@Robert Cushman posted:I think Mike’s moc up would be the best option to suit what I want to do and plus have the option to put the TT in later.
My main goal is to just have a huge loop like he made and spots to store them when they’re not moving.
I’ll try to make Mike’s in atlas and see what I come up with.
Should translate to Atlas pretty well. Atlas has most of the same switch options as Ross, similar curve Radii, and flex track.
Concur with the others on the numbered turnouts. O72s are fine for yard use or moving to a divergent line... but crossovers, nope. The Atlas No. 5 turnout will give you the 4.5" line spacing on crossovers and on the Bridge Dave mentioned. Additionally, I'm not a fan of coil fired switch machines... think tortoise ...they are bullet proof.
Lots of great information in this thread and a really cool track plan. Looking forward to watching your progress!
Peter
@Dennis-LaRock posted:Concur with the others on the numbered turnouts. O72s are fine for yard use or moving to a divergent line... but crossovers, nope. The Atlas No. 5 turnout will give you the 4.5" line spacing on crossovers and on the Bridge Dave mentioned. Additionally, I'm not a fan of coil fired switch machines... think tortoise ...they are bullet proof.
I see what you guys mean on the numbered switches stealing more room on the layout. Heck maybe I’m better off doing a 108 outer then skipping the inner loop that would run parallel.
I’ll see if that will work in Mike’s.
The only change I’d have to figure out is how to make a lift out bridge or something for the entry to the inside of the layout. I was thinking about that atlas 40” Pratt but that will be too long and not line up.
@Robert Cushman posted:I see what you guys mean on the numbered switches stealing more room on the layout. Heck maybe I’m better off doing a 108 outer then skipping the inner loop that would run parallel.
I’ll see if that will work in Mike’s.
The only change I’d have to figure out is how to make a lift out bridge or something for the entry to the inside of the layout. I was thinking about that atlas 40” Pratt but that will be too long and not line up.
IMO the plan you posted has plenty of space for numbered switches to connect the loops. Even better, get a Ross double crossover and you can run two separate loops or one big twice-around loop at the flip of a switch.
Jim Barrett's book has a whole chapter on building flip-up or drop-down sections in your benchwork to facilitate access. A lift-out bridge would also work - it can be wider than the opening it's going to span, just not narrower.
You can use easements to keep your curved sections 6" apart but your straight sections closer.
How about this 108 to 99?
I think it will still give me enough play for the TT eventually. The 7.5s are in place.
Robert:
Love the layout plan.......are you still going with Mianne? If you are, one thing to remember is that 20x8 is really 20 feet, 1 and 3/4 inches BY 8 feet, 1 and 3/4 inches.
20x8 is the distance between the centers of the end legs.....there is 1 and3/4 inches extra.....so 1/2" plywood or better you can have a little overhang and have an extra inch all the way around.
This is 4' by 2'.....if you measure from the leg centers. But really, an extra 1 and 3/4" in each direction at the outer edge of the legs.....
I didn't read the fine print in 2011 and found out the hard way.....the above is from the new layout I'm starting....and I plan to make use of those extra inches.....
I also saw that you are not going to ballast. Have you considered all Ross track with painted RossBed. RossBed also is quieting. See the thread below.....
My new layout is all Ross....four reasons:
1) economics.....if would cost a fortune to get all the Atlas track I need
2) availability.....Atlas products go scarce for long periods of time
3) performance.....by five years, I had burned out all my Atlas switch machines (likely my fault from too much voltage)....but still, they failed with minimal use and I had to replace all of them with DZ1000s. By 10 years, I had thrown away a few switches due to poor mechanisms
4) customer sevice.....Steve, the owner of Ross is terrific, very involved and always available
https://ogrforum.com/...ce-with-this-product
Looking forward to pictures of your progress.
Peter
Peter, the odd spacing of the Mianne was one reason I liked the 5x5 Baltic Birch panels. However, in the end, we just joined the sections wherever they fall to make a continuous platform, so it probably wasn't as big a deal as I first imagined. 
@Putnam Division posted:Robert:
Love the layout plan.......are you still going with Mianne? If you are, one thing to remember is that 20x8 is really 20 feet, 1 and 3/4 inches BY 8 feet, 1 and 3/4 inches.
20x8 is the distance between the centers of the end legs.....there is 1 and3/4 inches extra.....so 1/2" plywood or better you can have a little overhang and have an extra inch all the way around.
This is 4' by 2'.....if you measure from the leg centers. But really, an extra 1 and 3/4" in each direction at the outer edge of the legs.....
I didn't read the fine print in 2011 and found out the hard way.....the above is from the new layout I'm starting....and I plan to make use of those extra inches.....
I also saw that you are not going to ballast. Have you considered all Ross track with painted RossBed. RossBed also is quieting. See the thread below.....
My new layout is all Ross....four reasons:
1) economics.....if would cost a fortune to get all the Atlas track I need
2) availability.....Atlas products go scarce for long periods of time
3) performance.....by five years, I had burned out all my Atlas switch machines (likely my fault from too much voltage)....but still, they failed with minimal use and I had to replace all of them with DZ1000s. By 10 years, I had thrown away a few switches due to poor mechanisms
4) customer sevice.....Steve, the owner of Ross is terrific, very involved and always available
https://ogrforum.com/...ce-with-this-product
Looking forward to pictures of your progress.
