Here is a try using AnyRail, all curves are 18" any suggestions other then my aisle is to small and I might be able to wiggle with flex track on the curves.
If you're going to run 6 axle locos in HO scale there will be alot of overhang on 18" R curves. Guess you could use 4 axles but what did the RR you're modeling use? If you go around the walls w/ a peninsula in the middle you could have bigger curves.
Room is only 8x12 and I am looking at the DM&IR which is basically an out and back pretty flat until you drop down into Duluth at Proctor, mostly ore cars and if I stepped back a few well feeeeewwwwwwwww years I could have a small passenger line also. I am not trying to be 100% accurate as the folks I hang out with would have no idea. The DM&IR used big Yellowstone's and the diesels of today are at least 6 axles. I just have to have a track that I can let er run and play with something in the middle. I just tore up the road bed on the 4X8 and now I have to box everything up and come up with a good sustainable plan. Jim
Jimmy You don't HAVE to go roundy round. If your prototype goes point to point there's no good reason why your MR can't do it also. Just have one end above the other end. And you could go around 1-2 more times. If you run multi-unit diesel consists just run the trains at each end. Reverse loops take too much space in the main room so see if they can be put in another room.
I notice you have 3' (36") table all the way around. 36" in is quite a bit of reach. And as was noted 18" radius is pretty tight. If it were me, I'd do one of 3 things. 1: Make it point to point with no wider than 24" table tops all the way around. Make liftout bridge for continuous running 2: reduce the standard width to 24" or even 18"-20" on the top section and the right section, then make the 2 lobes 48" which will allow for 22" radius and much happier engines. Still will look tight, but at least most 6 axle and Steam will go through. 3: If you are capable of handling a duck under, I would make what amounts to a 9 shaped layout. Essentially create a roundy round that is slightly larger than 4x8 maybe 4.5x8 or 5x8 with a cut out in the center for Access and then have an L extension to the right and bottom that stubs out. Personally, I would do whatever I could to get rid of the 18" radius curves. I am also 6'1" and still mobile enough that I'd probably just set the benchwork fairly high and make it a permanent duck under.
Sounds like you found the space, now you just need a plan. As mentioned earlier draw out on paper your layout. Mine under went many tweaks until I started building so that I could get the bugs out. After I started building it got tweaked again as I found an occasional issue with the transfer from drawing to layout. The 8' x 12' space sounds better than the sheet of plywood. Keep us updated. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk - now Free
For HO scale (IMHO) I would not want to reach across anything more than 2ft. That is the max on my HO scale CSX Thomas Subdivision. Also, just a warning, no matter how many plans you make... when you get into building/testing the layout... things will change. My layout is 10 years old, pretty complete(except for a 1ft by 2ft section that is just for scenery) and I am ready to tear down half of it and rebuild it. Why? Because in the 10 years building it... I have learned new techniques on wiring, scenery, bench work, laying track, etc... Also, if you every have a completed scene, do not be afraid to touch it up, add to it, or in the case of my DuPont plant... tear it all down and start over! LOL! Real world changes... and IMHO, so too should our layouts. JMS
Question, I am using here 18" curved track and the straight track on the bottom is pretty close to horizontal, the top straight is not horizontal it rises a bit, and I also have a 3" straight in the center of the curved track. What do I have to do to get it so both rails come out parallel to each other. For some reason I keep trying to make a loop when in the real world track goes from a-b and back, but this is kind of perplexing
Jimmy, I suspect that your two straight parts were not parallel to each other when you connected the curves to them. There is enough wiggle room in Anyrail to allow this. I would suggest that you glue the good straight, disconnect the all the other pieces and reconnect them to the glued straight one at a time. This should set everything right.
Another question as to the design of the RR and that being the bench, I see some are plywood while others are a skeleton frame with individual boards for the track.
Jimmy, To each their own. If you layout is complete flat with no elevations, then a plywood (with or with extruded foam) will work out well without a lot of cutting. If you have elevations, you needed to figure out how you are going to raise the road bed to the correct height. My layout is cookie cutter plywood with no foam.
This is the plan I am going with but more then likely will change a bit this gives me enough room in the middle to turn around with out my belly getting in the way. Being I am going to be on a wall I am going to see about getting some murals that I can paste up. We are getting there I was in the shop cutting the table frame and register boards for the walls, I am going to keep the top at 3'
Looks like a great plan. I used the plywood and foam board approach. To raise the roadbed I used woodland scenics 3% incline pieces . Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk - now Free
Great product. I wanted 2% grade but my space was limited and the 4% was too much. The 3% worked out great and gave me the 4" rise I was looking for. It is also very easy to use. Here are a couple of pics. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk - now Free
Thank you for the quick reply, let me ask could you have done the grade just by purchasing the foam and cutting it yourself? Reason I ask is I am now on the retirement skids so the income took a drastic hit. Back to the grade how much actually comes in the package I saw a photo where they said it would do a 4X8./ Jim, 6°F
I used the step 2 incline sets. The packaging states that it takes 8' for a 4% incline toreach 4", 12' for a 3% incline to reach 4 1/2", and 16' for 2% to reach 4". Now if you use just the incline starters you would need risers (or the foam board) to be placed under them. To answer your question, yes you can get thefoam baord and cut it to your desired incline. Or mix and match. Since my hill used a curve I went with the step 2 kit and was able to curve the incline to my desired curvature to get the length needed for my 4" rise. If you use the starters you will need 1/2" foam board for 2% grade, 3/4" risers or foam board for 3%, and 1" foam board for 4%.
Well to be quite honest I do not know, but it does fit my space and today I was busy building the frame work for the base/roadbed, winter is long so I will have plenty of time to sort it out. I am thinking on printing out the plan in a huge poster and that way I can get a better feel for it. Between the greenery is the duck under although I might eliminate that part to much work to duck or should I say to crippled up. Jim 3°F
