Layout at a Glance

[michaelstevens]

[8D]

I don't know if this has been tried before -- but;

Is there any interest in posting a description of your layout, in a format similar to the one we see all the time in MRR [?]

I wonder because we are always asking questions about, slipping hints about, the scopes and details of our layouts -- or would that spoil the fun [?] the mystery of it all [?]

[:D][:D]

[Anonymous]

PK LIKE THIS MINE IS:

SCALE: HO
ARA: MODERN
SIZE: 10X18
ROADS: UNION PCIFIC, S.P., D&RGW, BNSF, CSX, NP, N.S., BN
LAYOUT HEIGTH: 45', 54' IN SOME SPOTS
BENCH WORK: 4 4X8' IN A C SHAPE
CONTROL: DIGITRAX ZEPHYR SYSTEM

IS THAT HOW IT IS??

[Jetrock]

Name: Sacramento Belt Line
Scale: HO
Era: 1940's/50's
Size: 18"x6' (full planned size 7.5'x7.75')
Locale: Urban, within City of Sacramento, CA
Roadbed: None
Track: Code 100 Atlas flextrack, PECO Setrack #3 switches, in-street
Minimum radius: 12"
Maximum grade: No grades, flat surface
Scenery: Styrene and cardstock street/sidewalk, Sculptamold
Backdrop: 1/8" hardboard and foamcore sheet
Roads: Sacramento Northern, Central California Traction, borrowed motive power from WP and Tidewater Southern
Elevation: 48"
Benchwork: 5/8" MDF on 1x2 pine framework
Control: DC, 1 cab

[Anonymous]

I like this idea! Here's mine:

Name: none, based on Canadian National
Scale: HO
Era: 1920's - 30's
Size: 4x8
Locale: small town & rural southern / eastern Ontario, Canada
Focus: Engine servicing and switching small industry
Style: Loop with sidings and passing tracks
Roadbed: HO scale cork
Track: Code 100 Atlas sectional
Turnouts: Atlas snap switches
Minimum radius: 18"
Maximum grade: 3.5%
Scenery: foam, hardshell (planned)
Backdrop: none
Roads: Any appropriate. Currently rolling stock from Canadian National, Canadian Pacific, NYC, GN, Shell Oil; locos all CN
Industries: under development, but currently includes - engine servicing with single stall house, team track, coal dealer, passenger station / depot; planned - sawmill
Elevation: 30"
Benchwork: 1/2" plywood cookie cutter on 1x4 pine domino
Control: DC, 1 cab - MRC Tech II 1400


Andrew

Edit - added industry info

[GerFust]

Michael:

Good suggestion - I look to those little boxes to see what code rail and radius curves people are using. Here is my current plan:

Name: Backwoods Enterprise and Agricultural Road (BEAR)
Era: 1970s
Locale: Rural
Focus: branchline serving miscellaneous businesses and a small town
Scale: HO
Style: L-shpaed, around the walls
Size: 8 x 10 (really 2 x 16, but bent)
Rail: Code 100 flextrack (maybe some code 83 in yards)
Roadbed: Cork
Minimum Turnout: #6 mainline, #4 yards
Minimum curve radius: 32"
Maximum grade: 0%
Benchword: steel stud frame, 2" foam insultation on 1/4 " MDF
Scenery: foam
Elevation: 54"
Control: DC Cab
Industries served: Chemical plant, grocery wholesale facility, meat packing plant, trans-dock facility, general merchandise for small town. Also, some passenger and commuter traffic.

Thanks for the idea,
Jer

[ndbprr]

Questions for Jetrock:

What is your opinion of MDF at this point? How long have you had it down? How frequently do you support it? Any sagging yet? General workability better than plywood? Thanks

[michaelstevens]

[:D][:D]
Boy this is interesting stuff -- thanks everyone -- there's a lot to digest.
[8D]
So now its my turn -- just keep in mind that its taken me over 30 years to get to this stage (of lunacy [;)]) -- "a good layout is never finished !!" -- (nor big enough, for that matter).


