I need some inspiration--in Tubular O Gauge Layouts

JBuettner, Welcome to the OGR forum--lots of great info here and a chance to meet some good people. Here's a draft of my track layout, which is roughly 11x24. Nothing very exciting, but my goal was to give my trains as much room to run as possible and keep all mainline curves at O72. I'm also running Standard Gauge (outer loop) which takes a lot of space.  I run mostly prewar conventional, but have recently added DCS and love it. A few changes have been made since this draft was done: the log loader, coal loader and factory have been removed and in their place, passenger yard. I also ended up moving the Hell Gate Bridge from the Standard Gauge loop to the outer O-Gauge loop. Other than that, it's the same basic idea. Someday I will add an elevated line, but that will be a ways down the road. 

Hope this helps get you started. 

John

Hi JBEUTTNER, I would offer you some random thoughts that first came to mind as I read your invitation for input and advice. These ideas draw from my personal experience at establishing a first layout in mid-1995 and changing it through the decades, right up to the present

On the theory that no matter how satisfied you eventually get with what you "finally" accomplish, you will change the layout, in small or large ways, sooner or later. IMHO.

Thus, my initial advice would be:

a. Do not glue down any ballast.

b. Where feasible, craft your vignettes onto baseplates so that you can move them around with little loss of materials and efforts. Even a baseplate scene loaded with glue(s) to hold things in-place can be dremeled here-n-there to accommodate new shapes and spaces for re-use of the vignette elsewhere.

c. All figures that come affixed to plastic sheets can be cut from their plastic footings by sliding a new razor blade between the feet and the plastic sheet. Then, glue the figures into place where you want them (sans square plastic bases). Sliding the same very sharp razorblade under their feet when you may want to move them elsewhere can be accomplished easily, in one brief movement of the hand. This procedure makes for a more realistic-looking layout and a neater one, IMO.

d. Don't skimp on foliage. It can be a lush world out there in reality, and a fullness of trees and low-foliage can act as a unifying aspect to help create a more believable and fuller message.

FrankM, Layout Refinements, and Moon Township, USA (layout)

JBuettner: Yes, welcome to the greatest forum on earth!

I built a layout in my new home here in CA over the past 3 1/2 years. The dimensions are 12 X 17 feet. Here is a photo of the track plan that provides a great variety of operation:

My goals included a 2 track 072 main line with a substantial yard as well as using my 24" Bowser turntable.

You can see my layout in greater detail in the current issue (Run 299) of the OGRR magazine.

Here are a few pictures:

Thank you all for the information. One piece of advice that I've also heard repeated many times is if you do have a two-track mainline for multiple train operation, don't install switches for a crossover or you will just have headaches and derailments. So I am imagining an isolated outer loop for some non-stop train running, and an inner loop where I can install switches for sidings and accessories.

JBuettner posted:

Thank you all for the information. One piece of advice that I've also heard repeated many times is if you do have a two-track mainline for multiple train operation, don't install switches for a crossover or you will just have headaches and derailments. So I am imagining an isolated outer loop for some non-stop train running, and an inner loop where I can install switches for sidings and accessories.

The first iteration of my layout had twenty switches.

Now, there are four.

The derailments and accompanying irritation were not worth it. So, I agree with that perspective. I am sure there are numerous hobbyists on this forum who can handle multiple switches with no problems, but not I.

FrankM

I am using Ross #4 tinplate switches and have had few if any derailments on my crossovers between the two mainlines. The crossovers give me the ability to move trains between tracks and into the yard, etc. for much more interesting operating sessions. IMO you will regret eliminating the crossovers once your trains make a couple of loops around the layout.

One of the best I can remember seeing on this forum that isn't shown above is @Avanti 's layout where he uses classic postwar accessories, but blends them very nicely into more realistic scenery.  Maybe he could share some more photos here.  I think I remember reading a post of his saying the trick is to hide the often bulky base of the postwar accessories by either sinking them in a foam surface or covering them with a balsa wood facade to mask the "toyness" of them.

https://ogrforum.com/...787#8187868222160787

From my 1993-2003 layout.

Peter

Found more on my desktop in the office......

Peter

Peter,

What was the size of your layout? It looks about what I am going for.

Frank,

What kind of loose ballast do you recommend for Lionel tubular track?

Thanks,

John

John,

First rule of model railroading:  There are no rules, it is yours to do with what you want.

There are a few things you may consider.  Paint, scenic the walls before laying track.  Paint the horizontal plane of your layout before laying track or placing buildings.  Various colors have been used from black to camouflage patterns.  You just do not want bare wood showing.  Other than that, go at it.  Nothing cannot be undone, redone, replaced.  Drill plenty of horizontal holes for wires before assembling your table.  It is much easier to drill holes outside not worrying about the dust than after the table is assembled and the debris is falling on your head.  Mark the wires and make a wiring schematic. 

