New train room - need track plan idea's

U shaped seems to be the most popular with forumites. It's the type most pictured here. But I greatly prefer the island type.

12' total width and 3' layout on each side? That's 6' of trains and 6' in the middle? But 3' is your curve limit which is 36" max diameter. That's not very big curves at all. You can forget anything needing 072 track. 6' in the middle is also way more imo than I would need to turn around in physically. I'd rather use that for trains. I like as MUCH train running room as possilble.

Also what do you do about reverse loops including the important double reverse with 6' in the middle? It appears you could forget that, absent 6' lift bridges.

If I were blessed with 12 x 28, I'd do an island type. Two ways possible. One with it flush with wall on one side and a 3' walkway on the other (this requires access ports), and the second way with 3' walk space on both sides (this might or might not require access ports depending on how tall you are and your arm length - I personally can reach 3'). I'd design it around your arm length so you can physically reach any train anywhere.

Leave room at the end for train shelves and storage, and the 3' leeway on one or both sides. And by so doing, leave a maximum space possible for wide curves and lots of train running.

3' walkway on only one side from 12' leaves 9' which is 108" diameter (that's the way I'd do it). With that your outside mainline can be 096 curves with a little left over so you won't run too close to the edges (put in that space a long straight track off an interlocking from the outside main, for a branch line or engine ready track). In my opinion, that's exactly what I'd like if it were my space. Your 2nd mainline is then 088, and your 3rd is 080 and you get the bonus of an 072 passing siding, from which you lead into the interior. And into your yards. I'd do all that off curved switches which save even more space.

It certainly worked for me that way.

First I would remove the door or reverse it so it opens out of the room.

I would try for a perimeter layout with a duck under or a swing gate at the doorway. Depending on your reach you can have a three to four foot width. What is behind the knee walls? Some forum members with similar rooms have gone into the back walls for sidings, or additional running width.

Now THAT'S a Man Cave!!

I have no suggestions, since I've never had that much space, but good luck and have fun with it!

Whatever shape you choose, I highly recommend designing a "twice-around" main--that is, make it so a train has to make two complete loops to get back to where it started (or get from one end to the other, if you are doing point-to-point.) 28 feet is shorter than it sounds in O.

I designed this for a friend, but we didn't use it. The dimensions are similar. The probablem would be that the tracks on the left and right side are at different heights, so you'd need three lift bridges coming in the room from your door. But, maybe you could work with it.

If you want the RRTrack file, my email is in my profile.

Paul:

First congratulations, this is a very nice finished room and a nice space for your layout. Because of the slanted walls (I have them as well) the walls are ideal to flush mount your benchwork on the sides and at the window end of the room. I would look at this as a rectangular "O" to take advantage of the 12 ft. room width that will allow for wide radius curves. This would also be a perfect opportunity to use lift bridges at the door end to gain access to the center. As far as width of the table on the sides and ends, use a size that you are comfortable with the "reach factor".

I'll bet you can't wait to get started.

Congratulations on the new real estate!

I would build an around the room layout. Someone else suggested a twice around layout. I agree completely. Also I would build 4x8 tables around the room. You could have wide radius turns and plenty of room for a storage yard and plenty of secienery. At the doorway you would have to build an duck under of some kind or a lift out bridge. It will be great.

Good luck,

Mike R

A final word of advice. You can skip doing lift bridges to get into the room. Either follow Don's advice about reversing the door, or, back off the layout edge enough to allow door clearance (a single inch clearance is as good as a mile), then start the layout. With 28' to play with you can afford to do that.

I previously mentioned leaving clearance at the far end for display shelves. But with clearance at the door end, you can put the shelving and display/storage area on either side of the door. This means you can do with just a very minimal clearance now at the far end (I got away with just one foot).

I'm personally not a fan of lift bridges to get into a room. Aside from obvious reasons it's awkward with 3 or 4 mainlines involved, which is ultimately what many of us most want. And some of those lines will be widely curved under the scenario I outlined, and I don't know how you do curved bridges. You also want it easy for trainroom visitors. They need some amount of space at the entrance to stand and admire your layout.

Overall, a lot of this will come down to how big are the trains you intend to run. Some of us like them big and we love the wide curves.

