new layout

I am having trouble coming up with a track plan. I have a inverted U shaped benchwork.

The legs of the U are 8 feet long connected to the top which is 12 feet long. All of it is 2 foot wide except where the legs connect to the top and there at the corners it's 3 foot wide.

I am modeling in N-Scale. Any help would be greatly appreciated!!

 

Welcome to trainboard.

so, your benchwork is 2; wide, right around, but 3' wide at the corners (so it cuts the corner some?).

You have 8 feet of width across the top between the 2 side benches?

Thats a substantial room, restricted by the benchspace only being 2' wide....while you can turn N scale in that space, you wont be turning 2 tracks, and the radii is marginal (10" or so) for larger loco's and rolling stock.

Sounds to me like your using the walls of your bedroom

 

Yes the room is much larger than the layout benchwork but the wife refuses to allow me anymore width.

The trackplan would not need to have loops (although there is room for loops at the 3ft corners on the 12ft section) a point to point plan would be ok since I am aware that after awhile watching a train run around in a circle can be boring. I am thinking of more of an industrial switching setup to give me plenty to interact with on the layout.

 

n-beginner:

Welcome to Trainboard.

You have plenty of room to build a point to point layout. There is enough room for a continuous loop as well.

Have fun...

Stay cool and run steam.....

 

>What did you have in mind, as your end >model? Any specific railroad company? A set >historic time frame? Or will this be completely >freelance? Urban setting? Rural? >Combination of the two?

I am interested in the Great Northern RR. I already have an intermountain FT set, Atlas RS2 and LL FA1/B set & SW1200.

I seriously doubt I am up to doing anything strictly prototypical/historical. I am most interested in an Industrial/Urban setting with operational/switching emphasis but being so new I am unable to come up with a track plan that will be suitable and provide long term operations fun.

I am less interested in mountainous scenery although I do have a woodland scenics 2% incline set to use. I would like to have a yard also.

 

oh man...now I'm envious...that space, end to end, predominantly urban industrial switching would be absolute heaven. The true modelling potential there is astounding.

OK...heres an idea.... One continuous run line, jsut a dogbone that basically runs like a double main with loops at each end. with spurs etc off to your various industires. The reason I say this is so you can have a 'bedding in' track for new locos...set em to mid speed and just let em run around while you switch.

Even in that space, you have abundant scope for a yard.... You could use the Riser to make an overpass somewhee, jsut for the hell of it (make the continuous run mainline cross over somewhere, for example, so it figure 8's).....that gives you a nice bridge (I love bridges!).


Now, let me get the benchwork clear in my head.... 8' legs, 12' across, 2' wide. The 3' reference confuses me a little... do you mean that the 12' long section is 2' wide right across, but with an extra foot protruding out 2' from the end like this?

 

Maybe he means the benchwork bulges on those inside top corners?

 

yes that is what I mean.

 

so its 3' x 3' in the corners? Doesnt really affect what I've been drawing, really... I've just been messing around in XtrkCad, and what I've come up with kinda sucks, given the potential for the layout, so I wont even post it here....

What we need to know, really, is what YOU can 'see' in the room. Where should your yard go? What industries would you service? Where would those industries be? Do you WANT overpasses, or would you be happy crossing a polluted creek / drain? Would you just be servicing big industries, or would you have team tracks (team tracks is a place where multiple companies come and load onto common boxcars...or flat cars...or whatever...ie, not a company specific siding).

Sometimes, a place has so much potential you just have to sit and look at it for a while and wait for inspiration to strike. Unfortunately, it hasnt hit me yet.....

 

well I don't have specific preferences to any of that. I am open to anything really. I know this doesn't help narrow it down but operational fun that won't get old fast is about all I really care about. I can say that I want some track around the industries embedded into the street although I am not quite sure how that is done. I have seen pictures of other layouts that have done this and I like it.

Also I am sure that in the 2ft width on the end of the legs I seriously doubt I could get loops that any of my engines would be able to make it around other than the two small engines.

I am using Atlas code 55 flex track and switches if that makes any difference.

 

Most loco's will get around 11" radius turns, except maybe big boys..certainly most diesel locos will make it.

What industries do you anticipate having...thats an important consideration. For example, a coal mine takes up a lot more room than a timber yard, which takes up a lot more rioom than a lot of other things. The size of the industry goes a long way to dictating where it is positioned on the layout.

Those turning loops can also be hidden quite well if you wish... Put a big building over the top of it. There shouldnt be any turnouts on those curves, obviously, because you only have radius to turn one track in a decent distance, so this minimises the chance of a derailment. Your SW1200 will go around a 9" radius curve, let alone 11".

 

I wouldn't mind a coal mine but am not sure if that would be keeping with the GN road.

Again as to specific industries they are less important to me than the operational interest of the track work. I am willing to go with whatever industries are suitable as I don't have any buildings yet so am open to anything.

 

If I were you, I'd avoid compromising your layout by having a loop that has a track radius that is too small, and concentrate on a good point to point design. I'm actually planning such a layout for my bedroom, based on the Southern Railway line between Greensboro, NC and Durham, NC.

.

 

Greg Barlow may be right, but you might not need a big radius. If you wants an industrial area, I don't expect passenger trains, and all your (six?) current engines should handle 9.75" curves. With those engines, it looks like you're modelling just after the end of steam, say 1960, so 40' and 50' cars. Not a lot of big modern freight equipment. For almost all purposes I would advise a larger radius of 15" or greater, but you are likely one of the few people who can justify sharp curves.

 

Here is my benchwork/layout space:




I think my FT set would need bigger than 9in radius curves wouldn't it?

 

you wont have 9" radius curves..... 11" will fit, and almost any loco will make that curve (note...ALMOST).

Bear in mind that the 'mainline' could run from corner to corner at the top and have a significantly larger radius by stretching into the corner extensions. a 12' loop is plenty long enough, and the inside of that line is still open to use as a yard or industrial area. Then the 'end to end' componenet can use the entire layout space. One side a big ass yard, the other side an industrial site with a VERY large industry at the bottom of it.

 

Why should FTs need more than 9.75" anyway? They're the same size as F-units; fairly short engines. But go for 11" if you can - you should make your minimum radius a bit more than your present equipment requires, if possible. And are you sure about that 3' in the corners? If the inside corners didn't bulge at all, with 2' shelves on each wall, the diagonal depth would already be 2'10".

 

I was referring to the end of the 8ft legs regarding the 9in radius.

I was just ballparking it for the the 3ft corners but I just measured them and the right one is 3ft 10in and the left corner is 4ft. from the diagonal point to the front of the layout. the difference is due to the way I extended them. so the radius of any loops placed on those corners could easily be in the 13in to 16in range.

 

The plan I sent you has 13.75 radius curves there N (as with the entire mainline), and theres nothing under 10" anywhere else. All those 'tighter' curves can be opened up quite a bit, because there is no real encumbrance on them.