Ok, so we've dismantled the 5x8 table and have been preparing the room for our new 'round the room wall to wall layout. The space I have to work with is roughly 11.5' wide by 12' long (however, there is room to go longer up to 16' for a peninsula of sorts). You can see the layout we're leaning towards on the attached image. I just recently snagged a walthers 130' ho scale turntable and modern roundhouse with the 3 add-on stalls (for a total of 6 stalls). The fiddle yard end of the layout is the open end area of the room which has some room for a peninsula... Any ideas on a logical way to add the turntable and roundhouse to this layout?
Hmm... I like where you're going with this one... I'm a little concerned with how much space it adds on the left side of the layout. We're planning for the layout to be 52-54" high all the way around. What you've drawn makes that one side about 4' or so... given that the 130' turntable is so large. This might make it hard to reach scenery and track along the back wall. I'm starting to wonder if I'm going to have to go with a 90' turntable instead.
Would suggest your roundhouse go in the left hand corner inside the main. Place it inside the curve there. The leads to it can start just to the left of the depot w/ house tracks can go down the left side. just don't known if 6 tracks would make it too wide there. You might consider putting it down a penisula down the middle but that woul make it hard to work both ends of the yard easily. Really like the operational possibilities of your plan. It's small but w/ alot of switching!
How large of locomotives are you using? I'm thinking a turntable and roundhouse might be a bit overpowering on this layout. There's no real yard to go with them, and not really room for one.
Most of my locomotives are mikados, northerns, consolidations, K4's the like... But I also have a couple large ones like the Big Boy, Allegheny, Challenger. My original "givens" was to keep one of these on the layout at all times living in a round house... but... reality and space is bumping up against that thought. I've since revised my ideas some and will settle with a 90' turntable and smaller sized roundhouse. Given how many steam engines I have, I'm not sure I'd want to go forward with this layout if it didn't include a turntable of some sort... I like the ideas shared so far... it's helping me to think about it from different angles. Keep 'em coming!
Yes! I think I might like this one! Some slight modification and I even think I can get a 3 stall roundhouse and an engine shop on that... Nice idea Snapper :thumbs_up:
Snapper, welcome to TrainBoard - and your English is excellent; certainly better than my Francais! :teeth: Lalley, and everyone, excuse my ignorance, but what software are you using to create those fine-looking trackplans? I just got RTS, which I know is quite basic, and I'm struggling with using it, LOL. I'm sort of a newbie and planning to get into On30, so an HO trackplan like yours is certainly of great interest to me for ideas, and your room size is about the same as my 11 x 11.
Its out of MR iirc. The Virginian layouts, there was two, that one in HO and Cunninghams Gap in N on two hollow core doors.
Ah ha! In that case, I guess my question should be: what software is Snapper using to modify the layout image? Looks good to me.
Hi, I use Adobe Photoshop CS2, but you can make similar project with other software as Macromedia Fireworks, Paint Shop Pro, Paint.net, The Gimp 2... All graphics software where you can select, copy and modify every zone selected. To start a new realistic layout plan, i beginning with "Raily 4 Windows" or "XtrCad" (track plan only), export the plan in .BMP file, open in Adobe Illustrator and add scenics...
