Hi to all Here is my layout, based on the Atlas Granite Gorge and Northern, with some modifications and additions. I like a lot of Western railroads, and Canadian (my grandfathers and uncle worked on the CNR last century). I will post pictures when I get a chance.
That is a neat plan. Will this be a 4x6 layout? If I remember correctly the GG&N was a 5x9 HO plan. You've got a lot of operating action in a fairly small space.
Are those boxes 1' x 1' as a scale? If so, I'm approximating 7'+ from top to bottom. You might have trouble reaching the middle areas.
Hi to all Forgot to add the dimensions- it is 68 inches wide by 48 inches deep. I am tall, so reaching in is not an issue. It is built on a pine frame, 1/4in plywood top, then 2 inches of polyfoam, all glued together with caulk. All of the vertical relief is done with styrofoam of various types. The electronics (Arduinos, relay boards, sensors, power, and other electronics) are hung from the frame or on three plywood shelves under the table. Power supplies (5V, 9V, 10V and 19V) are also hung on the frame. Relays, flasher circuits, and control electronics are distributed all around the layout. I use a lot of opto-isolator solid state relays for controlling lights and about 50 5V relays. I will post pictures later.
Question.....where do you get out of the middle section of tracks to the outer most tracks....or don't you?? I can reverse direction going either direction but I got dizzy easily seeing the reversing sections. Pretty cleaver track plan. Sumner
Hi The center section runs "freight". There are 3 to 5 passenger trains on the tracks or stored in the mountains at any time. Using the station and the sidings I can run two passenger trains simultaneously. Usually there are 4 freight trains running, with two or three idling in the industrial areas. The main yard is wired up, but I have not yet tested. The outer section is thinking like in Japan- dedicated lines for passenger trains. These trains run (scale) 60 to 175MPH clocked with Azatrax timers. When I get some pictures it will be clear. If you look at the avatar you can see the station- Kato units put together with about 50 people.
You're right about it being a clever plan - there actually are no reversing sections, at least not electrically, so the trains can change "direction" without having to deal with reversing sections. It's basically a double track figure 8. The two "reversing" tracks each also move the trains between the two tracks of the double track, and since there are no crossovers the two tracks a can be wired in opposite polarity or phase.
Thanks. Yes, there is a certain nice-ness to it after the fact. When I first built it, I checked all of the possible switch conditions with a multimeter to make sure that I did not have any possible shorts (the old belt-and-braces thing). The inner loop does allow for reversal of direction. For the outer loops and sidings it is immaterial as the DCC signal takes care of arbitrary direction based on the encoded signal.
Hi to all Thanks for the ideas. Only one problem- track layout programs and PowerPoint do not always represent the reality of putting track to roadbed. There actually is not quite enough space to add the extra turnouts even with another Wye. It looks like there is room, but Maybe if I can expand in the future... I am presently space-limited, sadly.
Yard can now be switched, but only by blocking the main line. Maybe move the yard switch over to the lower right square and stretch the yard out in the open space...
Hi to all Here is a picture of the layout in progress from some months ago. Never enough space At this point, I have started landscaping and buildings are being added. After this stage I spent about a month re-doing all of the wiring to make it more serviceable. Then I started putting in color, Woodland Scenics stuff and trees. The waterfall and river will go in later on the right front corner area. If only I had a basement again...
Found an earlier picture during the initial track-laying. Had to make a lot of modifications as things progressed. Found out that in spite of planning and measuring, several curves were too tight for longer diesels. I do not run steam, although a BigBoy or a Challenger would be fun (had them on my old HO layouts). It would be great to have another foot or so in both directions, but not enough room in the house. Cannot leave it in the garage due to the huge temperature swings in AZ.
I like it a lot. A lot going on there and in real life (not a track plan) it all fits and works. The yard to me gives the impression of the edge of a much larger yard and even though you have a lot of buildings in the town along with other items in all the other areas it all works. To me it gives the impression of a town and yard that is what it is because of the valley that it sits in. Very nice, you have pulled off a lot in a small area. I'd put it up ther with the 'desk layout' that I also like a lot. Sumner