Paul
I have a very similar attic room over part of the garage but it is about 50% smaller than yours---9x19 with a 9x16 round-the-room layout which enables me to have wide curve arcs: 072/084/096. A window is centered one end as is yours and the door on the other end is just slightly off center. I installed a "piano hinged/ transome catch" drop section[recycled from a large dismantled layout down the hall---now a TV/Exercise Room for the General Manager]. The drop gate is 3' in from the entrance door, which I removed because either way I swung it, it took up needed space and was generally in the way near the top of the stairs.

The drop section is located in a dual mainline curve-072/084. Drop Sections work just as well in curves as on straights. The example Jim Barrett uses in Backshop DVD #11 on Lift Bridges and Drop Gates is demonstrated in a curve[I made my drop section back in the '90s from the article Jim did in OGR. This is the third layout is has served and I have had to rehab it and dress it up as a through plate girder bridge].

Until this week I had not worked on the layout since Feb '10 due to health issues. But I had it wired and trains running back then and the drop gate was
serving well and of course avoids ducking under. When one is near 80 years getting down or up ain't what it used to be, but I hated ducking under at any age.

If you like wide curves I reccommend round-the-room and either a Lift or Drop to enter layout.

quote:

Originally posted by pennsy484:
I designed this for a friend, but we didn't use it. The dimensions are similar. The probablem would be that the tracks on the left and right side are at different heights, so you'd need three lift bridges coming in the room from your door. But, maybe you could work with it.

Like that design!!

Hi Paul, I like your room with the office at one end. You should have one great railroad when your done.

As for a track plan, I think you should first sit down and think about what you wont to do. If you like to sit back a watch your trains run around a loop then the double loop idea mentioned above is a great plan. If you wont to have mountain action like log yards and coal minds then a cool switch back traveling back and forth up a mountain from one site to another is the way to go. Some people like active switch yards where they can hump their cars, in that case you know what to do. Of course there are the folks like me who like two or three main lines with trains running in opposing directions.
The important thing is that once you make up your mind as to what you wont your railroad to do then the ideas can be a little more focussed.

But what ever track plan you decide on remember the golden rule of layout building, "access, access,access"! IMHO nothing is more frustrating then having to do hours of repaire work due to damage done to your little world because a car went off the track and you had to climb over everything. Unles you like playing Godzilla.

Hey Paul, as much as we may not like duckunders, I had a couple once, and used an old office chair with the back removed to scoot around on and under the duckunder which just missed my head, with the chair at the lowest height setting. I had a single arch foam bridge that was about 42" total length with a fairly large single arch that allowed for ample upper body space when scooting under the bridge. I can't remember the height exactly, but it was about 42-48" clearance. I'm not super tall. I actually have a picture of a similar bridge on my blog on J+C Studios shown on the link below. Feel free to take a look at it for a possible solution or an idea. It appears in my collection of bridges photo, and is the large single arch bridge greyish-blue, in color.
Happy railroading (and planning)
Tim

Paul, congrats on your new space. If I have that room I would build my layout up high and have meandering curves and have scenery (gullies and gorges) which extend almost to the floor with trestles and long curved bridges. Some other member posted photos of his and it is impressive and very realistic. There is no reason why you could not have a U shape layout with varying widths on both sides and a double bridge lift up at the end, say 6 ft from door. Anyway, just a thought. Good luck.

TEX
Steve

I know I am coming late to the game but my suggestion is to hold off on tearing down the old layout. I had to partially take mine apart to do some work and it has been down now for several months. If it weren't for my floor loop I'd go nuts. Try not to make it so you can't run trains.

Here's a quick plan I just did based on your room size and a 3 foot door:



Real basic so far, a lot can be done with this space, you lucky dog

All curves and switches are 072 (I did this using the free Atlas software).

There's plenty of room within the loops and the Wye to add more track. You could possibly even go bigger radius and have a 2 track main or keep a single main and use bigger curves so you could run some full length passenger cars. Also plenty of room for adding industrial sidings.

I like performing switching, but I also like to sit back and watch a beautiful passenger train go round the layout.

I seem to think in one dimension when it comes to heights. With a slight grade you could really do a lot more by running track over and under (I recently saw Keystoned Ed's PRR layout and still can't get the "WOW" look off my face).

And a slight variation:

Those last plans have the great virtue of no duckunders. And they have space to potentially work in more track on upper levels.

I can't help but wonder, where are the stairs to this second-floor space? Any possibility of going through the wall to circle around the stairs, to get more layout possibilities without duckunders? Not that you need more floorspace, because it's already a very generous space.