thoughts and ideas

Neil, I like the layout.  What if you paint the upper 6" of the knee walls and the angle walls light blue with clouds and elevate your layout to 30" above the floor.  You could make the angle walls work for you by building mountains under them to hide the outer rear tracks.  With elevation you can also drop the terrain to accommodate bridges which adds interest and helps get rid of the flat look.  Don't forget a creeper to access underneath with hatches near the back to access hard to reach places.  To make it more comfortable get some of those roll around stools like they have at Harbor Freight.

Good luck, nice layout.

Chris Sheldon

Really looks good, I like action packed accessory layouts. 

Only thing I would be wary of is when an accessory or building is too close to a curve. You need to watch out for overhang clearance. It looks good on paper, but sometimes you won’t know until the first time you run them. 

Hi NeilB711,

Two things stand out to me at first look - I don't see space for walking around comfortably and where's the door? Is it an in-swing?

I see three trains running at once - nice

Lots of accessories - nice

Would you mind sharing the file?

Chris-I hadn't thought of a base elevation of 30 inches, definitely something to experiment with.

JD- good point about accessories near curves I've had that issue before

Carl- There really is no walking around room as I split the room with my son's HO layout.  Up to this point if I need to reach something on the far side of my existing layout I tiptoe gingerly and try avoid disaster. I imagine if I raised the layout I could put in access hatches to solve for this. I have no problem sharing the file you just need to tell me how.

Thanks everybody for the input.

Wonderful job, Neil! You certainly maxed out the available space with a host of entertaining possibilities. Can you share how you worked out the electrical feeds? Those are a lot of accessories!

When constrained for space, why not go vertical? Add a whole new dimension climbing a mountainside or viaducts. Not a criticism, just a thought.

All the best!

neilb711 posted:

Chris-I hadn't thought of a base elevation of 30 inches, definitely something to experiment with.

JD- good point about accessories near curves I've had that issue before

Carl- There really is no walking around room as I split the room with my son's HO layout.  Up to this point if I need to reach something on the far side of my existing layout I tiptoe gingerly and try avoid disaster. I imagine if I raised the layout I could put in access hatches to solve for this. I have no problem sharing the file you just need to tell me how.

Thanks everybody for the input.

That's what I meant - space within your layout to avoid tip-toeing.  Can't be helped with the design - but a pant leg or lifted heel always seems to catch something.

Choose the add attachment for a post and the file chooser pops up. Then point it to your RR-Track file. By default they go to a folder in Documents - My RRTrack Layouts

I looked at the layout and most of it would fit on 30" wide around the wall tables/shelves. But, you would lose the center, which is pretty cool. So, I thought, leave it on the floor. I just wanted to mess around with that fitment.

Hi Carl-Here is the file. Thanks everyone for the input.

Neil,

Well, you would lose the center putting it up on 30" wide around the wall tables. File attached.

I thought I would add a 3D of your layout for those interested -

One question - what is the siding for at 3 o'clock or in the east?

I would remove that and the switch to it.

Comment - unless you already have the intermodal crane, I would pass on that and remove that siding and switch. That little stub won't really do it justice. It's not a cheap accessory and needs support areas and roads for stacked containers and trucks waiting.

I'd would operate this layout with a command system or LionChief engines to simplify track wiring using twisted pair for track power. The I would use Cat 5 cable for the accessories or old style solid conductor telephone cable for the accessories. It would make it a lot cleaner looking for a floor layout. Also, you may have to notch the roadbed on both sides on some track pieces to permit wires to cross under. Not a big deal. The cylinder grinder bit on a Dremel/roto tool will do the job nicely.

Another benefit of operating this with a command system would be that that you could control the entire layout with the remote. again, eliminating the cluster of wires and manual controllers.

Thanks for sharing the file. Looks like it will be fun!