers in curved sections should be soldered to the rails.

Or you can glue the track directly to a plywood board, but that will not make you happy long-term.

It is your railroad and you can do what you want to do!

One friend of mine does excellant track work, but we accuse him of using green felt for his ground cover scenery.
Mikey
 
Well here is start. A single loop with a yard for sorting my cars(I'll be getting more soon) and a couple of sidings for engines.

Next is a pic of the sidings. I am thinking about leaving them dead. It's about as easy to reach over and give the engine a nudge as it would be to flip a switch. I am haveing the same thoughts on the turnouts. K.I.S.S.
 
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PartsMan said:
Well here is start. A single loop with a yard for sorting my cars(I'll be getting more soon) and a couple of sidings for engines.

Next is a pic of the sidings. I am thinking about leaving them dead. It's about as easy to reach over and give the engine a nudge as it would be to flip a switch. I am haveing the same thoughts on the turnouts. K.I.S.S.
Click to expand...

Great start! Think about adding (1) a passing siding, and (2) a couple of spurs for industries so the trains have something to do besides going around and around. That may be fun for a while, but it will get boring...
 
I don't plan on adding anymore track. I do need to do some more work on this track though. I'm regreting the flex track. Fighting the conetctions.
 
Here is a rough idea of what I am thinking for scenery.

My story(for those who worry about that) is, this is a small yard in a reversing loop on the end of a local point to point rail. The hill in the top right corner hiding the fact that it really just loops around. Upper left you see the yard office and a shed. lower righ is an engine shed for the resident switcher.

Nothing set in stone just my main idea.
 
You've gotten off to a good start on a small learning layout. Simple, small enough for portability, a good place to shuffle cars. You should have a lot of fun with it before you get tired of going 'round 'n 'round.

The only suggestion I will make is to consider adding a turnout on the single spur by the yard office. Relocate your engine shed there and convert the engine shed siding into an industry siding. That puts the engine shed closer to the yard and gives you a location to deliver cars on the other side of the layout.

Use your experiences in building this layout to learn how to build a layout and what you like to model and how you like to operate. When you are ready and have more room, you will build an even better layout.

Congrats on a great start.

Darrell, quiet...for now
 
dgwinup said:
The only suggestion I will make is to consider adding a turnout on the single spur by the yard office. Relocate your engine shed there and convert the engine shed siding into an industry siding. That puts the engine shed closer to the yard and gives you a location to deliver cars on the other side of the layout.
Click to expand...

That's a really good idea. As soon as my buildings come in, I will see how that all fits. I had noticed that the engine shed was too far from the rest of the yard.
 
nof

Wow, i must've been way off in my figuring, 4% is way out, thanks for correcting me on that one. Live and have fun learning. Math isn't my forte. haha:D
 
partsman

I happen to love flextrack, there are far fewer joints to cause electrical problems. I solder every joint after using the railjoiner, then curve it around the bend, then using rail nippers, even the track ends up, and go on to the next piece doing the same. Just do whatever works for you, and have fun.
Personally I would power the sidings and use an on/orr switch for one rail. I know it's more work, but I think it's more fun to operate......personally that is. I use a lot of peco turnouts that isolate a siding when not in use, and you don't need an on/off switch for that. Just a thought from the mud puddle. Enjoy, and keep us posted on your layout, always fun to watch someone's layout progress.
 
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