Track plan help

Lionel has now released O-31 fast track switches. Um, hm. I'll have to go think about this one.

Not sure if this will work for you, I swapped out the command control o-36 switches for O-31 remote control. On a layout this size they should work fine. I ended up shifting where the strained joint is to around the switch, it should be fine with in the tolerance of fas-track and work. a table and a some fasteners should hold it together if it troubles you.

If you are truly limited to 4' "It is what it is". But a few inches could make big changes. Namely what I would prefer, is a second crossover/turnout set, and/or a second reverse loop. But that makes for spaghetti.

I rolled with the 0-31 in most spots for now.

An el for your "critter" line?. Real nice if its a trolley.

(Have to keep you thinking) 

 "As is", your engine overhang might be hitting walls, so I tightened it, but only slightly. What engines you will buy and run, is key to your turns and spacing here. Bigger is better. Overhang, and kick-out between trains in parallel curves is wider than parallel straights.

The offset gap can take scenery to separate the 2 lines from being a "racetrack".

Going "over size" on 8' you could do it more scenery too. 

Or something like this?

Are you using Fastrack? If you are, the 10" straight section won't actually fit on the ends with the O36 curves. I have on set up in my garage right now with a 5" section and a 1 3/4" section on each end. The edges of the track on the sides are just about touching the edges of the plywood. You could use a sheet of MDF as the table top. MDF measures 49" by 97" and would give you an extra inch of wiggle room.

Hi kristinski,

I see on the attached plan that you changed the track in the center. The remaining offset and slight over length will fit when you connect the tracks. It will put a little pressure towards the loop, but not enough to cause problems.

Replace the 10" on the ends with a 5" and a 1 3/8". The inner loop roadbed will be very close to the outer loop.

Kaminski 2 Alt c will fit in the center. Correct the end pieces.

Allin,

The 031 switches are non-existant. Someday they will arrive.

Here is your file with the end changes and the 4 x 8 table.

I just checked Lionel's shipping schedule on the website the O-31 switches ship this October. I thought they were not available yet, but a filler two inch piece could be used as a place holder till then. Sorry for the inconvenience.

On the clearance for the bottom parallels. I looked closer; that's going to be tight on a loco with large pilot &/or cab over hang, riding on the reverse loop, for clearancing a long/wide car on the outer track. At under 2.25" between opposing rails, rocking could cause clipping. Better if you replace those 1-3/8" on the outer loops left, and right, with 1-3/4" pieces. That should give you 2.6" and maybe leave room for a sign, bush, or dwarf signal along the stretch.   

Ooops!  I noticed that once you enter the inner loop, you would have to back out.

Does anyone have a 2014 MTH Ready To Run catalog and scanner handy?  On page 72, there's a nice twice around 4x8" layout. It has an offset 90 degree cross, sort of parallel long horizontal loops on the left side and broader shorter more vertical parallel loops on the right side.  There are two sidings and what looks like space for a town or trolley line.  The catch is it uses o-31 curves and MTH sizes but the basic shape may meet some of the features you are trying to model.  I'll see if I can scan it at work.

Tomlinson Run RR

OK, some versions. The last with 072 switches is a suggestion. You can fit those on the  4 x 8. If you stay with FasTrack, you'll want those later for a larger layout. If you don't use FasTrack, they sell easily. Plus, the train looks better crossing over and you can isolate the loops.

Most of these versions have the on\off the inner and outer loop.

My favorite is the last one, version six. All of the pieces are available now.

You can eliminate fitters by making custom cut straights. See appendix of LCCA Module Specs. Also, there is a FasTrack lengths pdf to help you find combinations of track for fitment.

Right-click the files and select "save target as" and save it where you can find it.

OK, here are some really bad scans from the catalog of 4x8 layouts but they get the basics across. The first one has a big gap, so that doesn't really address your original problem unless you want to fill it in with scenery. Personally, I like the third one because the train makes a loop twice so you don't have to fiddle with switches to get more action unless you want to. You can extend the sidings a bit, too.  Given the small size and large gauge, the gaps in the layouts may not look so big in reality.  (Ah, the joys of being restricted to 4x8, which I can relate to.)

Tomlinson Run RR

here's that MTH Twice around plan in FasTrack. No 031 switches, so I had to make it slightly different.

Here is an attempt, there area few joints that will take force, but line up correctly, hopefully within the margin of error. I added one cross over, but mitigated the S curve at the same time. I did my best to leave the road intact, I hope it still works as intended. you may want to attach a board to the side of the table to give it a little more width with this, but it should work.

Gee, that's a really nice track plan. Could the outer loop work with 0-42 curves? 

042 may work, but FasTrack is being used, so no 042 curves.

If the original poster (Kristinski) or any others are interested, I gave in and bought the track necessary to create the MTH 4x8' twice around track shown in my post above.  After seeing Moonman's helpful conversion of the layout to Lionel track, I decided to ignore my better judgement and preference for Lionel track and go with the MTH track.  The reason is that I had a specific use for the siding on the right-hand side and the larger Lionel curve at the switch would have prevented my planned use.

