Hi all, I'm short on space (4x8 table) and am wondering if I could have an oval with a figure 8 in the middle. Obviously they both wont fit, so I was thinking of using a trestle for the figure 8, but I think the incline would be too steep. The below pics are just a rough idea. I had o27 on the table before, but the trains and some cars aren't happy with the o27 track and switches.
Any and all suggestions are welcomed. 
Thanks
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My suggestion would be to remove the crossover on the figure 8 and have a over-under figure 8. The trestle set might fit that way.
Stock Lionel trestles won't let you position track over existing track on your table- you might have to make some out of wood.
Geno
Assuming you wanted to use O36 curves, you could do a figure-8 with a 45-degree crossing and keep it all on the flat. It puts the outer oval rather close to the table edges.
Or raise the entire figure-8 level, and add some bridges and tunnels for interest.
This topic would be better to post in the "Track Plans and Layout Design" subforum.
all this group talks about is fastrack layouts.
The mth trestles for fastrack would work nicely.
Assuming you wanted to use O36 curves, you could do a figure-8 with a 45-degree crossing and keep it all on the flat. It puts the outer oval rather close to the table edges.
Or raise the entire figure-8 level, and add some bridges and tunnels for interest.
This topic would be better to post in the "Track Plans and Layout Design" subforum.
Sorry, I didn't realize there was a layout forum.
For simplicity reasons, I like the 45 deg crossover idea. Too bad there's almost none available. I found one site that sells them, but the shipping is almost the price of the piece. I have a hard time buying something where the shipping is so high for something so small.
Or raise the entire figure-8 level, and add some bridges and tunnels for interest.
This topic would be better to post in the "Track Plans and Layout Design" subforum.
The more I think about it, the more I like this idea.
Thanks for the idea, I think I'm going to run with it!
A couple more ideas for you to consider:
Use "easements" on your O36 curves, just a wider radius O60 section to transition between the straights and O36 curves. It improves the appearance and operation of trains through the curves.
And maybe angle or stagger the track arrangements on the table to add interest?
The mth trestles for fastrack would work nicely.
Any idea if MTH 40-1047 would work?
On another matter, I was just shopping around when I noticed that bestbuy's website now sells train stuff. Is that new?
Thanks for the great ideas, ace!
This is what I ended up doing:
It over hangs the table by approx 1.35", but I secured it and it has been handling the work load with no bowing. I bought the lionel elevated fastrack trestle. I bought both the store had and am 4-5 short. The elevated track layout works great!
They had a good deal on the New York Flyer expansion pack ($80) so I had to pick those up too. Now I need to get a coal loader to load the coal dumper.
The little one loves the new layout and operating track! Thank you to everyone for all the help.
Nice layout there! I would think about getting a piece of plywood or lumber 3-4" wide under that overhanging track secured with small angle brackets. This would not just be for support but to allow for some sort of guardrail made of cardboard, clear acrylic, or masonite. Eventually you will lose something off the corners as the sharp curve-straight transitions are where derailments occur. A guardrail would keep the trains on the table.
Peter
I have a question - what size are the small pieces of Fastrack on the layout with the figure 8 inside the oval? (the first diagram posted by "Ace" in the thread.
Specifically, the two small pieces attached to each the 45 degree crossover arms, and the two small (and one larger) piece on each side of the larger oval track?
Thanks, Lyle
I recently started in this hobby because my grandson loves trains. I bought the Lionel Horseshoe curve set which came with a figure eight Fast Track setup. I put a sheet of plywood and a sheet of Masonite on a couple of saw horses in the garage then covered it with a roll of fake grass. I set up the figure 8 layout, but it was too boring after a few times around the track, so I added four switches and two extensions to the figure 8. That was better, since I could then reverse the direction of the train. Adding a activator track section and buying an MTH log dump car added to the interest.
I then decided to add a trolly line, but I didn't have space, so I decided to elevate the trolly using Atlas O track and two sets of MTH elevated trestles (as pictured in previous posts). Now there is plenty of action to keep my grandson (and me) happy - at least till I figure out how to add another sheet of plywood to the layout.
I have included my final layout. I know it doesn't conform to real standards, especially some of the wiggles in the trolly line, but everything seems to run just fine. The only problem is that I can't add any more cars to the train as the engine almost runs into the caboose on the smaller loop of the figure eight.
By the way, I have been following many of the threads in this forum, and you sure have a lot of super smart and super nice members. I'm glad I joined.
Ace, could you please let me know where the track plans came from? re: book or online....
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