Hi, I'm a newbie on rail modeling and want to build my FIRST scene - on a 178cm x 67cm place (very limited size) - with one or two trains (depending on the feasiblity) - a hill - a small river/waterfall - some houses - some lamps so that it can light when dark my ideas and questions: - since the size is limited, i may have to use N scale - it's first work that not have good skills to build the ground/base. i found there's a product, Mod-U-Rail [http://www.woodlandscenics.com/nnb/Mod-U-Rail1.htm] that may help me build firstly. i think 2 straight one should give me the size i want - is there any similar layouts as i found most of the layouts are in 4 x 8 feet? can i just easily scale it down? - is there any software helping me to draw and test the feasibity of my layout first before i try - any good books/video good for me to build a N-scale size stuff
depedning on what you wanna do , u do have several option. If you go with N, 67cm ( about 25" if i add right) by178cm ( roughly 6') is big enough for a lot of room operation wise. If you want a stricly "bowl of spaghetti" you should be able to fill it with more track than you can shake a pointy stick at. mikes track plan http://www.naisp.net/mfischer/m_train2.htm has a lot of n scale layout that fit in your size. if you dowload atlas right track software ( www.atlasrr.com) you will be able to see exactly what u need to buy ( assuming youll be using atlas track) if none of these tickle your fancy, you can always use a ho 4x8 track plan. becuase n scale is roughly half ho, just divide everyhting by two. Keep in mind that that you cannot divide walk into space or aisle by 2. they must remain at least 24 inches wide ( although i doubt youll have that problem) if you wanna go with HO or larger scale , youll pretty much stuck with slef type layout with lots of switching. if thats what ur looking for, you can have a lot of fun operating like a real railroad dispatching cars and making pick up. if you really want to use larger scale than N i strongly recommend u visit www.carendt.com the website is full of layout idea for very very small area. even if you dont use one of their actual tracplan, they have loads of great idea for preplanning your layout right track software from Atlas is easy to use and free. youll be stuckusing atlas component but it gives you a very nice idea of what will or wont fit in your space mod-u-rail are nice product but in my opinion they are pricey considering you can pretty much replicate the design with a little carpentry skills they ar a lot of good N scale book out there. make sure you get john armstrong ( track planning for realistic operation" it is the mandatory reading book for anyone in model railroading. get old issues of model railroader or railroad model craftman. Lynn wescott 101 track plan is also very good. atlas has a few book on n scale layout and they are nicely done and eay to read and follow for a newbie hope this helps a bit, feel free to email about any question u might have stud_vt@yahoo.com
You can also download Xtrkcad software, which is now open source and free....its also a lot more reliable than the atlas software and covers a fairly wide range of track manufacturers. Add to that the fact that you can print your track plan in 1:1 scale (so you just put the paper on your benchwork and lay the track right on top of it) and it has some distinct advantages. Oh, and welcome to Trainboard!
If you are just starting out in this great hobby, ignore the John Armstrong book for the moment - you can always buy it later, after gaining some experience - try going here http://tutorial.caroper.com/ and print this tutorial out and study it carefully. This will give you some basic idea of what you can do, and the space you'll need to do it. 67 cms = about 26" which means that largest curve you can handle are around 12"/30cm radius, but that is going to bring you VERY close to the outside edges. You will be safer with a maximum of 11"/28 cm radius. Beware scaling down HO layouts by half - the turnouts don't shrink by the same amount, and scaling them down to 5/8 or 3/5 of the original is a more practical proposition. The Mike Fischer site mentioned above, has some good ideas too. Hope it helps Shortliner(Jack)away up here in the Highlands
I should have added that the best one for you would be the "compact " version, with the straight sides (top and bottom) lengthened to take advantage of your longer space Shortliner(Jack)away up here in the Highlands
Mullin, You might want to take a look at my "CEQ" plan. It may fit what you are looking for. One of the beauties is it could be adjusted fit anything from about smaller than you posted to larger. http://www.trainboard.com/ultimatebb.php/ubb/get_topic/f/33/t/000771.html
As someone who has built small layouts I am going to drop some words of experience on you. Go slightly bigger. A big trend on here is the door panel layout. Prefabricated door panels are easy to locate, sometimes you can even find one no one wants and get it free. It saves you the hassle of building benchwork. They generally run about 3x7 feet. They are also very light weight. You can take a small plan that is intended for a 2x4 foot area and make the cruves bigger and everything longer. Some of the guys on here have produced some amazing layouts on door panels. (Sorry if i'm not using metric measurement but most of us on here are yanks and we are just medieval about measurement systems. ) The biggest limitation for a layout is curve radius. SO try not to use the really tight radius curve track. Also if you have that extra space on width you can keep from running your tracks right up to the edge of the layout.
