Sully’s New Layout - Input

A couple of my thoughts:

Put some gentle curves on  the longest straight runs. I think a long, curving train is pleasing to watch.

Put larger curves on on or two corners so you have more area for scenery on the corner.

Maybe a crossover or two so the inner train has access to the yard.

I should probably have mentioned there will be several crossovers between the mains, they arent on here as this is a basic shape diagram.

@Sullyman626  You mention doing a passenger terminal. What kind of cars do you use - scale or semi-scale?  Five feet of space is only going to handle 3 - 70 foot cars or 4 - 60 foot cars.  If you really want a terminal you may want to consider using a long wall and building the terminal over the rails.  Its a dilemma for me because I have 7 and 8 car sets - */- 12 feet not including the engines. I do not really want to back something that long into a terminal, but I will is that's my only option.

BTW I have an Atlas Grain Hopper (Wayne Feeds) which will not take an O31 curve. The detailing under the body interferes with the rotation of the truck which binds on the curve. Well it binds until the detail pops off and is found lying between the rails.

You may want to layout an 042 curve section and see how much room that requires. The 42 is measured center rail to center rail - for me, a 48 inch deck is too short and leaves no room between rail edge and the floor. Even if you go with semi-scale engines, the articulated ones swing out quite a ways so you need room even on a wall. Build it, run it, see what you like, what does not work and rebuild.  Hold off heavy detailing or ballasting until you are sure the layout does what you want it to do.       

We used a minimum height of 44” to the top of the homasote. Access is okay and it sure helps knees and backs.

I would try very hard to go larger than 031. It significantly limits what will work.

Jeff how well will passenger cars back thru the turnouts/curves?

Look forward to seeing your progress.

is this all against walls? are you worried about 4' reach? (or do you have full access around the outsides?)
reason i ask is because i want to do a similar layout, but its inside a 11x11 room

Yes , this is all against the walls (and will be secured to the walls) I won’t have 4’ reach on the back side but will on the side legs.

I use 40" for the top of the benchwork main level, it's worked out well.  I'd consider a plan that has a bit more variety in the routes that the trains will travel, makes the trip more interesting.  I'd also seriously think about a lot more yard space!  I have 13 yard tracks that are 12 foot long, and I truthfully wish I had room for more!  Finally, the wider you make the curves, the better.  You'll also almost surely regret doing O31 curves on your mainline, that will seriously limit what you can run!  I've been there a number of times, and this latest build is all O72 or larger curves with the exception of a couple of industry sidings at the right side.

Here's my track plan.

It looks to me that you can widen the ends of the two side sections to allow for wider curves. 24 or even 18 inches at the entrance can work if the inside area is large enough

The access in the area indicated appears that it will be a real challenge!  I'd wonder if a center of the room layout would provide wider curves and better access overall.  I'd explore all options before you start nailing benchwork together.

Murphy's Law Applied to Model RRs ... derailments will occur at the most difficult to reach stretch(es) of track.

Some observations:

* O31 curves may be satisfactory for THOMAS series trains for youngsters and truncated O27-size trains, but not much else.

* To relieve the monotony of endless loop running, install  reversing loops.  You have a great place for a double crossover on the layout - use that trackage to advantage for reversals.

* You drew LONG straightaways; consider elevating a portion of the inner route with an up-ramp on one side and a down-ramp on the other side. You may have locos in your collection with the "cruise control" feature; they'll automatically compensate the speed along the up and down ramps.

* Sidings for train car storage and interchange shuffling are wonderful, but when installed long enough for practical use, it's space-consuming. Some sidings should be reserved for action accessories:  Log Dump at a Sawmill, Coal Ramp for a Power Plant, a Merchandise Unloading Boxcar at a factory, etc.

* Place a suburban scene at one open space, and a city scene at the other. Place operating accessories in the city:  Fire Station, Mel's Drive In, Car Wash, Gas Station, etc. Connect the suburb to the city with a point to point trolley line.

Just saying -- carry on, valiantly ...

Mike M.

I wanted to fire up my laptop and sketch something out in SCARM but haven’t had a chance.  In my head I’m envisioning a “folded dog bone” in the space.  I’m assuming the doorway is in the bottom left? Just above that could be one set of loops on one end of a dog bone. The tracks could run up and over the top of the diagram and down the right hand side where a yard could be. The other end of the dog bone could be loops just in front of the doorway. Hope that makes sense. These things always seem much nicer in your head. :-)

Jon, that’s a great opportunity you have. There are much greater minds than mine to guide you on a design. My suggestions would be: 1. Before building, consider  installing a backdrop, or at least painting the wall a shade of sky blue. 2. Keep the table at a comfortable height for you but remember you will have to work underneath it. 3. Therefore, consider getting a creeper and 4. Give some thought to outlets, around and under the layout, as well as illumination from the ceiling.

If it's on carpet, here's the ticket.   I had some old classroom fiberglass chairs and I needed something to work under the layout.  Sitting in this is way more comfortable than laying or kneeling, and my head clears the layout by a couple of inches.

@Sullyman626  This thread is attracting a decent amount of attention. You may want to pick a name for your layout and re-name this thread (if you can) Hard to follow "new layout thoughts" as a topic of interest because  "new Layout help" is not all that uncommon.

There is something to be said about planning, but there is also too much planning. I thought I knew what I wanted and this has changed at least 3 times over three years. I am still learning and my likes and dislikes continue to change. At this point I am not even convinced all the bells and whistles with the new stuff is really worth it - which is exactly what attracted me back into the hobby in the first place.

@ScoutingDad posted:

You may want to pick a name for your layout and re-name this thread (if you can)

No problem, just edit the thread.

It started yesterday, I have decided to go with an L shape instead of a “U” , but this will allow me to have an O72 and O54 outer mainline pair.

Consider adding a leg in the middle of the long run below the fan.  The leg further back in the middle of the cross member will only create a "T" shaped cantilever effect which the material used will not be able to support.  Especially should you crawl up onto the platform at that point.

Thanks Tom, the room is smaller than it looks, very well suited to a layout but with a T section or 120” curves there would be nowhere to walk. The legs are temporary I’ll be adding more permanent legs with leveling feet.

One thing to consider is the use of benchwork fingers and aisles.  In reality we do not need a large gathering area but peninsulas or finger built off of a reduced  width layout benchwork can provide accessibility.

Here is a river cut into an otherwise over wide platform:

Long finger/long aisleNotch aisle to service turnouts

Notch aisles can be very helpful in reaching service spots.

@gunrunnerjohn posted:

If it's on carpet, here's the ticket.   I had some old classroom fiberglass chairs and I needed something to work under the layout.  Sitting in this is way more comfortable than laying or kneeling, and my head clears the layout by a couple of inches.

On a concrete floor, assuming that it's reasonably smooth, one could attach small scraps of indoor/outdoor carpet to the sliders.

For concrete floors:

Old kitchen chair in a sectioned dolySimple drop seat in a dolly

Wide assortment of leg levelers at Outwater Plastics.  Their online catalog has many varieties.  I use the swivel Monoco style with a 1 1/2" nylon face.

My project from the last two nights. I was actually as excited to build this as I have been to complete my bench work.

Ok did some more work and filled it in, now it’s done!

@Sullyman626 posted:

Ok did some more work and filled it in, now it’s done!

Love the shelves!

Looking forward to watching your progress.....

Peter