Small Space, Need Ideas

[Anonymous]

Im new at this and younger than most model railroadrers(15). I want to use HO scale and i dont have a huge area to work with (about 6 by 4 feet). I was wondering what a good track plan could be and mabey some goo themes. No matter what it is i want to include a mountain.

Thanx

Benjamin R.

[Anonymous]

Me again I also have a smaller budget than usual.

Thx

Benjamin R.

[bogp40]

Ben,
Even though I model HO also, do you have your heart set on HO? 4x6 is rather small for anything in HO. It would become boring w/ only a couple of loops and sidings. 4X6 would make for a great "N" scale railroad. Food for thought.
Bob K.

[Anonymous]

If N Scale is acceptable, you may want to look at Woodland Scenics Scenic Ridge Layout Kit. It is a 3x6 foot layout using the Wooldland Scenics foam scenery system. It is a well documented step by step. It includes all of the roadbed and scenery. It does not include buildings, track, or trains. They do sell a Track Pack and Building Set as well though. The pricing may be a little steep. But, I would wager, once you start pricing what the individual parts would cost, you would be in the same range.

From http://www.woodlandscenics.com/
ST1482 - Scenic Ridge N scale Layout Kit $279.00
ST1182 - Scenic Ridge Track Pack (N scale) $54.95
S1485 - Town and Factory Building Set (N Scale) $119.00

[Anonymous]

Hey everybody thanx for all the help.

Benjamin R.

[cuyama]

Benjamin,

welcome! Most of the people on the forum started model railroading at your age or younger, so we've had a similar situation.

As others have said, if you don't have a lot of equipment and your space is limited, you might do well to consider N. Today's equipment runs well and looks great and you can certainly get a more interesting track configuration in that space in N than in HO.

Also, does your layout have to be in the form of table in the middle of a room? By the time you consider the 6X4 and a two-foot aisle all the way around, there might be some other configurations that fit into the same footprint that would be more interesting.

If you decide you need to stick with the 6X4 table, you might think about a logging railraod as a theme. Tighter curves and steep grades (which might be necessary to get more into that space) are a natural for that theme.

Good luck and have fun!

Regards,

Byron 
Model RR Blog 

QUOTE: Originally posted by ben_ringrose

Im new at this and younger than most model railroadrers(15). I want to use HO scale and i dont have a huge area to work with (about 6 by 4 feet). I was wondering what a good track plan could be and mabey some goo themes. No matter what it is i want to include a mountain.

Thanx

Benjamin R.

[Anonymous]

I actually made a mistake my are is 6x3 so just incase i want to stick with ho is there even enough room to make turns???

Will there be much room left???

Thank for any information!!

Benjamin R.

[dknelson]

I'd get as many back issues of Model Railroad Planning (MR's annual) as you can lay your hands on. They have featured a lot of layouts for small spaces. There is also Kalmbach's book by Ian Rice on small layouts.
One thing to consider -- if you want an oval for continuous running that actually involves taking up a fair amount of floor space, even if the square footage is not a big deal. If you think you can live with point to point operation, or even point to loop, the alyout can be more compact, against the walls, and you might get more hours of enjoyment switching -- but you won't see a train just run and run which is what a lot of people like
Dave Nelson

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by ben_ringrose

I actually made a mistake my are is 6x3 so just incase i want to stick with ho is there even enough room to make turns???

It is possible with 17" or 16 1/2" radius curves. Very very tight, and it significantly decreases the number of locomotives that you can use, but it is possible.

---jps

[ondrek]

QUOTE: Originally posted by ben_ringrose

I actually made a mistake my are is 6x3 so just incase i want to stick with ho is there even enough room to make turns???

Will there be much room left???

Thank for any information!!

Benjamin R.

Benjamin-
here are some "doorway" plans (6x3)
http://www.thortrains.net/marx/drlayho1.html

here are some 4x6 plans as well:
http://www.thortrains.net/poorhoe.html

4x6 or 3x6 isnt as limiting as you might think, I am limited to 4x7 myself and I have come up with a layout of my own that will be exstensive enough and has two moutains in it as well. if you want to do HO on 3x6 or 4x6 you can get a lot in that space and have fun with it as well.

good luck.

Kevin

[jhugart]

You might find that any curves in HO at that size will be very tight. However, consider that you may not want a loop of track, but a switching layout.

The idea of a switching layout is that operation, not watching trains roll by, is the appeal. You have a series of industries, roll a train off the main line, and have to switch cars around. Make a train of the empties and take 'em out.

