TREATISE on Designing a Model Railroad Layout (DESIGN #101)
(Help for the beginners, novices and designed-challenged)
By John Robert Coy (Copyright 2017)
Please feel free to share this essay with others.
This short essay is a universal response to arguably the most frequently and common request for assistance involving model railroading in ALL scales:
“Give me some ideas for a track plans in a certain amount of space.”
This question is asked by someone seeking answers of how to get started. This
request is putting the cart well before the horse!
Trying to figure out how to arrange your track to fit your space FIRST is the single most repeated mistake in the history of model railroading!
It is like asking someone to write instructions without telling them what the instructions are for.
The purpose of this article is to enlighten future layout builders as to far superior concepts of layout planning versus track arranging trial and error. Every Model Railroader's goal should be to create a layout that is plausible (unless toy train layout), have purpose and officer participation and fun for others who interact with the layout.
The information contained in this piece is an effort to steer people away from continuing the historical error of assembling loops of tracks by track arranging trial and error; that have no theme or purpose and offer no or very limited participation or interaction. That includes toy train layouts.
The information contained within shall greatly benefit future model railroaders. A word of caution here: this is but a very brief snippet of what one needs to know. There is no way to relay an entire formal model railroad design process in two pages. However, this will get you started in the right direction.
If you are searching for answers and guidance of how to plan a layout consider this:
FIRST: What type of layout do you want: Toy, Display, Operational or other?
SECOND: Select a theme. Envision in your mind what this railroad is and what its going to look like when its completely finished. You need to know where you are going and what you are doing before you begin.
THIRD:
Ask yourself:
Who: is the name of your railroad/layout?
What: is your railroad/layout purpose? What does it do?
Where: exactly is your railroad located?
When: did/does your railroad exist? Era?
Why: did you decide to choose these answers above versus other possibilities?
How (MOST IMPORTANTLY): will you and others interact (participation) with it?
The who, what, where, when, why and how are the bare bone basics of model railroad design. Please be mindful that arranging the track to fit your space is NOT part of this initial process.
Your specific answers to these questions will directly impact the track arrangement. A track plan for a yard in Chicago will look different from a logging line in the Colorado Rockies.
The point to this Treatise is that you must make decisions of exactly and specifically what you want to accomplish PRIOR to doing anything else; including arranging track to fill your space.
This is a tremendous amount of additional information and many details that you need to learn as well after you answer the above questions yourself. The hope here is not to discourage anyone. It is to make you aware that there is a lot more to model railroad design than assembling a loop or two of track.
Lastly, don't have room for a layout? Well it doesn't have to circle! It could be built on a shelf on a wall in a room. There are countless possibilities for shelf switching layouts. Happy Model Railroading! I hope you find this as good “Food for Thought!”
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