Peter
Thank you for the response. Originally I was going to go all Ross but then heard more of a majority on here and people I talked to saying that Atlas was the best, quiet and solid. I have never seen atlas or Ross in real life and we really have no train stores here so I’m just taking opinions and going off videos.
I might actually order a hunk of each to see for myself before I switch from fastrack. What steered me away from the Ross/GG was that you have to solder and I don’t want to get into that. But they are US made and that’s a big plus and like you said the owner is active on here and I like supporting people on here. This forum has been nothing but a pleasure to be apart of and appreciate all the help.
For Mianne, I didn’t know it had an extra inch on it. I still haven’t made any final decisions yet so I’d check with everyone here prior to pulling the trigger on anything.
Thank you Peter!
@Robert Cushman posted:I might actually order a hunk of each to see for myself before I switch from fastrack. What steered me away from the Ross/GG was that you have to solder and I don’t want to get into that. But they are US made and that’s a big plus and like you said the owner is active on here and I like supporting people on here. This forum has been nothing but a pleasure to be apart of and appreciate all the help.
Don't kid yourself, you will be soldering with Atlas as well! I've used both, and IMO Ross/Gargraves is actually easier IMO. I also think the track pins have better conductivity than the Atlas rail joiners, and the slick Gargraves blades make it easy to lift out pieces and replace them later without ripping up a lot of stuff.
The noise factor is minor between the two track types, the vast majority of the noise comes from the base with Fastrack, and between Ross/Gargraves and Atlas, it's 95% what's under it, not the track. I have Baltic Birch topped with Homasote, and I used foam roadbed. The Ross/Gargraves is very quiet on that.
I originally wanted to go with Atlas, but after building my layout with Ross/Gargraves, that's the way I'd go in the future if I did another one.
Soldering? Sure.........any model railroad bigger than a 4x8 is going to have some.......but I figure to hold it to an absolute minimum with Gargraves pigtail connectors.
Peter
I've not soldered any of my Atlas track on my 35' x 7' layout other than to practice soldering to the silver/nickel rail. I tried both rosin core and silver solder and each work just fine. You can buy the Atlas pigtails... but, I make my own pigtails soldering various lengths of wire to the rail joiners. Soldering is incredibly handy in this hobby and not particularly difficult... you can become an expert with a couple of hours practice. A lot of folks here use the Hakko FX888 soldering station... I haven't used any of my bigger irons since purchasing the 888.
It's not that I cant solder, I just want to keep my layout easy to make changes on.
CHANGES! Oh My! I went through 15 iterations using SCARM before starting the build... I'm now at 21 and counting. I haven't experienced any difficulty in changing things up. I have around a dozen pieces of track that have been cut to size... several on each loop. When you cut a piece the tabs are removed from the cut end allowing one to slide the rail joiner completely off the adjoining rail making it quite easy change things up with the atlas track. I have no electrical continuity issues with the rail joiners... although, I do have power drops about every eight feet.
@Robert Cushman posted:How about this 108 to 99?
I think it will still give me enough play for the TT eventually. The 7.5s are in place.
If I start with this would those 7.5s give me
enough room for the big articulates?
Also where would I want to place power hookups?
Would it be smart to run a Bus wire like an arterial system or would it be best to run the individual hookups directly to my terminal block?
Yup on the #7.5s... and, the #5s as well. If used as crossovers you can also place a short straight between them for an even smoother transition. For instance, I wanted a little wider line spacing and put a 5.75" straight in between the #5 crossovers leaving 5.5" line spacing. 5.75" is the longest truck/driver set that I have making the move to the divergent path very smooth.
You can run one bus for switch machine power... then, there are several methods for wiring depending on how you intend to throw the switches i.e., tactile/control panel, remote etc.
Placed the first order with Tim today. He was extremely nice to deal with and gave me several options.
He’s making it so it will be easy to either add a TT.
But might go with a elevated subway from bridgeboss on the 8x10 section.
Mianne just shipped my framework guys. Will keep you updated.
Congratulations on the Mianne shipment! Don't worry about changes. My layout has had 4 major plans and numerous modifications. I'm still modifying, thought 'all' the track is in place.
@Mark Boyce posted:Congratulations on the Mianne shipment! Don't worry about changes. My layout has had 4 major plans and numerous modifications. I'm still modifying, thought 'all' the track is in place.
Thank you!
Finally got it built. Need to place the 1/2” on top then I’ll start placing the Atlas. Not sure if I’ll get cork or the foam underlaying or if Atlas is quiet enough on its own.
Looking good......Mianne set ups are fun to build!
Peter
It looks great, Robert!!
@Putnam Division posted:Looking good......Mianne set ups are fun to build!
Peter
Can’t recall if you went to the edge of the posts or just did it to the center and then just made an edge afterwards?
@Robert Cushman posted:Can’t recall if you went to the edge of the posts or just did it to the center and then just made an edge afterwards?
I’m going to go a little over the edge.
Peter
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