Track Plan Design

Might try providing some information, starting with room size, space within the room for the layout, obstructions, brand of track you have or intend to use, general idea of what you're looking for, etc. Have you considered downloading SCARM and trying to design one yourself?

I have  room that is 11 x18.  I will be using Atlas track and I want at least two main lines with at least 72 minimum radius, I want a turn table, a yard, industrial area, lumber area, and a small town. I like the design of the Black Diamond Railroad. I know Chrismas has passed but this is my wish list. I am not good at track planning. Thanks!

Doors, windows? Around-the-room style with duck-under or lift-out for access? Horseshoe style?

Trainhead.....Here's a place to at least get some ideas and it gives you a hint of the scale and arrangement of things that will fit in your space.

http://www.atlaso.com/O%203Rail%20NS%20web/index.htm

Happy New Year.....

Peter

TrainHead posted:

I have  room that is 11 x18.  I will be using Atlas track and I want at least two main lines with at least 72 minimum radius, I want a turn table, a yard, industrial area, lumber area, and a small town. I like the design of the Black Diamond Railroad. I know Chrismas has passed but this is my wish list. I am not good at track planning. Thanks!

Hi TrainHead,

Ok, how about some space utilization planning? The Black Diamond Railway is 32' x 16' on a single table. That would have 96' of one loop around the perimeter. If you went around the walls, 24" wide, your space would provide a 58' run. Other elements would  need to be on a peninsula or slightly wider table.

A walk-around table with a scant 30" walkway would leave a 5' x 12' space for a table in your room. A larger table against two walls creates reach problems that require crawling under or setting a table height at 40" + to minimize the pain.

Think about how you would like to see it in the room and consider the construction and operation.

Then some layout designs can be created.

I thank you you for all of the helpful information.  I am not skilled in this area...especially in function, and optimal use of space when planning a layout. I just know what I want. Consequently, that is why I need an architect. Are there people who design layouts on paper?

You also need to think about how you want to operate.  Do you want to duck under... do you want pop out hatches?  How long is your reach?  I'm 48 and wondered how would I want to run my trains at 58 or 68.

I don't want to crawl on my hands and knees and I want to be able to reach everything on my layout from a standing position.  When I am under the layout working, I want to be able to sit without bumping my head (I'm 6'4" tall) and be able to comfortably work and move around.

The result was a pseudo around the room layout with a center peninsula.  I have a lift up bridge for entry.  I also constructed a removable foam 6 foot section in case I ever need to replace my furnace (Knock Wood).

Take a look at many examples on this forum and play with one of the software programs to see what will actually work for you.

Have Fun!

Ron

Yep, there's still folks that do this for fun as well as paid professional design and/or installtion, as little as bench work, or the whole shebang!

Stay on top of your thread and others will likely do the same too. It doesn't mean daily, but enough to show the time of some great designers is well spent.

Your space is 11ft by 18ft?  Mine is slightly larger at 15ft by 19ft. 

I opted to go with an around the wall continuous run layout.  That means either a lift out or a duck under to enter the room.  I selected a duck under.  The layout is 53 inches above the carpeted floor so I have a touch over 51 inches of clearance to "duck under" the overhead shelf.  I used the "wasp waist" approach at that point and narrowed the shelf to only 24 inches for that 36 inch wide entry.

I am lucky enough to have room for a 48 inch wide peninsula by 11ft long.  I use that space for another switching area. The wall that the peninsula attaches to is also 30 inches.  My shelf on the two "long" walls is 30 inches wide and only 18 inches wide on the one wall.  

KEEP IN MIND that you need to have room for yourself and at least one or two friends or family...after all, we love to show off our railroad, right?  I would urge you to keep no less than 5 or 6 feet wide by 12-13 feet long for a center operating area.  6feet does not give you enough room to add a peninsula and have rooms for you to squeeze down the aisle unless you make the shelves much more narrow than 30 inches.

Actually, my advice would be to make your two "town" shelves 6 inches wider so you can install some scenery and maybe a small industry siding.  

I am using 3 rail track with O-72 curves and O-72 turnouts.  That gives me room for about 4 parallel tracks with building flats for customers on a 24-30 inch wide shelf.  Of course, if you give yourself 36 inch shelves, maybe you have room for some full 3D structures in the foreground and flats along the back wall. Or perhaps just enough to add a third track for industry along the wall with building flats for the warehouse and industries on that wall.  We will call this the first long wall.

With 4 tacks, you have room for  a main, a pass or runaround track, and two stub end sidings.  You could also run a stub track onto the short wall on one end...we will call it the first short wall...behind a small hill and trees...to serve as an interchange with another railroad.

Treat the other long wall as a rural town with a couple of fair sized industries (for a small town).  Main, runaround-pass track, 2 or 3 industry spurs...a couple along the backdrop and maybe one between the main and the operating aisle.  You could even have an interchange with a second railroad that disappeared behind a warehouse and then went on behind a hill and trees...yes, to come out on the other end as the FIRST interchange. 

Please NOTE:  I would still have a continuous run connection "in front of the hills and trees" so you could use that as a switching lead for both towns AND so you could "continuous run".

So, you could have a short line railroad that picked cars from the first railroad (on the first short wall) switched them in the yard on the first "long" wall and moved them to the small town, switching a rural feed store and grain elevator (on the second short wall...if you have room for a Cornerstone/Atlas feed store you can also put the MTH Grainery or the Lionel elevator or a Korber concrete silo elevator, or a custom from Model Structures as well as a team track, depending on your personal interests and era modeled and the region of the country.  LOTS of action on a spur only 24-30 inches long).   Then you enter the small town (on the second long wall) where you have a handful of other industries and a set out (on the first short wall) to the "second interchange).

You could even add a little extra work...how so?  The train originates in town A, switches interchange A, puts the train in order, runs to the rural elevator, switches it and proceeds to town B.  After switching town B, the train works the interchange with railroad B.  Perhaps there is a car being shipped to the elevator...you would have to take it to town A since there is no "runaround" at the elevator.  So, the next day, that car would be included in the next train going to the elevator either to unload or load...and then would likely return to interchange B. 

Yes, it is a "glorified 4x8" on steroids for 3 rail.  So what.  It has everything you might need: 

1) a plausible history and reason for existing...local customers and "bridge route" from railroad A to railroad B.

2) provisions for continuous running to enjoy watching trains run thru your towns and scenery.

3) Yard switching; small customers between towns;  and customers in cities or towns.

And if you want, you can even make a couple of industries difficult to serve, like the extra work to drag the elevator car OR perhaps a switchback on an industry track in one or both towns.

I found that HO 4x8 layouts expand nicely into shelf layouts in O gauge.  Stick to the ones that are usually just "oval loops" so you have your operating space in the middle and can reach across everything.

(Truth in advertising:  I would probably lower my layout a few inches if I had it to do again...on the other hand, I am finding that age and ducking seem to still be OK at 67yrs old and shelf height of 53 inches tall.  Let your back be the judge.)

Happy railroading.

Thank you Tony Wright.....can I get a photo of your layout please?

I am hoping the track plan shows below in this test...if so, I will try to post a few more.

So....maybe success...kind of.  That is: if by below I meant "above".  (smirk)