The Whole Layout

Ingeniero No1 posted:

Well done, Arnold. Very enjoyable video & layout!.

Do you have a diagram of your layout? If you already have posted it, I missed it (sorry).

Thank you for sharing.

Alex

Very cool thread and I really enjoy seeing these videos and learning from them.  I see an assortment of different directions to take when building a layout!  I like them all!  Maybe one day I will have mine ready to make a video of.  

Jim 

carsntrains posted:

Very cool thread and I really enjoy seeing these videos and learning from them.  I see an assortment of different directions to take when building a layout!  I like them all!  Maybe one day I will have mine ready to make a video of.  

Jim 

Jim, if I can do it, you can do it.

Great thread

Thank you for the ideas

scale rail posted:

Arnold, when shooting videos of my layout I would avoid entire shots of the layout. Didn't even shoot many wide shots. Most are medium and tight shots. Seeing what the entire layout looks like (for me) takes away the magic your trying to produce. Detail is very important and to shot it you need tight shots. For me less is more. A super wide shot of the layout must be held for a much longer time. There is just too much to see. I like to force the viewer through focus and framing to look what I want them to see. Just a few thoughts. Don

Please watch in 1080 HD. 

Great video Don! Thanks for the fun ride around your layout!

One or two asked to see a diagram of my layout. Below is an iPhone photo of my handwritten diagram:

Below is a more close up shot of the left side of the layout in the play room:

And below is a close up of the right side in the laundery room:

I think the most interesting thing about my layout are the switch tracks in the middle where the 2 main lines interlock, so trains running in either direction can move from one independently blocked main line to the other one. Below is a diagram of those switches on the left side, and beneath that are the ditches just to the right of the first set of switches:

Arnold D. Cribari posted:

I think the most interesting thing about my layout are the switch tracks in the middle where the 2 main lines interlock, so trains running in either direction can move from one independently blocked main line to the other one. Below is a diagram of those switches on the left side, and beneath that are the ditches just to the right of the first set of switches:

I put my crossovers at each end of the 17 foot wall .  that way I can use the mains like a "passing track". 

Did you draw that out before or after you built it??  : )  

Jim

carsntrains posted:

Arnold D. Cribari posted:

I think the most interesting thing about my layout are the switch tracks in the middle where the 2 main lines interlock, so trains running in either direction can move from one independently blocked main line to the other one. Below is a diagram of those switches on the left side, and beneath that are the ditches just to the right of the first set of switches:

I put my crossovers at each end of the 17 foot wall .  that way I can use the mains like a "passing track". 

Did you draw that out before or after you built it??  : )  

Jim

Hi Jim:

I drew the diagram beforehand, and meditated on it, adjusted it, etc.

I found the design phase very enjoyable, more so than messing around with the power saws (that make me nervous) to build the bench work.

Arnold

I like it, interesting design, just enough for one person to operatel.

Arnold, like you I make a very primitive drawing of the table top parts of my layout. I use old Lionel 072 curved track to see how it looks. If I like it I replace the Lionel track with Gargraves track/Ross switches. About a third of my layout has no level. The track on the mainline will stay about level but the area around the track, small towns, in this case a ghost town and mines drops to the floor. The area above the rails is about six ft high. This is my stage. The trains are the actors and are small compared with the stage. These areas to be framed must be worked out before hand. I have built areas like this and didn't think they worked so I took that area down and started over. Every layout I have build has more and more non-table top areas. I think they look the best. Don

scale rail posted:

Arnold, like you I make a very primitive drawing of the table top parts of my layout. I use old Lionel 072 curved track to see how it looks. If I like it I replace the Lionel track with Gargraves track/Ross switches. About a third of my layout has no level. The track on the mainline will stay about level but the area around the track, small towns, in this case a ghost town and mines drops to the floor. The area above the rails is about six ft high. This is my stage. The trains are the actors and are small compared with the stage. These areas to be framed must be worked out before hand. I have built areas like this and didn't think they worked so I took that area down and started over. Every layout I have build has more and more non-table top areas. I think they look the best. Don

Don, your approach makes perfect sense, and is a great way to build a very advanced layout. It makes the trains appear to be travelling through a true landscape instead of on  a table top, which tends to be artificial looking. I If and when I can muster the time, energy and resources to start over, I would attempt your approach, but in the same long and narrow space available to me.

Very nice layout Arnold 

Alex 

Excellent!

Arnold,

I am glad to see the whole layout now.  It extends farther on both ends than I thought.  I had thought the ball park was at the end at one time.  Thank you for the update and plan!

I would hardly consider your layout small. Very nicely done. And thanks for sketching the track plan and posting it. I love the fact that you kept the track to a minimum and left room for some nice scenery.

Curious, though. You suggested your basement is relatively small. What are its dimensions? I ask because I’m trying to plan a larger layout in a 10-by-25-foot area of my basement and I’m feeling equally confined due to the position of the doorways and other areas that require access.

Jim, when you come up with a plan I sure would like to see it. I am doing a 12 x 24 train room.

Arnold D. Cribari posted:

carsntrains posted:

Arnold D. Cribari posted:

I think the most interesting thing about my layout are the switch tracks in the middle where the 2 main lines interlock, so trains running in either direction can move from one independently blocked main line to the other one. Below is a diagram of those switches on the left side, and beneath that are the ditches just to the right of the first set of switches:

I put my crossovers at each end of the 17 foot wall .  that way I can use the mains like a "passing track". 

Did you draw that out before or after you built it??  : )  

Jim

Hi Jim:

I drew the diagram beforehand, and meditated on it, adjusted it, etc.

I found the design phase very enjoyable, more so than messing around with the power saws (that make me nervous) to build the bench work.

Arnold

Arnold I will try to get a printed/drawn copy of  basic plan that is in place now.  Ive changed it very little. Printed the SCRAM file on it but cant figure out how to post it.    Plus the SCRAM file doesnt have the changes  and switches in it that I have added.  

Jim

Jim R. posted:

I would hardly consider your layout small. Very nicely done. And thanks for sketching the track plan and posting it. I love the fact that you kept the track to a minimum and left room for some nice scenery.

Curious, though. You suggested your basement is relatively small. What are its dimensions? I ask because I’m trying to plan a larger layout in a 10-by-25-foot area of my basement and I’m feeling equally confined due to the position of the doorways and other areas that require access.

Jim, so sorry I did not answer your question sooner in your above reply, which slipped through my fingers.

My available space in my relatively modest sized basement spans 2 rooms, the playroom which is longer, and the laundry room which is shorter. Its really one room with a thin wooden partition and wooden door (I removed the door) between the rooms. If you look at my handwritten diagram, the wooden partition is where the 2 vertical lines appear to the left of the baseball field, station and siding.

About 25 years ago, my young  children at that time were thrilled when I made a tunnel through the wooden partition so the 2 main lines extended into the laundry room.

The total space is 33 feet long (spanning both rooms). The larger playroom is 12 feet wide plus I have 22 more inches of closet space to store trains (thank God for that storage space) and Christmas decorations, etc. The laundery room is about 10 and one-half feet  wide,

I regard my available train space as relatively long and narrow. I've always been interested in the articles and photos in OGR and CTT about layouts in small spaces.

Seeing enormous layouts in large spaces that look as big as a gymnasium or warehouse makes me green with envy. LOL

I hope this information helps you with your layout.

Arnold