Do a search for the timesaver layout. At the Great American Train Show up here last year, I saw a timesaver unit to demonstrate, it was pretty cool.

The nice thing is that you are modelling an area that is probably tight and cramped anyway (most big towns and cities have this kind of light-industrial district). The buildings are relatively simple, you may have little vegetation, and can focus on details.

Good luck!

[Anonymous]

you should look at the big picture here? yeh 3x6 is small and it probably wont be your final lay out but it will give you an oportunity to sharpen your skills. you may want to consider building sectional pieces that can be stored for later assembly . when more room becomes avaliable. I would suggest looking into alot of railroad sites. to gather ideas. considering your cost as was my sitiuation at first. i decided to scratch build alot of my buildings. some of the materials i used are every day stuff. i use alot of styrefoam from food or meat trays i have built buildings with it. its easy to scibe into to create diferent techstures such as small bricks, large bricks, woodfinish, etc. they can be glued easly with a glue gun . styrephone blocks can also be used to create mountains when caved and heated i also built a tressel using long match sticks bought from the dollar store $1.50 a pack they all have suprizingly realistic results. the key here is patients and trial and error. look to see what materials are readily avalible to you and go wild and have fun.

[Anonymous]

If it is 3x6, I would definitely consider N-gauge. I picked up a used set that was on a hollow core door and redid the track plan, using something out of Model Railroader' s (MR's) 101 Track Plans. Most modelers like to cram too much track and buildings into too small a space and that is NOT prototypical. At least with N-gauge it won't look as cramped if you do it right...

If you want cheap, consider using foam as a base. The Scenic Ridge layout uses foam but you can get used styrofoam and glue it together using a glue for foam. Then you shave it using surfoam tools. MR had an article on it a while ago and it's probably in their scenery book. The hobby store can get you the cement and paints compatible with it as well...

Good luck!
MagicBill
www.high-techmagic.com

[Anonymous]

I'm going to have to agree with the general consensus here. I'm also getting started on my first layout, which happens to be 3X7--almost the same as you--and guess what, even with 'N' scale I'm having a tough time finding enough room to balance interesting track with scenery. I couldn't imagine trying it with HO. As for keeping it cheap--go with foam as your base/scenery builder. RONA had some 1/2" foam for 3.49 and two sheets are going a long way for me.


hope this helps a bit and good luck!

JASON

[BRJN]

I recommend you paint the mountain on a backdrop. You could, however, make a big hill along one corner of your table.

Cleveland OH offers a possibility for you in that the Cuyahoga River valley is about two stories lower than the area around it (which includes downtown). You could have an industrial switching area in front with the fancy buildings along the back side of the table. The track would actually run in a tunnel (disguised as 'runs behind a building' on each end) underneath 'downtown' to make a loop.

If you want to do switching, use a Timesaver-type plan laid diagonal on the table. This will give you some room to do scenery on alternate corners. It also allows you to pu***he table into a corner of the room.

Another scenic possibility, if I recall my honeymoon correctly ( [:X] [:I] ), would be the range of hills/mountains between Las Vegas NV and Hoover Dam. They were steep and tall enough to block the view, but not an impassable monstrosity. (The highway between them is originally 1930's era construction.) There is no industry at Hoover Dam, though. Just a really cool view.

[BRJN]

QUOTE: Originally posted by ben_ringrose
I actually made a mistake my area is 6x3 ... is there even enough room to make turns???

You can use 15" radius curves and as a consequence use Civil War or 1900-era equipment. Your locomotive may have to be an 0-6-0 switcher or something similar. You are not going to have a lot of length inside the loop, though. You could do a U-shape track (point-to-point, both on one end of the table) and get a little more room.

[johncolley]

Ben, another possibility...Check to see if there are any modular groups in your area. A 2'x 4' or 6' module is another great way to get started and learn by doing. Also the social contacts with other modelers would be good to develop. Good luck in your quest, young Jedi.

[Anonymous]

I like Thor's plans from the All-Gauge page, which Kevin linked you too, as well as a couple of other sites:

http://www.carendt.com This site has some wonderfully creative ideas for small layouts, in several different scales and themes.

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/small-layout-design/
This site is a Yahoo! group, so you need to join, but the files have some good ideas.

Gary

[Anonymous]

Something like this maybe would be something http://www.geocities.com/cphuntington/LasPulgas.html [:)]

This layout plan is only 4' x 4', but 6' x 4' is even better, and if you fold it like this it will only be 6' x 2' in storage space.