Don't know which route to take

It just now occurred to me that it might help some to know what elements I'd like.

1. I'd like a passenger station, I have a MTH RailKing NYC Dreyfuss train that's around 11 feet long I'd like to run.  I'd also like to be able to get around it with my freight when it's at said passenger station.

2. Some freight station/transfer warehouse to shuttle box cars to and from.

3. A gain silo for covered hoppers to be loaded/unloaded from.

4. An oil refinery/storage spot for tank cars.

5. A yard to switch my other cars in and out of to make trains for my Big Boy and/or GP38-2 to pull.  Blocking the main when switching (gasp) isn't an issue since I'm the only engineer at the moment.

6. I'll be running conventional.

7. I'm not interested in operating accessories except maybe a grasshopper oil pump or two near the storage tanks for my tank cars.

8. And I'd like a loop since I do like to watch trains go round and round.

Sinclair:

I would go O-72 around the walls. O-31 gets old fast.

I know, I started there several years ago.

Now I have O-54 and still am planning to go larger yet.

So rather than have a ton of redo cost, Go Big now.

Thanks for the reply.  I decided to compromise and go with O60 on the outside main and O48 on the inside main and yards.  All the switches will be O72.  This will give me the most freedom in rolling stock buying, while still having decent amount of action.

I'm in much the same predicament with my 10 x 21 room with 2 doors. So far, I've played with a single around-the-wall design done in 031 and redone in 054. I'm getting ready to redo part of it in 072 just to see what will happen. Even without 072, my plan is to use liberal amounts of FlexTrack through the 2 corners on the left side, I just did the design in 031/054 to see how much track I could stuff in and this is just my initial shot at something. Most 031 curves on the right side will be hidden. I've attached a picture of the first design attempt in 031. The blue is Phoenix, green is Flagstaff, purple is grades and light blue is the partially hidden yard. I don't like switching cars, but I do want to run any train on any track, hence all the turnouts. I've got more than a year before I can start construction, though I might start earlier if I go modular. I have a 6 x 8 table to play with designs once I buy some ScaleTrax to work with. The table will eventually serve as a Christmas layout with the RealTrax I have.

From the look of the room layout, you have an entry showing at the top and at the right. You have a lot of room to play with and could make a nicely scenic'd layout with some industries.

Layout Design SIG follows a philosophy of "Givens and Druthers" -- basically the balancing act between what you'd like in a layout and the space restrictions you're under. You note a long passenger train (11 feet stem to stern) which you'd like to run. That's not going to operate well on a small loop with O-36 ultra-sharp curves. With the space you have, you could conceivably put in O-72 curves which will support any 3-rail equipment produced to date.

You could also do an "around-the-walls" layout with lift-outs to allow access to the doors. This would allow for narrower layout shelves at a good viewing height which would also allow you to put your work desks underneath. An advantage to around-the-walls is that you can't view the entire layout so watching the train forces you to watch it move through the scenery as opposed to seeing it run around the scenery (the big down side of island type layouts).

So, you need to ask yourself some questions:

• Watch trains run around vs. operating (station stops, industry switching, etc.)
• Long trains vs. short trains (determines how long a main line you'll need)
• Scale vs. semi-scale equipment. This is a major commitment as your curve sizes will forever (or until the rebuild) determine what you'll be able to run. And you'd be surprised how many 3-rail locomotives are rated at O-54 and above.
• Scenery vs. track. This is a sore spot with me, even with the club layout. More track will allow you to run more trains, but it comes at the expense of scenery options and operational possibilities. In a club context you need to be able to run more trains safely, but my home designs aren't under that requirement and have been mostly single-track mainlines with passing/holding sidings.
• Track selection. Fastrack is an easy setup and comes in O-60, O-72, and O-84 curves with O-72 turnouts. However, it's structure isn't flexible. Atlas is a little more expensive, but comes in a broader fixed curve selection, has flex track, plus has numbered turnouts for your mainlines and closer parallel spacing (you have some wiring issues, but they're minor.) Ross makes a broad selection of fixed curves and a very broad selection of turnouts; for flex you'd use Gargraves.

I know this is a lot to process, but some pre-build planning will prevent changes during construction (something I've also become all too familiar with.) Here's a basic oval to fit the room with a work bench underneath on the left and a desk underneath on the right. The layout bench height could be around 54" giving a track height of approximately 60". Track is Atlas-O with O-99 curves and one flex section at the bottom left.

Hope this helps.

Ok, here's a different approach with an 084 outer mainline. 072 could run inside.

No lifts to fabricate. Shares the space. 44.5 feet run.

with all that space,,,,,,,,,it would seem to me that could get old with so little happening

AGHRMatt, I don't know about Sinclair, but you've given me a lot to think about. I tend to think in terms of single-train running from my old HO days and haven't quite grasped the concept of multiple trains sharing the same track using modern DCS control, etc. Now that I know how much track I can fit in my space, I think I'll take a page out of your book and redesign my layout with that thought in mind. If I run 2 trains on each line, I can get by with only 2 lines instead of 4 and still have more than 2 trains running. Thanks for the example.

Thanks for the replies.  Since starting this thread, I have been messing with some designs and doing some thinking and trial and error.  Below is what I have come up with.  Min radius is O48, which should allow most locomotives to the sidings and yards, but the outer is O60 so I can run some bigger stuff around.  The height will be around the height of kitchen counters.  I want to be able to store items under it, but also keep it low enough for my kids to watch it.  I do like to watch the trains go around.  It'll be more toy like I think.  For me the details are nice to look at, but not my thing to do.  Just dropping the buildings on the layout is good for me.

It's a double main around the room so I can run two trains at once.  I'll have some kind of lift outs at each doorway.  I've also set it up so that I don't always have to put the lift outs in place to run. This will give me a nice switching layout as I did manage to get all the industries on the same side of the room.  The computer desk will be that rectangle at the top, and you can kinda see the lines of the bench work edge.  I'm planning on conventional, and that large flat place in the bottom left near the yard entrance will be the location of the control panel.  And never mind the gaps you see, I just haven't gotten all the track set in yet.

I tried it that way 1st, but the opening to the back door was problematic at best, and it made a big different in the length of the yard spurs and station siding.  If I somehow actually get a locomotive that needs O72, there is always the floor for a temp carpet layout, or along the ceiling.

OK. Looked like you had room.

Well, O72 does physically fit, but with little boys that will be running in and out of the back door, throwing it open, I wanted some breathing room to put a stop of some kind in there so that the layout wasn't the door stop.  Right now I'm working on designing a drawbridge style lift up for the two walk ways, and that has to fit behind the door too.  I guess I should say that the door hinges are on the left side of the opening, near the yard.