Once some problems with the poor quality of the track joints, 90-degree cross, and switch isolation were resolved (thanks to forum helpers in separate posts), I can now say that I am very happy with this layout.  It is what I had hoped it would be and it's fun to run trains on it.  I've since made a small modification. The bottom outer section has an MTH truss bridge, while the inner bottom section has a PRR girder bridge.  There was enough room for both as originally designed (I went with a staggered placement to suggest a river becoming a stream).  However, it seemed visually crowded, so I added a 3.25" straight section to the left and right sides to create some space between the two tracks and their bridges.  The extra gap is just wide enough to hold some extra track for cars not in use and give that cluttered train yard look if desired. There is enough empty space between loops on the left side to add a short trolley line as I had hoped, although I haven't yet.  You can get more or less space by swapping the curves near the upper switch around.

Unfortunately, the extra north-south length ate up the remaining floor space where peoples' feet should go when sitting on my living room furniture.  So hey, it's just like model train people -- there's no room for people's feet on the Tomlinson Run layout! :-}

To save money, I took a chance and bought a box of the Lionel Railroad Bumpers #6-12717.  They fit the MTH track nicely and can stand up to a Bump and Go trolley but not a runaway train driven by a ham-fisted klutz.  A nice part is that the Lionel bumpers match a bumper in my prototype siding perfectly.

So, now the play value: the two loops and cross-over are great.  The layout really works well (awesome) with a simple trolley, although as configured, you can't use the sidings for the bump and go feature without having to switch the track.  My Lionel steam and MTH diesel trains and their consists look great.  Later on, I hope to add a signal and crossing but a drawback is that this layout limits where you can place them.  The two sidings suggest a variety of uses and play ideas. The only real snag (literally): the S-curve leading up to the cross in the inner loop derails even a short passenger car so I can't run my new heavy weight car -- even though it is rated for 0-27. Bummer.

Summary: I'm very pleased with this layout and glad I spent the money on it.  I see that others here have used it as a base for building a larger layout, so it has expansion possibilities even if my living room floor doesn't.

Tomlinson Run Railroad

You should read John Armstrong's books on model rr'ing. Among other things, he talks about how going to a 5x9 makes a huge difference in layout possibilities despite appearing to not add much more area.  

He also discusses a ton of options and you can decide which are must-haves For you.  For us, one was that we wanted reversing loops so that trains could run on the same tracks in either direction.  He has many layouts with twice or thrice around on a 5x9 with nice scenery and it doesn't look overly crowded.  Just a thought...

Peter

Interesting and makes sense that even a small size adjustment offers additional possibilities.  I will look for Armstrong's books out sometime; they sound very interesting. However, finding 5x9' space would require cleaning out the basement. So, it's gonna be 4x8' for me for quite a while.

TR3

I don't have SCARM on this computer, but I was able to convert the original concept into something that just fits onto a 4x8. The inner loop uses a combination of O-36 and O-31. Unfortunately, RR-Track's labeling is by part number, but the list of component parts is below the image. You can dump the 1.75" straights on the top and bottom long straights in favor of 1.275" straights if you want -- makes things a bit less confusing. I also eliminated a pet peeve of mine -- reverse-curve crossovers in favor of corner crossovers which are much smoother taken at speed.

Item list for Kristinski_Layout.rrt

NUMBER  DESCRIPTION          PRICE   TOTAL
(10)    12015          FasTrack  O36 45° curve    5.49
(4)     12023          FasTrack  O36 11.25° curve    4.59
(4)     12046          FasTrack  O36 remote switch right   94.99
(2)     12045          FasTrack  O36 remote switch left   94.99
(5)     12014          FasTrack  10 in straight    5.49
(4)     12042          FasTrack  30 in straight   15.99
(4)     37103          FasTrack  O31 45° curve    5.49
(3)     12024          FasTrack  5 in straight    4.59
(2)     12025          FasTrack  4.5 in straight    4.59
(8)     12073          FasTrack  1.375in straight    4.59
(8)     12026          FasTrack  1.75 in straight    4.59
           

Hi Matt,

Thanks for your offer to scan The MTH catalogs.  Actually about 7 and 8 posts back there's a crummy one that I did at work. It's embedded only as an attachment you must click to see.  By the way, this AM I was thinking of Peter's advice and could see how another 10" would help my particular layout but not my stair banister :-(.

Tomlinson Run Railroad

TR3,

Just so you know, you don't have to scan MTH catalog pages from more recent years.  Just download the PDF file copy of the catalog and you've got what you need.

Unfortunately, it's too big to add as an attachment, but there is free software available that will allow you to cut out individual pages if you need to do that.  Just info for future.

Chuck

Thanks, Chuck.  Excellent point/tip about the downloadable PDFs.  I hadn't thought of them as I find them hard to read and so was thinking in hardcopy to scanner terms.

Anyone can actually use the built-in Adobe Reader page/section capture feature to copy whatever they want. It used to be highly visible as a camera icon up to reader version 7 or so, but on newer readers it's hidden under a menu item.

The irony is that I write and build online and PDF documentation for living but give me a hardcopy any day!

Tomlinson Run Railroad