First off, let me say that though I have been a Model Railroader for many years I have never had to plan a layout. I have belonged to various clubs depending on my place of residence, and I have worked on layouts, but I have never had to trackplan one.
So I am looking for some help and ideas.
The space I have available to me is 11', 11.25" x 24', 8", with no obstructions. It's half my basement, and it's the half without the door, furnace, or anything else. There is an electrical box, but if it becomes an issue I can help steer away from that.
For those of you who may use Google Sketchup, I have a 3D model of my basement with the layout area defined. It's located HERE in the Wharehouse
What I want to go for is a functional logging layout in the steam era. I want the logging area to branch to a mainline transfer where the logs are transported to a lumber mill. I am thinking of some kind of passenger service as well.
Other details are: H0 scale, and DCC. I would prefer a completely fictitious railroad, as I am planning on decaling my own loco's and rolling stock with a name that I honestly haven't thought of yet, but then again some say the best fiction is based on truth. I am also thinking about designing a website to document the progress through photos, and live webcam. I was also thinking about having some separate dedicated track somewhere in the layout that will have a train that is strictly controlled through JAVA on the website, so website users can activate and operate a train. I am still fleshing out ideas though.
Basically I am looking for some direction on where to start on track planning this large layout so I can start laying some bench work. Any feedback will be greatly appreciated.
So I am looking for some help and ideas.
The space I have available to me is 11', 11.25" x 24', 8", with no obstructions. It's half my basement, and it's the half without the door, furnace, or anything else. There is an electrical box, but if it becomes an issue I can help steer away from that.
For those of you who may use Google Sketchup, I have a 3D model of my basement with the layout area defined. It's located HERE in the Wharehouse
What I want to go for is a functional logging layout in the steam era. I want the logging area to branch to a mainline transfer where the logs are transported to a lumber mill. I am thinking of some kind of passenger service as well.
Other details are: H0 scale, and DCC. I would prefer a completely fictitious railroad, as I am planning on decaling my own loco's and rolling stock with a name that I honestly haven't thought of yet, but then again some say the best fiction is based on truth. I am also thinking about designing a website to document the progress through photos, and live webcam. I was also thinking about having some separate dedicated track somewhere in the layout that will have a train that is strictly controlled through JAVA on the website, so website users can activate and operate a train. I am still fleshing out ideas though.
Basically I am looking for some direction on where to start on track planning this large layout so I can start laying some bench work. Any feedback will be greatly appreciated.