MIKE STEVENS' ; LAYOUT AT A GLANCE

NAME : WYE VALLEY JUNCTION AGE: Under construction for 5 years
(3rd and final? iteration)
CONCEPTS/PROTOTYPES :

Alt. # 1 WEST OF ENGLAND 1960 THRU 1990 -- BRITISH RAIL PASSENGER OPERATIONS

Alt. # 2 MID-WEST (e.g. OHIO) RIVER TOWN -- MODERN U.S. RAILROADS & AMTRAK

SCALE : H.O. 1 : 87

OVERALL SIZE: 36' x 9' to 15' ; HEIGHT: 36" to 50" (four distinct levels)

TOTAL LENGTH: Double Track (Cont. Running) Main Line: 156 l.f. (2.6 scale miles)
Yards and sidings: 300 l.f.
Feeders and Hidden Staging: another 600 l.f.

TRACK : Mostly Model Power Code 100

TURNOUTS: Atlas #6 remotes on main lines and hidden staging.
Atlas # 4 remotes used occasionally on visible/accessible sidings.

CONTROLS: Standard 12 volt D.C. -- 7 cabs (capability for continuous running on 9 tracks)
Over 100 remote turnouts -- using Atlas controls system.

MINIMUM RADII : 30" on Mainline Tracks 21" on Feeder Tracks

MAX. GRADIENTS: 1.7 % on Main Line 2.6 % on Feeder Ramps

BENCH-WORK :½" ; Plywood on 2" x 4"s and/or 1" x 2" columns (for upper levels)
About 50% is around the walls, then 50% on a large island.
ROAD-BED : ¼" Plywood on 1/2" Plywood on 1" x 2" risers

OTHER FEATURES :
Hidden Staging tracks (thru loops) for 7 ea. 40 car U.S. freight trains
6 ea. 12 car U.S. passenger trains
7 ea. 8 coach British passenger trains
Hidden loco storage tracks 15 ea. @ min. 24" long
5 track passenger station (high level platforms) with O/H concourse
Lift up span bridge to a 3 x 10 car tracks maintenance/commissioning yard
Curved (36" R) Cable Stayed Main Line Bridge
Airport Loop -- 96 ' long passenger subway/elevated light rail service.
Zoo Yard -- 5 x 20 car interchange tracks
Temporary (painted cardboard) scenery, buildings and roads, white backdrop at present.
FUTURE:
Detail painted backdrop (on 1/8" hardboard). Permanent hard-shell landscaping, roads, buildings, bridges, trees etc. Paint and ballast tracks. Add signals.
River Yard -- 6 more 10 car interchange tracks.
2 more controllers (for yard work). Convert to Kadees.

There, I got that off my chest !!

[:D] Enjoy [:D]

[IRONROOSTER]

Here's mine

Name: Virginia & Lake Erie
Era: 1956
Focus: Waterfront village served by branchline standard gauge and 2 foot narrow gauge and interchange at the double track main line.
Scale: S
Style: Around the walls with island in the middle. 18" deep on the side walls, 12"deep on the end walls. 3.5' x 12.5' island
Size: 11'3" x 18'8"
Rail: Code 100 Shinohara flextrack on the double track mainline and staging yards, code 83 hand laid on the sidings and branch. Two foot narrow gauge using code 70 Shinohara (HOn3).
Roadbed: Cork
Minimum Turnout: #6 mainline, #8 crossover on mainline. #4 on branch and narrow gauge.
Minimum curve radius: 36" mainline, 27" branch, 18" narrow gauge.
Maximum grade: 0%
Benchwork: 1x4 L shaped legs, grids made from 1x4, 1/2" plywood top. With sections lowered for scenic effect.
Scenery: None done yet, probably use foam and plaster.
Elevation: 58"
Control: DC Cab. DCC is under serious consideration.
Running rights for PRR.
Branch line will use motive power based on the Ma&Pa, narrow gauge on the Maine Two Footers with some freelance.
Special will be waterfront with narrow gauge on pilings ala WW&F at Wiscasset.

Progress to date. Benchwork completed. One track on the main line built and wired, second track and main line staging under construction.

Enjoy
Paul

[Anonymous]

OK, here goes. Bear in mind this is all in the planning stage.

