Can anyone suggest a good source for layout plans? I recently moved to Cali and have a 10 X 10 room at my disposal, with the only limiting factor being that the middle of the room has to remain open to accommodate a bed that folds out from the closet. This limits me to a shelf 2 X 10 across one wall with 1X 8 extensions coming from the ends of it in a U shape. It will most likely have to be a point-to-point unless I make removable modules at the end of the extensions to allow continuous running.
Hi Johnh, My self I have gone to the Atlas web site as well as Kato web site, both of them had track plans that I have looked at. There are others, but right now I do not have that list at my finger tips, but I'm sure others can give you sites to look at. Steve
John This may be a good source. I believe many of the layouts are room sized. http://www.nscalesupply.com/KAL/KAL-12424.html What theme and era are you looking at?
Tony, I am modeling early merger BN (70-74). I am not too worried certain places or authenticity, just the general flavor of the northwest. I have decided to reduce the bulk of my motive power and will probably focus on the NP, GN, & SP&S roads, with some CB&Q and BN power making appearances, along with some run-throughs. I am particularly fond of Alcos, so most of the lokies will be SP&S. I have even drug the C415 castings out to see if I can get inspired to finish one.
johnh, To me, after building lots of layouts over the years in 5 scales, but most of the major work is in N, I have come to several conclusions. I feel like I fought the battle of the Alamo, like I have been through everything, it seems. What it boils down to is you.....and only you. When I am planning a new layout, I get at least a billion (kidding) suggestions and lots of advice from virtually every model railroader, read every layout planning book, looked at lots of articles, and saw lots of layouts in person or by film. I think I have experienced every failure and problem in the book, but enjoyed every minute along the way, and finally I have a layout that may not be spectacular as my last one, but it is truly a reflection of me, and my loves of trains and model railroading. I looked into myself and made some decisions, and remembered every design problem I every had, and even took a questionable attitude to basically design what I wanted to see, and wanted to run, and not what everyone else had on their agendas. For example, I am not as physically adept as I used to be, and cringe at the thought of getting up to push, recouple, re-rail, trains, even though the trackwork was OK, so I installed kato UniTrak and weathered and realisticked it up. I like to watch trains, so I installed a dual mainline, and I don't like to leave too many out, so no major storage or classification yards, nor is there a roundhouse. I had installed many spurs and side tracks, plus passing sidings, as I like to run lots of trains, and like to watch more than operate sometimes. Plus for me, I wanted every switch to be manually operated, and be within reaching distance, and finally set my height at about 52" so I can operate and watch a train while sitting on my tilt and swivel. Last but not least, my scenery and additives are going to be "the show" so I have some real subtle things planned to disguise bends, make peek-a-boo runs in the "back" and have lots of freight and passenger stations, while my industries are basically simple, and have both a steam and diesel service facility. It is coming along fine, and while some have a hard time understanding my approach, they all seem to have fun running trains, as I have three operating blocks, the outside, the inside, and the spurs, each powered by its own dedicated power pack. It is so simple, when I see spaghetti under a layout, I cringe now. You have to build what makes YOU happy, now only you can figure it out. No matter what size you end up with, if the workmanship and scenery are done fine, and all of the technical stuff works, you can impress your peers with your end product. Ken "FloridaBoy" Willaman
I am looking to model industries that are interrelated to each other. Perhaps a feedlot at one point, and a meat packing plant at another. Grain silos to supply a large bakery. Probably a coal mine to supply a power plant. I have been trying to decide between a flood loader and a typical shaft type tipple. I plan on eventually going DCC, but it will be DCC to start. Since I have never had such a limited space, I am trying to get a fair amount of action without have it look too busy.
When it comes to planning I always look to see if there is some unusual feature of the room I’m trying to fill, such as a small closet, and then I look for some interesting way of utilizing it. From that point on the remainder of the layout often falls into place. I too have industries that supply one another but on a layout that is 10’x10’ I’d forgo the mine and power station as they would eat up a lot of space. The room I’m using is only slightly larger than yours and as such I’d strongly recommend avoiding any grades on the mainline. The problems they will introduce are many, especially if switching is your goal. If you want a grade then use them on a branch line.
One of the most dogeared books in my collection is Kalmbach's 101 Track Plans for Model Railroads. I haven't built any actual layouts as per it's plans, but its given me lots of ideas even though it was first printed in the late 50's. I believe they are bringing out an updated version with more modern plans called 102 Track Plans.
