I'm actually making some progress on the new layout after being in the new house almost 3 years. The house has a bonus room upstairs, and after several knee surgeries, the wife has no desire to climb stairs, so it's all mine. The area is 16' wide by 42' long with stairs coming up in the middle of one 42' wall. The layout will be along one wall from the stairs to the end of the room (20') then along the short wall, then all the way down the 42' wall. Roughly 80 linear feet. The benchwork will mostly be 2 feet wide with a dogbone loop at each end. There will also be a 24' x 4' peninsula running down the middle of the room connecting to the main layout along the 16' wall That will give me a 3' walkway on one side and a 5 ft walkway on the other. My intent is for the layout to be a switching layout, but the mainline will be looped so I can continuous run if I want. At one end there will be a small interchange yard with another RR. The peninsula will contain the yard along one side, connected to the mainline by a wye. The rest of the peninsula will be industrial switching. I also plan a branchline that will climb a 2% grade along the 42' wall to an upper level mine and small town.....the town will be about 30' along the wall where the track will reverse and climb further to the mine (about 60' total). I'm building the layout in 2' x 8' modules, and all but one is in place.......that one will connect to one last module that will contain a helix to drop the track below the benchwork where it will then descend along the long wall to a staging yard underneath the peninsula......the wall is plenty long to just do a ramp down to the staging yard, but I couldn't figure out how to do the framing to get the train past the cross braces. Suggestions welcomed on that since I haven't started that section yet. I'm being pretty broad with my time frame, but it will be transition era so I can still justify some steam power. I want to run all the paint schemes the Milwaukee Road ran....they never all ran together, although there was quite a bit of overlap at times, but I want them all on the layout.The UP paint scheme appeared in 1957 so it just makes it in to my cut off of 1960. This will also give me a broad range of manufacturers, since EMD, Alco, FM, and Baldwin all had diesels at that time. I'll try to post some pics and possibly a track plan soon.
I drew the layout up using Atlas software and I've had some trouble getting it to a printable size, but I'll try over the weekend. I'll definitely post some pictures. Unfortunately the new benchwork immediately became "storage space" so it looks a bit cluttered. I'm currently working on getting the cork roadbed laid down for the mainline with the hopes of being able to run some trains before too long. I've already made revisions , but the basic plan is the same. As I originally said, my intent was for this to be a switching layout............trains would come from the staging yard up to the main yard, where they would be broken down. some cars would just pass thru, others be made into locals or switched into the nearby industrial areas. Cars coming from the industries and returning locals would be made into new trains which would depart back to the staging yard. There will also be a few thru freights, and several passenger trains that will make appearances. Since the main idea is for switching, the mainline at the front will be double track, while the return loop will be single track. I'm hiding as much as I can.......along the long wall, it will be hidden under the branch line (this was one area I revised when it became apparent there were too many unreachable areas) and run behind my downtown buildings along the short wall. I haven't figured out how to hide it along the 20' wall, but it's hidden for over half the loop, so the trains will disappear for quite a while. More details.......the track will all be Atlas code 55. Switches will be #10s on the mainline and #7s in the yards and most sidings with a few #5s thrown in. 2 Wyes, one at the entrance to the yard and one where the track branches off for the interchange yard and to head down to staging. I'll be running DCC. Due to the incline to the staging yard, most of the mainline trains will be covered wagons (F units, C liners) in ABA or ABBA sets, with a few SDs and GPs thrown in the mix. Locals will be GP9s,a few FM H16s and RS units, and switching will be quite a large mix of units.
This is an older picture of the 20 foot wall and peninsula. Didn't even have all the plywood decking cut yet.
An updated photo of the previous one, and a pic of the other half. You can sort of tell where the mainline will run from where the cork roadbed is........basically along the wall, and along the front.
A little progress.........an updated engine facility. Still haven't anchored any track, and it isn't all there, but this should be close to the final as far as buildings go.
Envy! I had that much space in my first house in West Allis. But then this country boy changed jobs. Out to Waukesha and the country fever took over. Besides I didn't really get into trains until then. That was 1990.
