Hey, I wanted you all's opinion on my Layout Idea, I am modelling Amtrak and Have a Acela Express Set, 1 F59 Locomotive & 5 Walthers Superliner Cars, I was thinking about breaking my Layout up into different Corridors in Amtrak, I wanted one for Amtrak West Trains, Northeast Corridor, Midwest Corridor & Maybe a Amtrak Auto Train, I was gonna have each corridor have it's own Table and have all the Table's connected together for Track Switching. What do you think about this Idea? [ 17. July 2002, 22:31: Message edited by: AcelaExpress2036 ]
I had read some of your posts in the Inspection Pit and was curious as to how you were going to do a layout using both Acela and the California stuff, now I know . Your idea sounds really intriguing. I'm not sure what you mean by 'table' but I would suggest building it module style. Each scene could be a 2x8 or 2x12 module that could be connected by hidden track like you said. You could even vary the seasons to add more interest. Have a winter scene on the northeast corridor, fall in the midwest, spring on the Pacific coast, and a hot summer somewhere in the south. You could include a major interchange point, like Chicago, with a passenger station and all the station track taking up most of the module to add operational interest. You do want to be careful wit hyour design though. With what you've said you want you could either end up with trains simply going in circles or a mess of hidden track connecting you scenes. A lot of the guys who write in Model Railraoder are focusing heavily on design these days. You might want to look into some of the stuff that they have writen. There might be some groups on the web that specialize in layout design. You'll read too about people who build models of their layout or make cardboard mockups of road beds in the planning stage. It may sound like overkill but if you have the patience it might be a good idea. What looked on paper might not be so great once you see it in three dimention. Believe me, it's no fun to try to rework your design mid-construction. Model Railroader publishes an annual on layout planning that you might want to look at. I often re-read the ones I have. Finally, I'd say get a plan and get building. The sooner you have track up and can see your equipment running the better.
I never posted anything in the Inspection Pit before, you must be referring to someone else. My Layout has 2 Connecting Ovals, a Outside Oval and Inside Oval, the Surfliner runs on the inside Oval and the Acela Runs on the Outside Oval. What I mean by Table, my entire Layout will have a Table for each Corridor, meaning I will build a separate Table for each Corridor and they will all connect to each other for Track switching, etc. My Amtrak West Table will have some Water next to it, because the Surfliner runs on the coast of the Pacific. My Northeast Corridor will have the Acela Express and the Metroliner and will run under Catenary. The Midwest Corridor would use Nothing but AMD-103's and a couple of Amfleets. And I may run the Auto Train, but my Dream Layourt will have to wait because, of limited space in my living room.
