Track Plan for Santa Fe's NY sub.

[Anonymous]

Well I've got a track plan for my layout in the house we may move into. What do you guys think?
http://www.train-sim.com/dcforum/DCForumID15/3791.html

-Matt

[Anonymous]

A lot of the curves seem awfully sharp to me, you've got some areas where the track makes a 90 degree turn, also, considering the size of the stairs, this whole thing looks out of scale.

[Anonymous]

Yes the curves would actually be the smoothest that kato makes (also paint wasnt cooperating with me). Yes the map and the stairs and everything else is way out of scale.

-Matt

[orsonroy]

For N scale, that's a pretty big layout!

Definitely add some staging. If nothing else, add a sinple stub staging yard under the benchwork that feeds into the yard at the top. (You should get a lot of recommendations to add staging. Trust them; it really does add opearbility and interest to any layout!)

Shrink your passing sidings a bit. In general, they should only be as long as the longest track in your yard, which is where trains will be made up. No use in wasting track when you don't need to!

Definitely plan on making your curves more gentle. If you want to run modern equipment, you'll need at LEAST 22" radius curves. Ntrak suggests 24" minimums.

Don't put any switches on your liftup area. Keep it as basic as possible, just in case you need to adjust track due to temperature & humidity changes.

I'm assuming the small yards opposite the liftup are a large grain elevator facility (they have that look). You'll definitely need a staging yard to feed enough traffic into that area to support a dedicated yardman in that access hole. Otherwise, no one's going to want to chase in and out of that area all the time (playing on a layout shouldn't involve a lot of time on your knees!) Likewise, rearrange your SP switching area so a dedicated operator can stay there. And give that area a runaround (and possibly a staging track or two, so you can run interchange and switching locals)

All in all, a good start. Since this is a LARGE layout, don't try to plan it full of tracks. Too much track becomes a maintenance nightmare, and you loose a lot of realism to boot (every layout should have at least one long stretch of nothing on it). I'd work on making truly scale measurements, and then doodling at several mainline footprints before you start building!

[Anonymous]

Wow, I like the plan, almost mind blowing next to my 10' x 9'. I would suggest using the RTS freeware from www.atlasrr.com to plan it out. Not that you would use snap track pieces to build it, but it helps get the curve radii and turnout geometry correct. I found out that I could fit much less into my space and have room for scenery than I thought. Good luck with the house and RR, keep us posted.

Jay

[Anonymous]

I've just posted some more pics with a revised version, now tell me what you think. http://www.train-sim.com/dcforum/DCForumID15/3791.html

-Matt

[orsonroy]

Matt,

Definitely take all of Jim Duncan's advice to heart. He's not blowing smoke up your skirt when he's saying that the track plan as drawn won't work, and will cost several THOUSAND dollars.

IN terms of your basic layout footprint versus his, I prefer his. Of course, I don't like a layout where I can see the train and the entire layout at the same time. What's your PRIMARY level of fun going to be out of any layout? Do you want to do a lot of switching, do you want to watch trains running around a big loop (Nascar model railroading), or do you want to simulate operating a train over a long mainline? Jim's layout basic design (footprint) favors the third option, while yours favors the second. And believe it or not, Jim's layout design has almost TWICE the mainline run of your design.

Not that your basic design is bad. Frankly, since you're young and this will be your first major layout, your plan will be easier, cheaper and less stressful to build. But you're still trying to cram in too many details. DEFINITELY start off simple. Add a simple once or twice around double track mainline, add areas for one large-ish yard and three towns, and start from there. Just work on getting the mainline down first (Trainworld is having a sale on N scale flextrack. Model Power box of 100-29" long pieces for $100), and fill in the details later. You will NOT be able to build your yards in the "nook" as drawn. I'd run the mainline over there. I'd also eliminate ALL operating pits. Keep the mainline within 2 feet of the walls and you'll have more than enough space to do anything you want in N scale, and still be able to reach everything.

Keep us posted on any design changes, and remember, until you actually do the move, and have your parent's permission to start building, this is all just friendly design chat!

[Anonymous]

Yea I'm not even sure if we are going to get the house. It all depends on if this house gets sold. I am taking your advice seriously but my dad would rather have a oval like track than a more realistic one. So its not all about what I want you guys do have a good point though. Also im not trying to make it be in Model Railroader I would just like a regular railroad. You guys also make some very strong points and I have saved some of this info for later references. Another thing, when you put in flexitrack dont the engines and cars bounce over the rails on the curves? If so should we put in regular flexitrack? "Nook" are you talking about the staging yard or the other yard because I have a layout here already. I have a decent sized yard too. It can fit 2 intermodal trains and and about 7 or 8 89' cars. A unit grain train and a mixed frieght or two. It can also hold about 15-18 engines. It has one set of crossovers and 3 industries. All with a double track main line so it is a pretty nice layout. But I get what your saying about Jim's layout and how it goes all the way around once. So I'll think about it.

-Matt