John in Lansing, ILL 

John,

I have a small (4X8) layout but its all tubular. This is my first O gauge layout (I grew up on HO) so mistakes abound. One big one was getting used to the size difference. You have definitely come to the right place for advice. I didn't join until after I started my build so I probably could have avoided some issues had I started here. Either way, I'm having a blast with my first permanent layout in over 30 years.
I started out thinking I was going to get a bunch of operating accessories but they just wouldn't fit with this plan. I've done the scenery as I go.

Bob

JBuettner posted:...

Frank, What kind of loose ballast do you recommend for Lionel tubular track?      Thanks,   John

 

Hi John, For ballasting, I would recommend something I wish I had taken notice of when I first started my layout - I would have gone to some real railroad tracks and counted the number of individual rocks that typically lie between RR-ties, as an average. I'd also have referred to photographs, like these borrowed pictures I am providing for you here.

My count has usually been a "line" of 7 - 9 rocks spanning the space between ties. I have also taken note of the color(s) involved, which might vary due to location and age/weathering.

Likely, I would purchase HO-sized/scale ballast, which seems to me, now, at this stage in my modeling, to be close to realistic, IMO. I am not happy with the ballast I applied along my ten loops of track because I feel they are too fat, averaging from 3-4-5 per space between ties. However, I am not at the stage in my lifetime where I am going to remove all the too-large ballasting on the entire layout's K-Line Hi-rail track and start applying more finely sized. (There's advice in that explanation, too, isn't there.) Frankly, I simply accept that I made a mess of it.

For an excellent source, I would go to Jim Elster's Scenic Express business and eye-ball several containers he has available of fine gravels, etc. and make a creative decision from there.

FrankM

"Likely, I would purchase HO-sized/scale ballast, which seems to me, now, at this stage in my modeling, to be close to realistic, IMO. I am not happy with the ballast I applied along my ten loops of track because I feel they are too fat, averaging from 3-4-5 per space between ties. However, I am not at the stage in my lifetime where I am going to remove all the ballasting on the entire layout's K-Line Hi-rail track and start applying it again. (There's advice in that explanation, too, isn't there.) Frankly, I simply accept that I made a mess of it."

I think there's some SERIOUS room for spirited argument here.

IMO, you've done an exceptional job on that layout ... no "messes" there.  Certainly, just enjoy it without regret.

Thank you, RT. May I look forward to future conversations in which we might argue? You certainly have a very nice way of stating your "disagreement" (!!) Are you in the diplomatic corps ? 

FrankM

Thank you. Thank you very much, sir.

Welcome, to the best and most fun and informative O Guage Forum that I know of. You will get many ideas, many thoughts, all good to know as this helps You, to evaluate the ideas from friendly folks that seriously love model trains. Now, I think having cross over tracks, using 072 switches would be very user friendly, not the older 022 31” curved switches.  Also, food for thought, using roofing shingles under your track might be an easy way to add a spark of realism, to a toy train pike. One thing also, you mentioned a walk in type layout, you could build a lift out section on a straight area making it appear to be a bridge. 

I do have one question, are you aware of the neat train control systems offered by Lionel. MTH, and others? They really add to the fun and enjoyment of running our trains.  Personally, I love the Legacy System by Lionel. These systems also make it fun to run our trains conventionally.

Good luck and thank you for this nice thread on building a model railroad.

Leapin Larry

JBuettner posted:

Peter,

What was the size of your layout? It looks about what I am going for.

Frank,

What kind of loose ballast do you recommend for Lionel tubular track?

Thanks,

John

 

 

 

14x26

Peter

John,

 Good luck on your layout. My last one was an 11 x 4 switching layout. I hope you post pictures as you move along. 

Tom 

Thank you everyone for you ideas and advice. I am going to stick with conventional operation right now. Nothing against digital, but I need to draw a line in my own budget and use what I have already been collecting and accumulating for years.

Keep sharing photos of your layouts. If I never get the thing built, at least I can dream about what others have accomplished!

Putnam Division posted:

Found more on my desktop in the office......

Peter

That's an ideal operators layout in the post-war tradition.  

Dan Padova posted:

Putnam Division posted:

Found more on my desktop in the office......

Peter

That's an ideal operators layout in the post-war tradition.  

Thanks, Dan.....the little guy turns 26 in August......this layout seems like a lifetime ago......

Peter

JBuettner posted:

Thank you everyone for you ideas and advice. I am going to stick with conventional operation right now. Nothing against digital, but I need to draw a line in my own budget and use what I have already been collecting and accumulating for years.

Keep sharing photos of your layouts.If I never get the thing built, at least I can dream about what others have accomplished!

You may enjoy this chapter in my layout story. It may provide something of a perspective on tackling such a project.

The first chapter was my Uh-oh Moment, which was when I took delivery of my order from a local lumberyard of twenty 4'x8' sheets of 3/4" finished-on-one-side plywood. Along with them came all the legs and frames, cut-to-order, of the 2x4's that would constitute the frames and legs for the plywood "platforms," as I had become accustomed to calling them from my childhood in Pittsburgh.

