Hello Ted. Very interesting post about the evolution of your layout. For what it’s worth, my layout is entirely Atlas, including their switches. The layout design is mostly for continuous running, so, admittedly, I don’t have a ton of switches. The ones I do have work flawlessly. Because of the reported checkered history of early Atlas designs, I bought new ones for the few places I needed them. I use DZ1000 switch machines to provide active anti-derail for the same cost as the impossible to find Atlas derail boards. They are very easy to wire. Everything is mounted on homosote. I have never owned a Ross switch, so this isn’t meant to be a comparison in any way. But, it is a testament to my experience with Atlas switches - which are available in the size you are looking for.
Addressing the side thought of turnouts my comment after having built a few 031 layouts there was one guide line I always followed. Nothing smaller than an 072 turnout.
Working in some incidental wider curves and 072 switches puts lipstick on an 031 layout IMO. This is MTH RealTrax but can be applied to all makes of 3 rail track.
This one is from 2009:
Spare room 12'3" X 12' 8" layout being mocked up in my basement:
Sub assembly of Junction with 072 switches against the back wall:
So no matter what your ruling minimum curve is you may wish to consider using some wider curves where possible and wider switches.
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Ted S posted:Paul, how big is your layout room? How long are your straightaways??
Hello Ted,
I have a 1600 sqr. ft. basement pretty much all to myself, except for a little area where my wife stores her seasonal decorations. It's pretty much my workshop and train room. A couple of bigger work tables, a couple of smaller ones. Lots of shelves, a paint booth, and some storage cabinets around most of the walls. My computer desk and a TV too, of course.
I belonged to an N-Trak club for close to 15 years. I have a 4' x 8' N-scale layout, a 6' x 23' N-scale modular layout (not compatible with N-Trak, but similar). I put together a 6' x 16' table last year to get my O-gauge up off the floor. Built a double oval layout with MTH Real Trax. Inner oval has O-42 min. curves with O-54 and O-72 easements, and reversing loops using O-72 switches and a 90 degree crossover. Outer oval has O-54 min. curves with O-72 and O-82 easements. O-72 switches connect it to the inner oval. The outer oval straight sections are 9'-6" long.
Now working on a 9' x 25', double oval, modular O-gauge layout, consisting of 4 straight modules and 4 corner modules. The straight modules are 8' long, which will yield 16' of straightaway on each side of the oval. The corner modules have O-99 and O-90 curves. I don't have enough room now to set the whole layout up, but I can hook a couple of modules together while I'm building on it. Using GarGraves track and Ross switches, I plan on ballasting and scenic'ing the modules much like the HO scale and N-Trak guys do to theirs. My ultimate goal is to be able to take this to some train shows or other shows and run some O-gauge trains for the public, in a more realistic, scale-like setting as opposed to a toy train setting.
Thanks Paul! I'm jealous of all that space! I would love to continue our conversation, but I'm afraid we're getting away from the original purpose of the thread. I'm hoping to publish a book about my layout planning concepts, and when I do you'll understand why I feel it's paramount to have extremely smooth and derail-proof switches, especially in the smaller diameters.
I think the historically checkered availability of Atlas switches bothers me more than the chance they might be more derailment-prone than Ross (and I have no proof of the latter.) This is the same grousing we see elsewhere on the Forum: small-batch Chinese manufacturing supposedly helps make products affordable. But it doesn't guarantee continuous availability, or the compatibility of replacement parts.
Tom Tee posted:Addressing the side thought of turnouts my comment after having built a few 031 layouts there was one guide line I always followed. Nothing smaller than an 072 turnout.
Working in some incidental wider curves and 072 switches puts lipstick on an 031 layout IMO. This is MTH RealTrax but can be applied to all makes of 3 rail track.
This one is from 2009:
Spare room 12'3" X 12' 8" layout being mocked up in my basement:
Sub assembly of Junction with 072 switches against the back wall:
So no matter what your ruling minimum curve is you may wish to consider using some wider curves where possible and wider switches.
Tom:
That is some mighty fine looking benchwork.
