I have my bench work complete except for putting foam on it. It is made up of two 36"x80" Hollow Core Doors (HCD) connected by one 24"x80" HCD and one 30"x80" HCD in a rectangle donut shape.
Now, I'm looking for a track plan that will fit this bench work. I will be modeling in N scale and using Kato Unitrack. I have no plans to model a specific time period.
So does anyone have some ideas?
http://www.chipengelmann.com/trains/Beginner/BeginnersGuide01.html
space mouse's guide is an excellent step by step beginners guide to figuring out what you want. He has no layouts in the guide but helps you to formulate your layout.
101 Track Plans for Model Railroaders has an around-the-room layout based on Nickel Plate which you might prune down to your size.
You also could do like a layout from last year's MR (don't remember which issue) that had two separate loops representing two different railroads, interchanging on one long side of the donut.
If you like long vistas, paint a backdrop on one side and put the train 'in a canyon'; this may be quicker and cheaper than building real scenery (it also looks better than plywood).
BRJN wrote: You also could do like a layout from last year's MR (don't remember which issue) that had two separate loops representing two different railroads, interchanging on one long side of the donut.
Mmmm - sure you are not thinking of November '05 ? South Central Minnesota RR (Milwaukee Road and C&NW, Owatonna union depot being a focal point, interchange at Owatonna ?) Track plan database: http://www.trains.com/mrr/default.aspx?c=a&id=1313
Smile, Stein
concretelackey wrote:http://www.chipengelmann.com/trains/Beginner/BeginnersGuide01.htmlspace mouse's guide is an excellent step by step beginners guide to figuring out what you want. He has no layouts in the guide but helps you to formulate your layout.
concretelackey,
I have read space mouse's beginners guide. And it does give food for thought.
However, I was just looking for what folks with experience would do. Though that might give me idea's to build from.
BRJN, steinjr,
Thanks for the info.
I'm not a subscriber to MR so I can't see their track plans. Maybe I need to subscribe.
You asked what more experienced people do. For them, the track comes last.
If you read the guide, you found that creating a vision was the first step. For the experienced person, they have been developing the vision as they have been working on their present layout They see in their mind what they want and their layout has certain elements that they want or have to have.
The layout becomes a string of scenes--even on a smaller layout such as two doors. Each scene has a key element called a Layout Design element. A LDE could be a town, an interchange track, a bridge, a yard, a mountain, an industry, a station--you get the idea. Some layouts have only one LDE, such as my current layout.
Once you have worked out the layout design elements, you find a way to get the track to them. Once you do, you have a layout plan that meets your needs as a model railroader.
If you skip those steps and go straight to the plan or use someone else's plan, your chances of having a layout you are less than satisfied with are high. You see you have built someone else's dream, not your own.
Some people need to spend their time and money to learn this the hard way.
Chip
Building the Rock Ridge Railroad with the slowest construction crew west of the Pecos.
Stepchild, can you put your name in your signature?
Usually we plan the railroad then build the benchwork as there are enough restrictive pressures on a layout.
There are soooo many questions to ask;
Do you plan to walk around to operate the layout or run it from the center space? Wlaking around can afford some better scene seperation.
Do you want to enjoy the trains running in circles or do you plan to have some switching involved? You will quickly get board just sitting and watching. You should consider staging.
How many operators will be able to run the layout? You should have teathered throttles.
I would keep it somewhat simple but not to the point where its boring. This will make trouble shooting and tracklayout less complicated.
I suggest you look for some interesting elements of either the prototype or other layouts in magazines or on the internet and put these elemants together to create four individual scenes as you walk around the layout. You could have a small yard with industries around it where its mostly a point where the power gets changed or serviced. I would have a small town somewhere else on the layout for some switching interest and maybe a spur in a remote erea for an industry thats usually away from towns, like a cement plant or mine.
Don't over complicate the planning as this is what keeps some from ever having a functional layout.
John
SpaceMouse wrote:You asked what more experienced people do. For them, the track comes last. If you read the guide, you found that creating a vision was the first step. For the experienced person, they have been developing the vision as they have been working on their present layout They see in their mind what they want and their layout has certain elements that they want or have to have. The layout becomes a string of scenes--even on a smaller layout such as two doors. The key element, is called a Layout Design element. A LDE could be a town, an interchange track, a bridge, a yard, a mountain, an industry, a station--you get the idea. Some layouts have only one LDE, such as my current layout. Once you have worked out the layout design elements, you find a way to get the track to them. Once you do, you have a layout plan that meets your needs as a model railroader.If you skip those steps and go straight to the plan or use someone else's plan, your chances of having a layout you are less than satisfied with are high. You see you have built someone else's dream, not your own. Some people need to spend their time and money to learn this the hard way.
The layout becomes a string of scenes--even on a smaller layout such as two doors. The key element, is called a Layout Design element. A LDE could be a town, an interchange track, a bridge, a yard, a mountain, an industry, a station--you get the idea. Some layouts have only one LDE, such as my current layout.
SpaceMouse,
Your absolutely right and I have had a thought as I was building. Here is a little of what I was thinking.
I live in Utah near the town of Ogden. In fact I was born and raised in Ogden. Ogden was a railroading town for a lot of years. Not so much now. But, my thinking was to have one end of the layout(36"x80" door) be Ogden and the train depot be Union Station, which is still there. I wanted one of the doors connecting the other 36"x80" door to go out over the Great Salt Lake as it does now. The other 36"x80" door would be Sparks Nev. Which is a route use in the pass. The other connecting door would go up a canyon to the east. Now here is the problem. Where do I end the one going east?
So I was hoping some thoughts from you folks would give me some ideas on how I might do that.
I hope I have not confused you or anyone else in my rambling.
spidge wrote:Consider continuous staging. At least five tracks and as long as possible. Trains could start out in the yard or station and end in staging where they will sit for a spell then later they would coninue though to arrive in the yard or station.
That's an idea.
I was also considering two towns on the door opposite of Ogden. One Sparks Nev. and the other a town in wyoming. But, I might be making this to complicated as you said.
I also put my name in my signature.
Okay, the first LDE is Ogden Station...
A model railroad is a slice of a bigger railroad. In your case one that goes from Oakland to Chicago. If you want Ogden on one end and Sparks on the other, you have several feet to create a scene or two to transition from one location to the other and give the illusion of distance. It would be cool if you did not see Sparks from Ogden, etc.
Considering the terrain between the two cities. What geographic or man-made structure or industry(ies) best represents the region between the two cities?