The entire load arrived and got temporarily stored in our 2-car garage, adjacent to the basement soon-to-be-trainroom, which was only the first time our cars had been exiled to the driveway for storage and work space and safety.

As I looked over all that wood, I was intimidated and wondered if I had made a BIG mistake. However, all that lumber smelled great, stimulating my creativity and need for adventure.

I constructed the first "platform" with the help of my wife in up-righting it from its upside-down position on the basement floor. The whole procedure took 30 minutes and felt real good.

Every day, when I returned home from teaching high school, which has always been my favorite creative adventure, I'd immerse myself in the basement, building the twenty platforms, bolting them one-to-the-other, and eagerly faced the next creative chapter - configuring the track.

I loved it all.

When you feel like playing trains, you will, and in your own unique way, taking what feels best to you from all our advice and viewpoints. Have fun. I almost envy you the creative adventure ahead of you. There are few things in life quite like building your own model train layout. IMO.

FrankM

RSJB18, Bob! Thanks for posting a photo your tubular 4x8. I am looking for a third table in my tri table  set up. Might you post your plan and some more photos? A lot going on in it! Thanks, Leroof

btw, so many great tubular layouts here! Thanks to all.

Putnam Division posted:

Found more on my desktop in the office...…

Peter

Awesome layout!!! Makes me want to bring my trains over to play!! And you definitely have the right playmate helping out in your pics - the perfect age for trains! 

How long have you been building it?

George

Hi JBUETTNER, my layout plan is a bit smaller at about 10'x14' and exists only in fairly complete tables, but I do have fully laid out plan once I get there.  I have two outer main loops, one completely isolated and O72, elevated 7".  The other is O64 mostly (O54 minimum).  You can see in the first picture the different areas. 

There are a lot of phases here to get this up and running (and get it past the BOSS of the house).  My inner O31 City loop, two trolleys and yard will all be tubular.  The rest will be mostly Ross sectional, Gargrave flex and Ross switches, but you can use tubular as well.  It's designed to run and operate trains and accessories, not necessarily be a model of anything.  I built and tweaked it based upon the structures, buildings and operating accessories I had acquired (check out second attachment).  I'm thinking still a month out to have anything running.  A new swing door lets it run loops with an operating area in the middle... that's a little tight though.  I have a recent thread about the swing door here if interested.  

Kirk R

Here are some pics of my tubular track ballasted with Brennan’s ballast.

Thanks for sharing these photos.  I really enjoy a traditional O gauge layout done well with scenery and accessories. 

Peter, your old layout is an ideal postwar operator's layout.  Absolutely love it.  It is great you got your kids involved.  My boys are 9 and 6 and I think at some point in the next few years we will rebuild our small layout and I will let them do most of the work.  This is the good stuff in life. 

Have a great day fellas. 

Leroof posted:

RSJB18, Bob! Thanks for posting a photo your tubular 4x8. I am looking for a third table in my tri table  set up. Might you post your plan and some more photos? A lot going on in it! Thanks, Leroof

btw, so many great tubular layouts here! Thanks to all.

Here you go. This is my current plan, complete with 027 curves (too tight for larger locos), too steep grades ( can't pull a couple of cars up hill without a struggle), and too short sidings (no place to park extra rolling stock and locos). All of the red track is elevated.

Otherwise its perfect!!!

Bob

A few photos from the start to now.

JBuettner: Welcome. I'm sending this in two parts due to my computer dropping my longer message.  Tubular layout 12 X 24 ft; Track #! over and under about 144 ft loop; DCS and Legacy. I added a curved yard (Ross switches and Gargraves wood-tie Flex Track), an additional 10 1/2 ft to layout. The Gargraves adapts to tubular very nicely. (continued)

Wally

(cont.) Track #2 is MTH block-powered Remote Commander (infrared) remote control; Track #3, 4, 7 are simple loops with tradtional/conventional control; Track #5 winds through an industrial area with sidings for loading/unloading (coal loader, crane); Track #7 is double X-over w/ trolley/streetcar. Power includes ZWs, Z4000, 1033s, Z-Troller on power brick, etc. Remote bases for Lionel Legacy and MTH DCS. Five tracks traditional power. Accessories mostly lighting of Miller operating signs and flashing LEDs on vehicles and helicopter plus Mel's Diner. A small mountain with tunnels in back wall. Hatches to get up to work on layout or walk on top (tubular is strong; that's why I chose it.

Good Luck, Wally

A very short video of our old (12 x 18) layout. All Tubular Track. Powered by three MTH Z-4000 transformers and operated by MTH DCS.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cuI6YRH9QHU

I've been "pinning" layout inspiration pics to this Pinterest board for a couple years now, kind of geeky but hey, I'm a bit of a geek.

https://www.pinterest.com/rich...model-train-layouts/

Great way to curate ideas, Murnane!

my layout 11x7 . 4 loops ,figure 8 and elevated.