Help with Layout Planning

[Anonymous]

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Well here is the problem that I am facing. When I started this whole project I was going for a small layout to practice on before I moved on to something really challenging. I took this basic track plan from an Atlas book, and added a little bit to it. The layout is built on an old door about 3'x8', and the only room I have left on the sides is very little as shown in the Pic.
I had no problem with laying the track, wiring, ballasting. All of these come pretty easy, It's the creativeness that I have none of. I cannot visualize where anything should go on the layout, industries, buildings, hills or mountains, and roads. Any suggestions? I really need some help on this.....Mike

[IRONROOSTER]

Some thoughts - place an industry on each spur in the center and then run a road by them into the left corner. Put another industry on the spur in the lower right with a road leading off the layout from it. You could put a small station on the left left and a freight house beside it and along the yard track.. Put a tower inside the inner oval on the lower right. Add some houses and stores in the upper left to make a small town. Add some trees and a small hill to the rest.
Enjoy
Paul

[Anonymous]

Well, do you want a city scape, town, rural, or out in the boonies? Do you want mountainous, hilly, or flatland? Or do you want a combination that might not be completely prototypical, but will give you a chance to practice several scenic types?

Also, is the layout accessed from all sides, or just a couple (and if just one, two, or three, which ones)?

---jps

[Anonymous]

I would like to keep the layout on the rural side with industries like a Grain elevator or a refinery, maybe some sort of factory. I don't think I want to really do a city scene. I think I want a combination of some hills and flat lands. I was going to put a freight house and some yard shacks by the left track. The layout will only be accessed from the front.
Any other thoughts or pics as to what I should do ?

[cwclark]

I usually take some unused flex track, turnouts, and the buildings i want to use to create the scene, place them in a configuration that looks the best..(holding the track in place with pins) and once it looks the way i want it ..i lay the track .

[Anonymous]

The track is alraedy in and wired up. I just can't seem to visualize where to put things, This is why I am asking for suggestions....Mike.

[Anonymous]

I would think that a nice large grain elevator would fit nicely in the narrow space along the two tracks on the right side of the layout. Any kind of industry should fit the space above the spur that is inside the loop, on the left side. Then something like a refinery, or fuel depot, or other such industry that can have an odd "footprint" could be on either side of the spur on the inside of the loop, on the right side.

For scenery, maybe some slight hills in the upper right and upper left corners of the layout, with some trees and a house or two. Maybe set them up so that the track next to them have to go through a "cut". Then vegetate the whole layout as you desire. Access roads could go from the upper left corner into the center, or from the bottom to the center, or from the lower right hand corner (past the grain elevator or whatever) into the center. I would wait to locate the roads until after I had the industries themselves laid out.

---jps

[dehusman]

I would rearrange the yard to have it parallel (or more parallel) to the lower edge. Remove the two smaller tracks that break off in the middle of the other tracks, they won't be that useful. Starting from the switch in the mainline (the switch near the "At....."), go to the next switch. replace the curved track on the left leg of that switch with a right hand switch. That will give you 3 longer tracks.
This opens up the whole left end of the layout. Move the outer loop towards the left end for a longer run.
That will also let you flatten out the switchback in the center and permit a backdrop or row of taller buildings and trees roughly down the middle of the layout. By sliding the inner circle one or two straight sections to the left, the switch back could be moved one or two sections to the left, allowing for a second track next to and below the switchback track.
The long paired sidings cry out to be a mine, power plant or an elevator. They normally operate by having a loading/unloading facility in the middle of the track. Loads or empties are placed on half of the track and moved by the industry through the loading/unloading point. So if it was a mine you would put the loader right at the curve and spot empties on both tracks to the left of the loader. The mine would move them under the loader to the right and you would end up with all the cars loaded to the right of the loader. The coal train would come along on the outside loop, pull all the loads, set them to the inside loop , then spot all the empties.
The spurs on the inside could be any mixed industries you wanted. The yard would be "visible staging". A train would start out of the yard, runa round the layout, switch industries, reverse ends, then run back around the layout a couple times and go int the yard.
You can pretend that each industry is miles away from the other. So each industry or track is on its own lap or laps of the layout. Industry A is on lap 2, industry B is on lap 5 and industry C is lap 7.

Enjoy.

Dave H.

[Anonymous]

Dave thanks for your advice, I moved the track around on RTS like you said, I have a couple of problems though. The first one is the innner loop. Dose it look ok where it is? It is already wired, painted and ballasted and I would dread moving that section. Also the yard at the bottom, I moved parrallel to the track, I literaly have no more room. The track will practically sit on the edge of the layout. I also like having 4 spurs or lines there. As two will be occupied by a engine house , the other two for cars sitting around. What do you think? I like your ideas....Mike

[Anonymous]

I am looking at the yard...and what appears to be a huge passing track just above the new yard. The straight section could be a switch that leads to a new pair of tracks for a engine house etc that would be inside the outer LEFT loop and the center left loop.

This will free up your entire yard for cars.

Your yard could use a "Drill" track I dont know how to make the words to explain the need to be able to do yard work without going onto the main. Perhaps someone else can.

Looking really nice, I can see it's potential.

[Anonymous]

By the way can someone take the track plan pic and draw in where I should put things. So I can actually see what it might look like?

[Anonymous]

Wow I see things. I am in process of setting scenics my self but still so many track layout and no answers. This is not a abnormal question I am sure. Picture running your loco's as you would. Then picture what industry makes sense. Add some additional scenery and you got it. Good luck I still have not figured it out but it sounds good.

[Anonymous]

Let's see here, your yard can be a starting point. You would bring the switch engine out of the house and down to the yard.

Build a train blocked for your industries as inbound freight (Example flat cars of lumber to a furniture factory) to each of the industries on the map. Return the switcher to the house and bring out the road engine. Hook to the train and take it out onto the main. Switch the industrys in turn by setting out inbounds and pulling out bounds.

When you are done some hours later you will have a train that will need to return to the yard. Take it back to the yard the same way you came. Upon arrival, cut the road engine out and send it to the shed bring the switcher out and start to cut the cars into the yard for the next train (Possibly one that will carry this freight to the rest of the USA)

By the time that train is broken down you may have to deal with a inbound train that brings in tomorrow's inbound and wants to pick up your outbounds.

I can go on but this with one person and several different trains obviously can lead to a full day in the basement or whereever you have the layout. =)

[Anonymous]

Well here it is, This is what hopefully the final layout will look like, I have a lot of work ahead. I think this layout flows much better than the original. Now for the scenery planning. Still need more ideas.