I found this website on all guage layouts, especially for the beginner.
alright, i owe you a beer. i have new glausters spotted cow and bud (the first is a local brewed craft beer). heck maybe two beers. i've been having trouble figuring out a layout for myself, although i think half the problem was not having a friggen scale template to use, just a compass, protractor and a calculator. now my only problem will be deciding which of about a dozen to use. i'm gonna end up making more than one layout at a time.
I'd suggest you choose with caution. Many (if not most) of the layouts on that site have fatal flaws that will make them unpleasant to operate, if that is your goal. If instead, your interest is packing as much track as possible into a given space, usable or not, I guess they are OK.
It's a shame that site gets so much publicity and attention from newcomers, since many of those plans are just dreadful, sad to say.
Layout Design GalleryLayout Design Special Interest Group
If you want some really nice trackplans, check out the ones on this site:
http://members.tripod.com/appalachian_railroad/index.html
See ya.
Larry
http://www.youtube.com/user/ClinchValleySD40
http://www.flickr.com/photos/52481330@N05/
http://www.trainboard.com/railimages/showgallery.php/cat/500/page/1/ppuser/8745/sl/c
cuyama I'd suggest you choose with caution. Many (if not most) of the layouts on that site have fatal flaws that will make them unpleasant to operate, if that is your goal. If instead, your interest is packing as much track as possible into a given space, usable or not, I guess they are OK. It's a shame that site gets so much publicity and attention from newcomers, since many of those plans are just dreadful, sad to say.
Agreed. I think many of the free Atlas plans are a lot better than those.
well i actually ended up mixing and matching a few of the plans to make a few of my own. i hate when they have a crap load of track. one add i saw was for a small like 4x2 foot layout and i swear it had as much track in it as a decent 4x8 foot layout in N. i mean once you had the industry buildings up along the track side i don't think there was room for anything else, including scenery. i don't think mine are too bad though, but i might change them. i only plan on running one engine at a time so i was planning on sticking with DC, but the layouts kinda grew and now that might not be enough. i might need DCC. i'd add pics but i don't see how. there mostly point-to-point, one has 6 spurs the other has 7, both have one continous loop and then a main track that connects to the loop and passes on two sides so i can grow in the future, plus to make it look like it all tracks off a main line. it's more like an 8x2 foot shelf with a 4x2 foot L added. looks like an L tipped 90 degrees ---> that-a-way.