Todd, Great suggestions. They make a lot of sense. Now, instead of eliminating the straight track, what if I put a left hand switch in there and put another siding for another industry? This would work schematically as I would set the two industry sidings on the bottom left as parallel with the left most siding. The crossover with the interchange makes sense to reverse their direction. Also, I noticed some comments about this should not be against the wall. Why can't this be against the wall? A 32" reach is not that bad, is it? I will be mounting it around 36"-40" high against the wall.
Reach all depends on you. I have a 36" max reach at about 32" height, works easy for me since I'm tall. If you can reach 32" comfortably at your layout height, then it shouldn't be an issue. The "general" rule is anything over 24" is considered a long reach.
Wow, I forgot I even posted this! Almost two years ago! Looks like I already have a plan and a door, just need the track and the buildings. Actually, I have this plan and the software on our old computer not our new one. After two years of not seeing it, I am intrigued by it even more. Now to make those changes suggested by Todd and get things going. Actually, the layout will have the possibility to be longer. I have a 12' long wall to put this on... Still going to have the furniture factory. Going to add a general store that is serviced by a siding and I am looking at having a business that sells tractors or some kind of agricultural equipment. This is going to be rural PA, so it better have something farm related!
Well, I downloaded RTS10 and let me tell you, it is enough to frustrate you! If I connect a track in error and I disconnect it and go to delete it, it deletes the entire layout! Is it me or is RTS 10 difficult to use?
I don't know if it's all that difficult, but it takes more getting used to than I care for. I'll stick with XTrakCAD. There's a learning curve with it, too, but it is more versatile than RTS.
layout I dont know where the door is in this room but based on your dimensions you could easily have a layout that looks like this. The ends are large enough for tight turnarounds for a dog bone style layout or large enough for the two towns the railroad connects on a point to point. With making the benchwork less deep you can have ample space in the middle to operate. Depending on your size you could even make it a touch smaller. But I would lay it out with some posts and some tape(like movie theater barriers) to give yourself a realistic simulation of the space you will have to work in. Just another idea.
Ryan, Thanks for the idea. I have changed the idea of using this room as it is under our front porch (it was the old style coal bin/room) and I feel the constant change in weather may be bad for the layout. If I insulate it it enough, it should be fine. However, we look to be moving in 5-10 years and I do not want to build a big layout only to rip it down. That being said, I am trying to stay on the small side for this layout. I have a 12' by 6' area/room in our basement I am remodeling now and that is the area I am concentrating on. So with the walkway on the one side, I have a 12' by 3' area to work with. Going further, I would say 8' by 3' is workable layout space as the other 4' I want to use as my workbench. I downloaded RTS8.0 and I have a layout plan thus far. I just need to figure out how to upload it here...
Looks good to me. Lots of room for scenery. Keep in mind you will not be able to uncouple / couple easily on the curve leading to the "farm area".
Good catch. I tried to accommodate that on this version. Not sure if it is much better. I can always have an "agriculture supply store" by the Freight Complex. Gives the farmer a reason to go in and out of town. The first file is a 30' by 80' HCD, down 16" wide from the last layout. The second file is a 36' by 80' HCD, down 16" wide but 6" deeper from the last layout. Farm area spur is now from the back, which could be bad... On file two, I have a few inches in the front to work with, but not sure what to do. Any suggestions anyone?
I don't mean to flip flop, er, well, yes I do. I "think" the first plan is better because of the larger radius. If you can obscure the curves on either plan a bit that would be great. It is ok that you can't uncouple on that curve, just means there is a limit to cars stored there. I'd use the leading edge of the layout for scenery.
Grey One, Thanks for the clarification. You know, I was in that spare room in the basement the other day, the one I was originally going to put the layout in. Well I was cleaning it up so I can frame out the walls and insulate it for storage, but I thought why not use it for a room layout? It will be insulated. Then I said to myself, "Keep the layout small. Start small!" So, I measured the room anyway. Currently, the dimensions are 5'9" by 13'. Take into account the studs and drywall and a little unevenness on the walls, say it ends up to about 5' x 12'. This is screaming an around the wall layout about 12" deep! How deep for an aisle to walk down? I am thinking 36". Need to account for the glass block window, about 4' high is the lowest part of the window, and door way (thankfully no door). Givens & druthers! Givens & druthers!
Here is another rendition. N scale HCD, 30 x 80, loop and switching. I think I am going to N and HO. I have the room.
I can see you are trying to get the most oout of the center of the layout. Lots of places for activity. While I'm no planning expert like many here, my first thought is that you have lots of switchbacks through the middle portion. Could some of those industries be served from the other side of your mainline?
I see the middle of the layout a prime real estate. Upon a nights sleep, the layout is a bit dizzying and inefficient due to the switchbacks. Bad judgement on my part... :thumbs_down: The layout plan is 30" deep. I do not want anything in the back really due to the reach constraints. Honestly, I am a little nervous to put anything in the back due to this. Did anyone with similar concerns like that and later found something different?
Okay, the latest rendition. I like this one. I know my limitations. I know this will fit in the area I have. I know that it is symmetrical. Any suggestions? Givens : Three industries : Furniture Plant, Brewery, Mystery Plant (product will be revealed at a later date) PRR based fictional short line Late transition era / 1960's Druthers : It is too symmetrical! But it looks fun! Would anyone else be bored with this rather quickly? Thanks all. I really appreciate ANY and all feedback!
I like this new rendition. It has a continuous loop, some staging, enough passing tracks and spurs to keep one busy, yet it doesn't seem cluttered or crowded. Overall a clean, straightforward, well-balanced track plan. I say go for it! Another thing I noticed that I really like is the fact that all of the spurs and staging face the same direction except for the brewery spur and the interchange track in the upper right corner. That means you can switch the layout running one way and have mostly training-point turnouts to make switching much easier, yet the brewery and interchange (running to the edge of the table) are facing point spurs to make it interesting. You were smart to put passing tracks right next to each of them, because they also double as runarounds.
I agree with Tom, this is a clean and well balanced plan! Sure the loop is symmetrical, but if the layout is against the wall, you only see it from one side. Once you get the buildings, terrain, and scenery placed, it won't appear symmetrical. As far as operating, you don't have to do that symmetrically either. If you were to do any switching, make some changes in car loading and unloading requirements at each side. I say go for it as well!
I agree this is a good looking plan. It sounds like its going to be up against the wall, so double check all your reach lengths to make sure you're not designing something in that will frustrate you trying to access later. The siding in the top left comes to mind. Thats a long reach. As far as symetry, No much you can do to change that with all you want to include. As it was already said, you can break that up with scenery. Placing buildings and other objects so the train goes in and out of view will help. Good work!
