I am looking for some help with my current layout idea. I am trying to build a 12' x 12' HO layout. The area I have is 2 legs that are 2' wide and 8' long connected by a 4' X 4' square. The original idea for this layout is from "Atlas Custom-Line Layouts for HO scale Railroaders (2nd Edition)" I am using track plan # 205. Any ideas on how to improve this layout would be great. I am looking for track plan improvements and Industry improvements. What I want to do with this is layout is have a switching layout that can also show some of my bigger engines. The era for this layout is 1950 and the railroad is the Southern Pacific. I have started building the top leg of the layout and have the track down and I have started to add ballast to a small section. As you can see from the photo attached that the top leg has a small feed mill and another industry. I was also thinking of having a car shop on the 3 tracks so I could have a wide variety of equipment running. I have not started the 4' x 4' center yet or the other leg. I was thinking that if I had a "Y" on the layout then I could have an engine shop on the other leg. That way I could show my larger engines being serviced. Also on the second leg I have a passenger station and at the very end an oil storage facility. (The heaver line is the mainline.)
Try drawing that plan to scale - you'll find that a lot of those turnouts won't fit, or at least the siding capacity will be eaten up.
I gotta agree with Triplex. Ho scale switches, Atlas #6, Can really eat up space. There is a similar design on the Atlas site to what you have. atlasrr.com then hit the trackplanning/layouts tab. When you consider that a HO switch is a minimum of 9 inches long, it is easy to simply add up the number of switches you have and multiply by 9 then the remainder is your straight sections. If you have your benchwork down already, you might want to start piecing things together. If you don't have enough switches just scan them and print them out. That should give a true sense of what can be done in your space. It is turning into a mantra for me, but I always say that whatever looks good on paper may not work on plywood. It really helps to play with track pieces to determine how long things will be and also place rolling stock on the track just to measure how many cars will fit any particular spot on the layout. Have you looked at Jon grants switching layout modules? Thats a great example of HO scale shelf layout design.
Who's Jon Grant and where would these switching module pictures be located? Always looking for inspriation!
Here aare some of his movies: http://www.trainboard.com/grapevine/showthread.php?t=65708 Just go through the ho forum and you'll find plenty of his layout updates. the ironic part is that he is british and models USA transtion era quite beautifully. You'd think he grew up in chicago's south side by the way he depicts it.
The "similar design on the Atlas site" is the same one that I have in a book and what I was using as a go by. The main question I have is on the top leg I show 3 tracks that dead end before the "Y". I was thinking of having a car repair shop on 2 or 3 of those tracks. Would that be enough space to have one in that spot? I am thinking that the 3 tracks would be about 2’ or maybe 2.5’ in length. I do not have all the bench work finished at this time I only have 1 2' X 8' section (Top Leg) done at this time. I am trying to redo the drawing so the track work is more to scale but my layout is at home and the program I was using is at work so it is hard for me to remember where everything is on the layout.
