Around the wall layout 10.5 x 17

LionelRookie1992,

Sorry, but you left us nothing to look at.

Chuck

And, as soon as I hit Submit button, there it is.

Sorry about that.

The bench work will consist of starting from bottom right hand corner up to the top corner 30" x 17'.  Then from top right to top left 24" x 8'.  Then top left down to bottom left corner 36"x7' table, then last 24" x 6'.

I am hopeful that I can span the straight pieces on the lower left hand side with two bridges that have been sitting in boxes unused for almost 2 years from a plan that went no where.

The accesories may be a little small to see but they are the usual suspects, loader/unloader and ice house on the left hand side.  On the right is the K-Line milk platform, then barrel loader, lumber loader, log mill and anchoring on the end is the other K-Line milk loader.  Load, go a couple of laps and unload etc.

The circle in the lower left hand is my hot water tank, small rectangle is my chimney and the larger is my furnace.

I have 9' from the top of the diagram to the start of the furnace on the left hand side of the page, so the siding with accessories is in a good spot.  Lots of room and room to put the 164 log loader that i REALLY want to see in there.

The right side has only 1building structure showing now, but my plan is to line the whole wall with the MTH and Lionel buidings.  I have 10-12 of them already.  Thus the large amount of space away from the wall.

I put in switches so we can switch the trains from mainline to the other. Learned from my first setup.  It does get boring watch the same train go on the same track.

I have visions of not too much scenery, but do like the idea of raising the height of the outside mainline 2" to give a small change in height.  That way the trains will pass each other at diff. heights and will look better.

It will have to be a duck under, so setting it at least a 48" height, maybe... 54".  I have stools already from my last layout.  It was at 40" and I found myself right on my hands and knees to get into it.  That was 2 years ago and 10-15 pounds lighter.

SIDE NOTE:

I have some old PW engines that I would like to run, but mainly... my plan is to buy the RTR James, Diesal and one more, its green.  I have the Thomas RTR already.  From what I have read already, I can run the 4 together with only one plug in?  Can any one confirm that?

Thanks again everyone for looking and your thoughts or other ideas are always appreciated.

Bryan

I'm having a thought here that hasn't died from loneliness. Where is the room entrance? I'm thinking that from a visual perspective, the layout looks like it's still an "island" where the "around the walls" usually have a large open center. Can you upload the RR-track file or E-mail it to me with a note on where the room entrance is? I might be able to make a modification that would make things a little easier.

The room entrance is to the right of the hot water tank.

I call it an around the room, but if its properly called an island ok!

The room its in is the furnace / laundry room.  The dimensions of that space I'm using is 10.5 x 20.  Laundry room and bathroom are on the other side.  They are not shown.

Hopefully now that you see where the door is, you can 'let yourself in"

Bryan

Took a look at it. Preliminarily, I enlarged the operator pit, cleaned up the track alignments, added a lift-out for easier access (rectangle at the bottom/will require cutting some track sections), and changed the cross-overs to make transitions smoother for trains running at mainline speeds.

Good morning Matt; Thanks for those revisions on the layout.  Having the bench laid out like that really gives me an idea of how it going to look vs. me drawing boxes on the printed paper.  i couldn't figure out how to do that.

The track fitment really clean it up too.  The best part that I can see is the smoother transition of the turnouts.  I ran it on the simulation and it looks and works much better.

I also like the idea of a lift out, I will have to look into that.  We are not getting any younger.

Now I'm even more excited. 

Bryan

You're most welcome. With curve-replacement turnouts (O-72, etc.) I like to use the left-right/right-left style of crossovers off the ends of corners to prevent the reverse-curve issue. Even though truck-mounted couplers work easily with reverse-curves, it still jolts the train at speed.

The trick with lift-outs is getting good alignment of the track. With three-rail, the larger flanges give you a bit more tolerance so you can get away with slicing through curved sections of track (just make the cuts straight and narrow using a fine saw blade).

Another thought was putting in another spur to service the accessories on the right-hand side. That way the mainline isn't blocked while loading/unloading.

To keep your operation interesting, you may want to consider adding some more sidings. You can easily add a short siding that dead ends into each corner. There is some room between the track and the wall, which may allow for a siding along the wall, with building fronts along the wall (maybe 1" deep) to represent the factory.

Can you fit a track between the water heater and the wall? Another oportunity to extend a siding, or have a hidden track to store extra engines or railcars.

Another possible idea is to have a track against the wall go down one level so you can have a hidden yard under the table. The track can be hidden by building fronts.

Have fun with your design: JK

I like the layout....But I'm not very good at building wood stuff does anyone have a guide to building the bench setup ?

Also what's the best layout software to use.

I'd say RR-Track but ya gotta pay for it.

There are several free ones, but I feel you get what you pay for.

SCARM is getting better from the reports I've read.

A far as building bench work goes, you can buy it; Mianne or Sievers will keep you busy as you plan out your layout then.  It is exspensive, but that old addage why build when you can buy comes true here.

Software I have used AnyRail, bought the program and like it till I bought $$$ RRTrack.  It is alot more expensive, but I felt it was better for me.  Its very detailed and especially when you combine it with the Track and accessory packs makes for a fun time spent on the computer.  Plus a simulation mode.  Build the layout, then watch how it will operate.  Worth the money there.

How do you reverse direction of travel?

thanks Russell

With a diesel, you do a run-around move to the back end of the train. With steam and no turntable of wye, you must rely on "0-5-0 Helper and Crane Service." "0-5-0 Helper and Crane Service -- We're always ready to lend a hand!"

Update:

I have just test fitted the track layout on the floor and low and behold it fits!

Very happy about that indeed.  I have purchased the lumber for the benchwork, but have run into a minor/major problem.

I am running the benchwork height at 48" ( duck under ), I measured on the floor to the inside of the backside of the furnace, but at 48" I run into the piping.  Not 48"...  its more like 24".

That puts my siding in a bad spot.  No big deal really, I then have to put it on the right side, but lose my buildings against the far wall.

It will probably change one more time before its final.

Bryan

That's part of the process. The best laid track plans often end up running into some part of the infrastructure of the house.

As for your buildings, you could have part of the tracks pass under an elevated part of town -- "The Heights" as you might refer to it. The catch is a little more carpentry and strategic placement of supports and scenery. You should make it [relatively] easy to remove for maintenance and the occasional derailed piece of equipment.