Does anyone have any 5X9 Fastrack plans?

Search the Yahoo Fastrack Group. They have a lot of layout ideas.

What are you looking for the layout to do?  5x9 is usually a switching layout.  CTT did a series on I believe a 5x9, with some liberty taken from a 1950s lionel track design.  Also, take a look at some of the vintage dealer display layouts.  

A modification of the D-264 Super O layout should work.......with O48 on the outer loop.

 

 

 

http://www.google.com/search?q...%7CahM5ObUcPKjbnM%3A

Peter

The Yahoo Fastrack group is where I got all of my ideas for layouts. Many layouts, arranged by size, are in their files section.

 

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Lionel_FasTrack_System/

 

Enjoy!

 

 

Here is a 5 x 8 that i designed for a young friend of mine.

Here are two 4' x 9' plans I've used for my Christmas display. They could be widened by adding one piece of strait on each of the veritica measurements. The version with the two non-connected loops uses O27 on the inside, all other track is Lionel 031 tubular. If you're interested I can try to make you a version with alterations per your spec, just let me know.

 

Tim

 

This is a design I did a couple of days ago on SCARM.  The idea is to extend the tunnel on the right across the board so the O36 track is raised with cliff faces, the O48 on table level.  Sort of see the outside track as long distance freight, the inner track using a switcher, small passenger, logger etc.  Inner track could be done with O31 to give even more room for the outer track for landscaping, though on a pingpong table it may just be about watching trains run

I really like the one with the lake Mr. Sprague just got to add a siding or two and a crossover, I think what I can put on that river since I work on the water the skys the limit. Thank you for all your ideas. I was going to originally going to do a Supersnap layout but since I have alot of Fastrack I just decided on this. 

Thank You,

Mike  

My idea for a two line logging/mountain kind of 5x9.  Got some inspiration from a thread earlier this year.  I"ll find that thread and link it.  I'm not a SCARM expert, but I do like the program a lot.  Forgive the glitches in my 3D model.

 

 

5'x10' thread to credit for my inspiration:

https://ogrforum.com/t...out-complete-for-now

Don't forget you can get 0-31 Fastrack now

I started the 5'x10' SCARM thread cited above. I just finished landscaping my layout last week and it's great.

 

My tips on small sized FasTrack layouts are:

1) If at all possible make a 5'x10' table. Makes a HUGE difference in how much track you can fit in. I spent MANY hours tinkering with SCARM before realizing I just couldn't get a fun layout into only 4'x8'.

2) SCARM is awesome but bear in mind that it only shows you the actual rails. It does NOT show you the full width of the FasTrack roadbed.  I had to shorten my spur and also extend things in a couple of spots to allow for clearances. Also don't worry if things don't line up 100% in SCARM. FasTrack has some wiggle room to it. 

3) I hate plain ovals. Watching a train run in the same direction over and over again is boring for me. One thing I like about my layout (and those from Ace and Mike Donohue whose ideas I borrowed from) is that the trains can reverse direction through the use of switches and crossovers. In a small sized layout crossovers are your friend!! Crossovers also reduce the number of expensive switches you'll need to buy! 

 

Here are some pics of my layout now that it's done. Only thing missing is my K-Line operating dairy (you can see the open spot in the front). The ground cover is FusionFiber and Woodland Scenics grass powder. The FusionFiber reduces the height of the FasTrack railbed and also eliminates the uniform flatness you get from plywood. 

 

I am planning on expanding. I'm going to have a spur come off the front corner just in front of the tunnel exit. I'll add a 12"x 36" shelf in front of the table (where the controls now reside) which should give me room to add a culvert loader/unloader set and an operating horse corral. The kids (and me) love the operating accessories. For me they're the main reason to go with O-gauge instead of HO or N (which would have been a LOT cheaper!)

 

This is great, nice job. With you and your philosophy.  What grade is your incline and how do trains perform?

According to SCARM it's a 4.3% grade. My engine is a MTH New Haven F-3 diesel using the small Remote Commander and a 50w Z500 brick. I went that route because the slope and corners was a bad accident waiting to happen with small kids and conventional controls. Since it's a small layout I rarely have more than 4 cars attached at any given time and so far the engine is doing just fine. Some of the cars such as the Lionel barrel unloading gondola, my MTH operating reefer and the blue MTH log dump gondola (in the picture) are pretty heavy. The conventional 30w Lionel transformer you see in the picture is only used to power the reactor and sawmill. Track power is a MTH Z500 50w brick. I plan to upgrade soon to a MTH DCS Commander Controller so I can run DCS locomotives and the conventional Lionel locomotive I started with. 

Can you set the throttle in one or more spots so it can climb and decent without trouble? I assume it will derail one the decending curve(s) at WOT?

The only reason I got the MTH DCS Remote was so I didn't have to worry about derailments on the downhill. With conventional power the train will quickly pick up speed requiring you to throttle back. With DCS the speed is the same regardless of slope. It's like cruise control for your train. Also keeps the voltage constant to your switches and accessories.