Layout design help...please!!!

[mainetrains]

I have finally determined the size my new layout will be. I would draw a picture but I'm not that smart. Anyway what I will have is an L-shaped layout. The long part of the L will be 4x10 feet with the foot 4x4 feet. Basically 4x8 with a 4x6 extension. I hope you can visualize what I'm talking about.

An around the room layout is not feasible since there are doors on two sides. There will be at least 2 feet between the layout and the walls...more where the doors are. What I would like to end up with is the ability to run two trains at once on separate tracks...double tracked mainline I guess but I do not want them to parallel each other. Passing tracks and spurs. Small yard.

I've been messing around with several track plans but have not come up with anything satisfactory yet.

If you get the idea and have any ideas let me know.

 

Mainetrains

[ARTHILL]

I have to start with what you really want. Mountains, valleys, bridges and water Falls? Huge yars and switching? A city scene? Logging and forests? Cactus? You have room to do a couple of things but not everything. What you want determines where to go next.

[pcarrell]

Gotta go with Art on this one.

This is a great way to get started. (It's clickable!)

[mainetrains]

I never seem to put enough into these things so here goes -

A small town, or what might be a section of what would imply a larger town. 3 or 4 small industries in different areas of the layout...no coal mines or paper mills,etc...

No giant mountains, but some type of hill or ridge or whatever to hide trains in running along the long side of the L wide enough to put some structures on the top with the trains running up there also. Bridges are always cool, but nothing too elaborate...just your basic plate girder, etc. bridge.

The era will be late 50's to early 60's...no steam unless I get a small engine for some type of railfanning tour...East coast/midwest hybrid location...north, not south...trees are good.

22 and 18 inch radius...no 15 unless absolutely, positively neccessary.

Rolling stock will be 40' or 50' or less.

I'm not real big into switching, much prefer making realistic scenery and then watching the trains run, but a small yard is a must...have to have some place for the cars to be delivered to from some distant point to be delivered to the industries, etc. that are on the layout.

I hope this helps. I've built several layouts and have a pretty good idea of what I want, but I'm just having a hard time getting started on this one. I guess what I'm looking for is some type of basic track plan that I can tinker with.

Oh yeah, can't remember if I put the scale in the original post but HO or N, with a preference for HO. My eyes aren't what they once were.

Thanks,

Mainetrains

 

[ARTHILL]

I wanted a loop of track, so I started with that.

I then had 4 scenes I wanted and began to lay them out on the loop. They called for certain trackage so that just followed. I bent the loop to fit around and over or under parts that looked good. I wanted a huge bridge so I had to find a way to deal with elevation change. The changed the loop. In fact it caused the loop to double back in sort of a helix. That allowed me the mountain scene I wanted.

I then added some passing sidings so I could run two trains at once.

Once I started building I found I needed to add stuff and move stuff. I am still doing that.

If you have built before you know whether you need a full track plan to start, of if you can adjust as you go. But if you have some scenes that you want and a basic shape, that track plan just happens. That's how the prototype happened.

[Texas Zepher]

What I would like to end up with is the ability to run two trains at once on separate tracks...double tracked mainline I guess but I do not want them to parallel each other. Passing tracks and spurs. Small yard.

If there is double track - or two separate tracks what are the passing tracks for?   Do you just mean you want doubled ended sidings, or a run around track for working the industries, or ???

[Texas Zepher]

What I would like to end up with is the ability to run two trains at once on separate tracks...double tracked mainline I guess but I do not want them to parallel each other. Passing tracks and spurs. Small yard.

If there is double track - or two separate tracks what are the passing tracks for?   Do you just mean you want doubled ended sidings, or a run around track for working the industries, or ???  

A small town, or what might be a section of what would imply a larger town. 3 or 4 small industries in different areas of the layout...no coal mines or paper mills,etc...

So all 3 or 4 of these are supposed to represent different areas of the same large town or is each supposed to be more geographically distant.

I'm not real big into switching, much prefer making realistic scenery and then watching the trains run,

run and run continuously while just sitting back and watching them, or run with you, the engineer, controlling them?

but a small yard is a must...have to have some place for the cars to be delivered to from some distant point to be delivered to the industries, etc. that are on the layout.

I interepret this as a staging area.  Could it just as easily be an interchange track for cars arriving from and going too all points not on the layout?

I've built several layouts and have a pretty good idea of what I want, but I'm just having a hard time getting started on this one. I guess what I'm looking for is some type of basic track plan that I can tinker with.

Well the basic track plans are 1.  simple loop  which can manifest itself in a figure 8, twice around, or more complex combinations.  2. Point to point.  3.  loop-to-loop   4.  Point-to-loop.   Desire for uncontrolled continous running eleminated #2 & #4.   Loop to loop can be continuous but only with some special work.   So I am assuming you need to start with two simple loops.   I also assume you don't want crossings since that could cause collisions.