Layout help/suggestions

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I'm sorry, I thought I did it correctly.  Oddly when I came back to read your replies, I could see the images.  I edited the topic, removed the images, and then added them again.  I hope it works now.

Regards,

Chris

have you considered an "around the room" (or space available) layout, where you have a lift bridge or something like that that lets you into the center of the layout. This will allow a long double main line run without the need for steep grades. With 11ft wide, you could have an island for a yard or industrial sidings of some type.

Chris,

On the Mac you can run Parallels Desktop to give you a Windows capability. I've done that in the past to run RRTrack on the Mac.  I do have a separate Windows computer to run SCARM. All of these modeling programs are useful for planning grades and clearances (or telling you not to plan a grade at all.)

But before even using the programs, I would determine/experiment the steepest grade--in actual practice-- you can reasonable tolerate using your track and trains your son likes to run.   IMHO, the left side, where you have an over-and-under is a design stress point. Doing a quick back-of-the-paper bag calculation, your inside gold loop has 156" of track. With trying to achieve a 6" clearance that amounts to a 4% grade. Is that going to work for you?  Once we know the grade, and the clearance height, then the plan can be adjusted.  On the right side, we can then determine where the track can go above (or below) the tunnel. (You can also have a two-level tunnel.)

I couldn't read the labels in the photo that was posted, so I decided to see what I could come up that was close and would fit the space, here you go. The green and shadowed green tracks are at 0" elevation. The Blue tracks are at 6" elevation. The gold and shadowed gold tracks are grades with the displayed slopes. I deleted the passing siding in the upper left because I didn't think it was long enough to be of much value. If you want to pursue this and need track labels, just let me know.

Oh, and I rotated it to put the longest length on the X-axis and get more workspace on the screen.

Dave, your conceptual abilities are amazing.

Thanks, Jay.

Thank you all for your responses, it is very much appreciated. 

Dave,  You made that seem to simple.  I like the layout and it looks like it also leaves room for expansion if desired.

I saw a mention of doing an "around the room" layout, is that a better use of the space?  A lift bridge is not out of the question as I have the room and materials I think to accomplish it.

Regards,

Chris

How would you service the water heater, furnace, sump, and meter?  The space diagonally across the basement might be better.

Jan

Here's an around the walls design. However, as Jan mentioned, you can see the problem with access to various pieces of equipment. They can be dealt with using removable modules, so it's not a lost cause, just some work if you're up for it. The Blue outline is the bench work assuming a 30" reach. There is an entryway near the stairs. The Black outline is the existing layout space.

And another option.

I think Dave's design first design (the island with walk-in) is a great design for interesting continuous running in that space. However, it doesn't have any reversion options. This may not be a big deal for you, but I think you definitely could work some reversing loops into that amount of space to help keep things more interesting.

@ChrisM are you looking to build something permanent or keep things more modular where you and your son can tear up the track plan and change things up? That's a pretty big factor in your design, IMO. I think you can still add bridges and tunnels while keeping things modular, but it definitely requires a little more time and thought.

What's your minimum radius? That will help anyone who wants to throw more designs your way. I also use RailModeler Pro on Mac. Feel free to share some files if you wish!

I'm working with a 9' x 12' space made of modular benchwork (woodland scenics) bolted together in our garage and just finished setting up and wiring my 3rd or 4th version of the track plan (love Fastrack for this). I don't have a lot of grades due to the modular nature of my layout, but I've 3D printed some trestles I use to get the outer line up to match the height of the lift-out extended truss bridge.

This opinion may be at odds with what others suggest, so take it for what it is worth.

In a challenging space, shift your thinking away from about building a layout.  Instead, fit your track to the terrain of your basement like real railroads fit their track to the real world.

In practice, consider these design principles:

Build "layout" on and around your turnarounds, which have a certain minimum size based on the curves you are using.  Situate these turnarounds where you want them/have room for them.

In between, I would encourage you to do what you need to do.  A real railroad can put a few miles of track through a desert or a swamp or whatever.  Your model railroad can follow a scrap of lumber between your hot and cold plumbing, behind the water heater, over the sump pump, under the stairs, or whatever.  These scraps of lumber can of course be designed for easy removal.

You might end up with two beautiful scenic areas that happen to be connected by a much less lovely yet highly functional length of trackage.  I don't see any shame in that.

I wonder if @Ken-Oscale has designed anything for a space like this. I won't pretend I'm anywhere near his level, but here's something I put together in RailModeller. It has 2 lines with reversing options, a passing siding, and a small yard. It features a double crossover for switching between the lines. Both lines are O36 minimum radius with some larger curves sprinkled in.

Lots of great ideas above.

When designing access to your water shutoff and sump pump, remember that you may need to get to those things in a HURRY.  Also, with the furnace, make sure that it's easy to change the filter.