New member in the planning stages

[Anonymous]

I've been away from model railroading for a good 35 years and I can clearly see that it has changed dramatically regarding the technology which is now available.

I'm planning an HO set up which will encompass aproximately 40 feet on a 24" plywood based shelf that follows a contoured wall which is in the shape of a question mark. Sort of!!!!

I've already decided on a DCC system and a two level layout.

I want the lower level to have access to the upper level and visa versa. How long would the ramp have to be to access the two levels and what should the approximate spacing (height) be between the two levels? I realize one affects the other. Just wondering what the general thoughts are.

I'm still in the planning stages regarding the actuall track layout.

Any other suggestions for and old,,,, "new" timer???[%-)]

[orsonroy]

Welcome back to the hobby!

For general layout construction tips, check out the various "foam layout" threads on this forum. We get into some pretty interesting discussions on the merits of various layouts similar to what you're envisioning.

To quickly address some of your questions:

Multideck layout height depends on how tall you are and on what you're comfortable with. The general rule of thumb is 38" and 50" for levels, but that mostly depends on what the modeler likes. I strongly suggest making a mockup by temporarily hanging shelves from the wall at various heights until you come up with what you like. Nothing fancy here; they can be cardboard strips taped to the walls. Just be sure they'll give you an accurate feel for whatever permanent benchwork you'll have.

As for how to get the two levels to link up, there are several methods. Mostly, people build a helix. Some modelers (myself included) prefer the "nolix", where the entire layout becomes the helix, and corkscrews around the walls. A few modelers have build elevators to physically lift a train from the lower to upper level, but those are generally only for short trains. You'll have to do some research into the helix and nolix to figure out which is right for you. (my layout is a nolix in a 12x25 P-shaped area. Is that 40 foot dimension the total length of your layout area, or the length of one wall? Either way, a helix takes up a lot of floorspace, but a nolix needs a long enough run to accomodate the height difference between multiple levels, of which 12"-18" is generally the best)

Hope this helps!

[BRJN]

If you decide to use Madison Hill (Madison IN) as a prototype for your 'get between the levels' slope, you get to use a 5.87% grade.

But that is hard to do that math, so here is something easier:
To move 24" vertically climbing up a 5% slope is a horizontal distance of 480", or 40 ft. I suspect this is too long for you (unless you have a basement the size of a factory). [:0]

Either plan to build the whole layout on a slope all the way around the room, or put a helix on one end.