Name: Virginia & East Tennessee Railway

Scale: HO

Era: 1953 (with old motive power)

Locale: Urban to rural. Northern Division (to be modeled) runs from Bristol, TN to the N&W main line near Bluefield along trackage that in reality belonged to the N&W. Southern Division is the Southern Rwy. trackage from Bristol to Knoxville.

Concept: The V&ET is a connecting line between the N&W and Southern. Both railroads lease passage for through trains, but local traffic is handled by the V&ET via interchange at Bluefield and Knoxville. The V&ET shops in Bristol handle maintenance for the N&W and Southern on the through trains - most notably the coal drags heading south from the N&W.

Roadbed: Cork

Track: Code 83 flex track w/Walthers turnouts. Bonded ballast.

Initially I am going to start out with a 4x8 table for local switching in Bristol. I will use this layout to experiment with wiring, signals, turnout control, etc. This bit, which begins constrtuction this month, is based loosly on the Chesapeake Harbor Belt design in the supplement to the Feb. 04 MR.

[jrbarney]

IronRooster,
Paul, I would like to learn more about your V&LE layout design. If you're willing, please send me a short Email via my profile. Thanks.
JRBarney

[Anonymous]

Name: Valencia Pacific
Era: modern
Focus: Urban settings representing southern California and Colorado. with a run through desert & mountains in between two urban areas.
Scale: HO
Style: Around the walls with two peninsulas. Plan is similar to , but smaller than, Dave Barrow's Cat Mountain & Santa Fe. Branchline to second level under construction
Size: 22' X 23'
Rail: Atlas Code 100 (the new stiff that looks better) with Peco turnouts
Roadbed: Homasote on 3/4" plywood
Length of mainline: 165' w/ 65' branchline
3 freight yards, one passenger terminal and one locomotive servicing yard
Minimum Turnout: #6 mainline, . #4 on some industrial sidings.
Minimum curve radius: 30" mainline.
Maximum grade: 0% on mainline, 2.5% on branchline
Benchwork: 2x2 legs supporting domino style benchwork constructed from 1x4's.
Scenery: Woodland Scenics plaster cloth over cardboard forms w/ Hydrocal
Backdrop: 1/8" masonite painted with acrylic paints
Elevation: 44" for mainline and lowever level. Branchline climbs to 58" on second level.
Control: DCC NCE Procab.

For some pictures of my layout see:

http://community.webshots.com/album/105640445VTDutw?437

[IRONROOSTER]

QUOTE: Originally posted by jrbarney

IronRooster,
Paul, I would like to learn more about your V&LE layout design. If you're willing, please send me a short Email via my profile. Thanks.
JRBarney

I am willing, but your profile has a blank for contact info. If there is some other way I send an email to you via your profile I don't know it.
Enjoy
Paul

[jrbarney]

IRON ROOSTER,
Paul, if you hear me muttering in the background about display format usability, you will understand that I overlooked the Privacy section of my profile. Sorry ! Guess I would have put the Privacy check box right next to the items with which it is linked. Glad you are willing to share information. Please try again.
Bob

[IRONROOSTER]

QUOTE: Originally posted by jrbarney

IRON ROOSTER,
Paul, if you hear me muttering in the background about display format usability, you will understand that I overlooked the Privacy section of my profile. Sorry ! Guess I would have put the Privacy check box right next to the items with which it is linked. Glad you are willing to share information. Please try again.
Bob

Bob
I still can't see it, but I updated my profile so you can send me an email.
Paul

[Anonymous]

Name: South Plains District
Scale: HO
ERA: 1970s-80s
Prototype: ATSF, BN
Size: 12 x 12 (L-shaped)One leg of the "L" will soon have the yard on it lenghened to 16 feet and another 12 feet or so of staging added.
Control: EasyDCC Wireless
Minimum turnout: #6
Mimimum radius 24" (but I messed up on that part. It's much sharper than that and will be relayed soon, perhaps to 30" mimimum)
LOCAL: Texas (well, it's in my basement in Missouri, but you know what I mean.)
THE FUTURE: Plan are being considered which would put one leg of the "L" parallel to the other leg and connecting them with a long sweeping curve. Then an additional staging yard representing more of the ATSF and the BN connection could be added. At that point the addition of car cards and waybills will be mandatory. Then we can start railroadin'!