Plan #99, What do You Think?

sinclairOGR Forum Member

Layout planning can be such a pain sometimes. But I think I have come up with something that I like in the space I have. What do you all think? Yes, it's flat, but with playing with elevation on the floor or now, I have found I have some locomotives that can pull up 5% grades no problem, but physically can't handle the elevation changes so I just scratched that. So I added a mountain tunnel and a couple of bridges over water. What do you all think?

I have spurs for switching, an O72 oval and spur to park on for my Vision Line Big Boy. I have the ability to run at least 3 trains at once, and the ability to turn trains around. I also have a small town. Over 95% of my stuff will run O36 (My VLBB and a scale MTH PRR T-1 are the only things I own that don't.), so I will not face any limitations on what to run. And I think it'll be fun for my toddler to run his LionChief Thomas trains on too. I took some things from past layouts I planned and added them, but the basis on the inner section is from a layout I found on YouTube, user Paul's Trains. I found it a while ago, and kept coming back to see it. It was simple, but there was something about it so I finally sat down and watched several of his videos to figure out the plan. Then I converted it to Atlas and away I went.

The only change I might make is to make the "middle bypass" loop all O45. This will allow for future equipment buys to not hog the outer main.

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4/21/1512:26 PM

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StPaulOGR Forum Member

good morning sinclair. you have created the layout with all you wanted. you can run 3 trains basically on there own. yet the ability to switch cars around also.

your toddler will love it as he grows older am sure thomas will be seeing those tracks a lot.

so whose switches and switch motors are you planning on using?

how big is the above layouts size? as I know you have to share this room with family too.

I wouldn't change a thing makes me think of the layouts from years long gone by.

and seeing computer has been healed use the years to start creating the layout you really would like to have times change children grow up and soon you will join those of us called empty nesters with all the room for 2 now!!

so when can we expect construction startup??

4/22/158:49 AM

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sinclairOGR Forum Member

Well, I messed with it and did get a Min O45 on that bypass loop, keeping O36 on the figure 8. I just need to keep on eye out in the corners as I'm building it as my Rail King Cab Forward really swings out and I don't need it hitting my Vision Line Big Boy.

As for starting construction, the 2nd weekend in May I'm laying the tile on the floor, and then my wife is having her baby shower the last weekend in May, so after that I hope to have some money left after the tile to build the bench work and table top.

As for laying track, I have some that I bought with the plan to make a ceiling loop in the bedroom, but that hasn't materialized yet, so chances are it'll get used for this instead, so I have enough for the O72 loop. The overall table size is 180" by 80". Being there is no floor yet, I drew an outline on the floor with a Sharpie so the wife could see how much room it'd take, and she was okay with it (Actually it was bigger and she vetoed that so it got reduced to the size listed above. So taking so long to tile has worked out so that I could draw all over the floor.).

As for track brand, I have Atlas right now, and being I won't likely be able to buy track for the inner loops and spurs until next year, I'll get a year's work of time on them and see how the switches hold up. Hopefully by then Atlas has got the pipe lines flowing and I get the rest of what I need, and know if I'm keeping their switches or trying something else.

4/22/1511:31 AM

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