So I need some good ideas here. What is a great way to transfer the track plan from a nice 8 x 11 sheet of paper to the actual benchwork. Now that my benchwork is ready to go and I have most of the track I want to start getting it laid down. Thanks for the help!!!
Moving from a small 8&1/2 by 11 sheet, to 1:1, I have feeling some things won't quite scale out as planned. Be prepared for some tweaking.
ain't that the truth...I have also in the past made a compass out of an awl, string and a pencil to rough in the curves
I drew it with Xtrkcad so it is pretty much to scale. I may have to tweak a couple of spots but it should go on pretty decent.
In my experience the most apprehensive it can be, is the getting started part. Use the scale from paper to bench work you have. I did what you did and it worked out OK. But you gotta get started. Of all the MRR's that have been built, the drawings are very important until you enter the actual building or, "what if" phase. Just do what all the RR's did, and just deal with the issues as they arise. Thats part of the challenges and rewards of building the outfit in the first place In some places you might see that there are issues in practical application that oppose the drawing, celebrate your innovation and remedies, it is all a learning experience bro. Just do it. I actually have a drawing for this believe it or not. But it had to be changed on the go Best Regards, http://www.youtube.com/user/gjslsffan all the best Tom
What they all said I have not attempted a layout of that size yet, but the experience learned from the two smaller ones I have done taught me a few things. Avoid being a slave to your drawing - what looks perfect on paper may not turn out to be such when you start laying track. This is NORMAL! But, in the process, you'll probably see a better way that didn't occur to you in the design on paper phase. It's amazing how some things, when in real-life 3-D, just don't look like you thought they would....
What worked for me was something I learned in art class many, many moons ago. Draw a grid on the small image, and use that same grid/scale on the large "image." Because I was working with a solid surface (insulation foam sheets), I drew a 6" grid on my assembled benchwork using a drywall square (lines at 6" - 6", 1'6", etc - were blue, and lines at foot markers - 1', 2', etc - were black). I printed off my track plan with a 6" scale grid on the plan itself. This helped me locate critical junctions according to my plan, but also allowed me to be flexible in getting curves and other less essential points "right." As I laid down my roadbed and track, I did have to make a number of changes, as others have noted. But being able to properly locate important switches/elements greatly increased the ease of assembling the entire plan. Obviously, if you're doing cookie-cutter or some other benchwork method, this won't work. Good luck!
Looking at the XTrakCad plan posted, I am thinking there may indeed be some tweaking. I note that in several places the main track appears to be right at table top edge. I hope there is an inch and half or two inches allowed? If not, shrinkingthat inward will have an effect on many other tracks.
That's another lesson learned. Did that on my last layout, mostly to make the curves as gentle as possible given the size I had to work with. It works, but it can be a little unnerving to have your train that close to the edge. Looks a little strange too, with the ballast sloping down to the edge of the abyss. And, in the case of the foam board I used, I eventually had to go back and super-elevate those curves - both from a purely aesthetic quality and the fact that the foam seemed to shrink ever so much right at the edge, causing the trains to slightly lean outward.
Thanks for all the replies. I like the grid idea so I may start there. On the an the main track actually follows the wall, I put it toward the back so as to fit in large radii curves. Most of the switching will be done at the front. As I draw out the plan, yes I do see a little tweaking but not much. In fact one area where I put an adm elevator has already seen the tweak from plan to layout, just no track as of yet. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk - now Free
I have helped people in the past trying to lay down trackwork from computer generated plans and I would say that almost 100 percent of the time things had to be tweaked to some extent. I am currently completing a town, yard and engine facility and I did have a rough idea of what I wanted, but in order to have everything fit the first time, I had most buildings built to some extent so I knew what the footprint would be and then laid out the track and turnouts right on the base to make sure everything was right. It worked out perfectly. Turnouts from different manufacturers may not all be exactly the same, therefore possibly no matching a CAD plan. These minor differences can multiply in a yard or industrial areas, so that's why I lay out the actual track and turnouts.
Most of my switches are Walters shinohara code 83 with a few others being peco. I have built about half my structures las winter so as to have a good idea of the foot print hence the changes for the grain elevator area. With these ideas I feel I am armed to start the transfer sequence. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk - now Free
For most of my layout I have hand liad code 70, but for the last and final town, everything is Shinohara code 70. I have had extremely good luck with the Shinohara. Waiting for more info and pictures as things progress.
I have to thank all those who replied again. I just printed several different copies of my track plan with different grids from 1" x 1" all the way up to 1' x 1'. Now to start drawing a grid on the bench work. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk - now Free
