New layout suggestions for a newby? SCARM file attached

Max shelf width would be somewhat of a personal preference and would vary with the size of the person.  You must be able to reach the back most track for cleaning and clearing wrecks.  I am smaller than you and am thinking 36' would be the max depth for me, with 32 much better.  Try mocking up something with wood scraps or cardboard, track and a car.  Dont forget about access hatches for large areas and corners.

Bill

Unfortunately, "looks like it will fit" is not good enough. The RoundHouse HAS to be a specific length away from the turntable in order for the engines to clear the doors, so you need to determine the minimum footprint needed. Most RHs come with a diagram showing the footprint needed for proper installation. In any case, if your diagram is close to scale, there won't be enough room for you to lift the bridge and get inside the layout easily.

I took the liberty of rotating the design 90° so the longest length is on the X axis to give you a larger workspace. The "shelf" is 36" wide except for the corners and the TT/RH area. The entrance is only about 16" wide, so while you can squeeze in, it won't be very comfortable doing so. Even with a long reach, lifting a heavy engine/tender out of a corner can get rather cumbersome, but only you know how wide is too wide. Place an engine on a table and check the distance you can comfortably lift it.

A mock up is an excellent idea and yes the steam locomotives I'm using are very heavy. My round house is from a kit and I have the floorplan on a full size paper template. I checked the instructions and there is no mention of the minimum distance from the door to the turntable. I was able to do a full size mockup using my longest locomotive and the dimensions of the turntable. It seemed like the turntable location was determined by the convergence of the tracks coming out of the roundhouse. I will be able to make sure it's "operational" before making the final decision. The door/lift bridge is only 16 inches wide in the plan because I don't know how to use SCARM yet. I plan on having a 40 inch truss bridge for the liftout.

If my turntable/roundhouse foot print is accurate on the plan, is the switch and short spur OK? Using Dave's rotated plan I could slide the whole footprint to the left at the top and move the switch further to the left on the outside oval.

Generally doors open into a room, and that would be a problem.

I would have the turntable lead going to a passing siding instead of the mainline.

Jan

Here's how I'd do the TT/RH. I also added a 40" bridge just for comparison.

I think a 42 inch shelf is comfortable for me. I am still watching the video tutorials for SCARM and do not have any proficiency yet. I moved the shelfs to reflect what I think is 42. I also added the actual dimensions to the room along the respective walls. I tried to put a 40" bridge in the doorway and failed.

The door is a standard 32 inch and opens outward to the left against the short wall. The door opening starts 6" from the corner of the plan. It looks like a 40 inch bridge will be too long? The last curve piece on the right sticks into the opening by about 6 inches. Making about 26 inches for the usable opening. I can fit in that. If I use a shorter bridge maybe I can still keep the existing track plan on the left?

Jim,

Can you post a picture of the room and door opening?

Dan, here are some pics.

I haven't built the stud wall, so where you see leaning 2x4's it will be drywalled. The second door to the room on the longest wall where the round table sits will not be used.

Have you ever though about moving the door?  The little alcove where the door is is wasted space.

Jan

Thanks Jan! The power of a fresh perspective. There is a bathroom on the left in the hallway. You can see the door in the pic of the finished area, and the plumbing in the pic of the unfinished stud wall at the end of the hallway.  If I move the door I can free up that space. I still can not do "baseboard" in scarm so I created an object to represent the new space.

I can also angle the door in the hallway and still retain full access to the bathroom. My apologies to all SCARM users. I'm just moving Dave's baseboard around but I think you can understand the results.

Here's what I was thinking.

Didn't pay attention that this file doesn't have Daz's addition of the passing siding.  I think that that is a must.

Jan

Every empty space in the baseboard is yet to be populated and yes Dave's siding is a very good start. If you look at the pic of the finished hallway, I can take the stud wall at the end out completely, I'll be left with a 16 inch jog where the plumbing enters the bathroom.

Corrected my oversight. That's the Atlas bridge.

That's it Jan! I'll keep the dez jan file but I think I can squeeze some more space out of that corner when I move the door. Since I still can't do baseboard I laid some track from the point of the jog where the plumbing is to where I anticipate the door frame will meet the other wall.

Ok, Jim, the easiest way to create a baseboard is to convert your measurements to inches, label the X,Y coordinates and use the "Baseboard (abs coordinates)" tool in the Toolbox.

The starting point is the upper left (0,0), so you enter 0 in the X field, 0 in the Y field, then hit +.
That puts the cursor on the next X field, so you enter 221, tab over the 0 and hit + again.
Now X is still 221, but Y is 99, so you enter 221 and 99, then + again.
Continue that process until you get to the bottom left.
After you enter those, hit +, then Done and it will connect the last 2 points.

If you're happy, save the design. If not, you can move each point manually, but I recommend you update the coordinates and eventually create a new baseboard using the Toolbox so the points are accurate. Moving the points manually gets them close and that's probably good enough, but once you get the hang of the Tool, it's easy enough to make them accurate.

Note that I put the coordinate labels on another Layer, so you can turn then Off/On.

I can now do baseboard in SCARM! Thanks Dave. I'm going to move the door as Jan suggested and I'll adjust the baseboard to reflect the new footprint.

You’re welcome, Jim. Any time you need help with SCARM, don’t hesitate to ask. You can PM me or send an email.

I've moved the door and generated a new baseboard. This additional space is awesome and I think changes the character of the mainline.

I've attached a pic and the scarm file. I would like to move the bridge closer to the door and slide my Korber four stall round house to the south. Since Dave rotated my original plan the cardinal points actually match my geography so that works better than left/right/up/down.

Just some food for thought to make the TT/RH area more typical for steam engines. Adding an water/coal run allows steamers to be filled on the way out while another engine can enter/exit. The engine house is self-explanatory.

Very nice. Thanks Dave. I'm going to be drywalling and ceiling tile installing this weekend. If I can't figure out how to do something in SCARM I'll let you know.