Good day all.
I first want to say is hello I have been a long time fan of model railroading and I have desideed to take the plundge try to build one of my own.
My plan is to model my railroad on the now abandoned Newfoundland Railway. I got a rough idea on what I want in my layout.The layout will base of 1950-1970, as at the time both steam and diesel were in use. Its going to be a signal track main line with passing sidings. The east end of the layout will be modeled after the main Railyard and Station in St.John's while the west end will be modeled after Port aux Basques a Ferry dock with rail facilities. Now I did mange to get a copy of the track plan of the Proto railyard in St.John's (1958 edition) and I will be chacking if the track plan for the Port aux basques yard for that time is still around.
So now that you know what I am planing to do over the next few months/years I wanted to know if someone could tell me about any track planing software. I would like a program that lets me make hard bounderies so I can plan my layout's middle section.
Also any building tips would be help full as I cant really make up my mind on if I want the bench work to be one unit or break it down into smaller sections.
Thanks for any advice
You don't say anything about the size of the space, or where it is located (basement, bedroom, etc). So all I can say is generalities.
The size of the materials used have got to be proportional to the accessibility of the space. In other words, if you don't have straight-in access to the layout room, using 12ft 2x4s is not all that practical. Even 4x8 sheets of plywood can have difficulty getting around some corners and stairways.
But more important to your question on sections is your view of the layout end state. Is it an empire in the basement to be operated by you and seen by the occasional visitor? Do you want to take portions out and display them at a local train show? Do you plan to ever move the layout? If you are never going to move the layout, do you care that your heirs have to take a chainsaw to get it out of the train room or basement? If you are likely to move before you die, do you want to start over, or try to adapt what you have done to a new space?
Answer those questions, and stick with the answers, and you will know whether to build in sections or not. But to be brutally honest, most layouts built in sections never get moved, and the extra effort and cost to make truly movable sections was a waste. Or even worse, the sections get moved with significant effort and expense, but the owner decides to start over for a bunch of good reasons, and the old sections get junked.
Just my thoughts to get thinking about a decision you have to make for yourself.
Fred W
now into Free-mo HO and HOn3 modules with a 4x6 home layout/test track
Newfie Bull:
If you give your location, perhaps face to face advice from some one would be availible.
On the subject of portablity, my layout is a donut, with duck under entry. The long side is 17'4.5". To move it into a new space, the room would need to be exactly the same length, or a usefull size bigger. The odds are low.
Mine is not very easily moved if it needs to be.
Dave
fwrightBut to be brutally honest, most layouts built in sections never get moved, and the extra effort and cost to make truly movable sections was a waste.
One reason to build sectionally is in cases where the shop tools (table saw, jointer, drill press, etc) are housed in a separate building from the layout. Walk of about 50 feet across the yard and straight entrance into the train room through a 36" exterior door.
Sections that are designed as sections can fit well and go together easily. If you're gonna plan track, might as well plan carpentry as well.
Robert
LINK to SNSR Blog
ROBERT PETRICK fwright But to be brutally honest, most layouts built in sections never get moved, and the extra effort and cost to make truly movable sections was a waste. One reason to build sectionally is in cases where the shop tools (table saw, jointer, drill press, etc) are housed in a separate building from the layout. Walk of about 50 feet across the yard and straight entrance into the train room through a 36" exterior door. Sections that are designed as sections can fit well and go together easily. If you're gonna plan track, might as well plan carpentry as well. Robert
fwright
But to be brutally honest, most layouts built in sections never get moved, and the extra effort and cost to make truly movable sections was a waste.
I would like to add additional reasons for sectional or in my case hybrid sectional. My shop is in another part of the basement as Robert references. It's nice because the train room stays clean. All filth creating construction activities occur outside the train room with its door closed until the dust settles.
While I hope I never have to move, it is reasurring to know I won't destroy my layout if I do and there is no concern about the future room shape. Sectional affords flexibility.
Don't constrain your thinking to just monolithic or sectional. My layout construction takes advantage of the good aspects of both. The benchwork at first glance is conventional around-the-walls permanent but that is deceiving. While it is true that it is mounted on wall brackets like a monolith, it is by no means permanent or difficult to modify. The sectional benchwork is constructed using screwed nailing plates. This permits removal/modification/replacement/reinstallation with nothing more than a screwdriver and with little fuss, no mess, and no disruption to the rest of the layout.
On top of the benchwork the subroadbed, roadbed, track, and all associated mechanical and electrical is one self-contained, easily removed unit. The track units vary from 1' in length to as large as 8' on some. The boundaries were determined by where the joint worked best. This "sectional track assemblies" approach allows me to build/modify/test/repair track sections on the workbench in a comfortable position and then reinstall on the layout when work is complete.
It takes a bit more planning to build this way but the rewards are more than worth it. I can easily change anything I want without the use of a sawsall and I never have to work looking up at the bottom side of the layout. That feature alone has proven to be priceless. I can't convey how nice it is to work on track sections at the workbench with good lighting, access to everything, and without breaking my back.
Have a look:
benchwork methodology
completed benchwork
beginning of a track unit
building a track unit
wiring a track unit
testing a track unit
installing a track unit
train running on completed track units:
Alan
Freelancing the LK&O Railroad
Even if you don't move a layout, it's easier to remove it if you have to move etc. if it's built in a somewhat sectional way.
For what it's worth, I built a 16x19' hollow L shaped layout which was tear drop to tear drop with a yard and a passing siding - the benchwork was built in sections that could be easily handled and moved and bolted together with carriage bolts. It wasn't scenic'd yet so it could be finished by someone else to taste. I finished graduate school and it wouldn't fit in the house I moved to so I advertised it in Indiana. A guy from up near Kokomo came down with a U-haul truck and bought the layout - track was down and it would run. We took it apart and I got about $450 for it, it was a bargain for they buyer - he hauled it away in a Uhaul to put in his house.
My present layout benchwork is built in 2x8 or 2.5x6 etc sections and I plan on removing it in a year or so when I move out. I'll either re-use the lumber or trash some of it but at least I can get it apart when the time comes.
Rio Grande. The Action Road - Focus 1977-1983
His screen name is Newfie, he wants to build a Newfoundland RR, I'm guessing he's from ......South Texas? I'm sorry for the snarky mode, sometimes I can't help myself.
As Steve Allen said, "all seriousness aside", Read this book before you plan anything https://www.amazon.com/Track-Planning-Realistic-Operation-Railroader/dp/0890242275
SCARM is freeware that will help you design your layout. There are instructional videos on how to use it. Common newbie mistakes are to squeeze too much track in the available space, using too small radii and planning for sharper turnouts than exist in reality or the model world.
Welcome to the forum
Henry
COB Potomac & Northern
Shenandoah Valley
Thanks for the help sorry for late reply but my account is new so my post take a bit of time to show. First the reason i havent said how big the room i plan to use is yet simply because i dont know. We are currently looking for a new house so any plans im making are subject to change. That said of the 3 we are looking at all of them have finished basemants that the wife said i can use.
Each of them have a room roughly 20'x30'. So my very rough idea is a shelf like layout along 2-3 of the walls. The width will be 4' at the most for the yards and most likely less than 3 for most of the layout as i want a point to point single main line.
I will try and get that book. Thanks for reference.
And yes if people would like to know i currently live in Newfoundland.
BigDaddyHis screen name is Newfie, he wants to build a Newfoundland RR, I'm guessing he's from ......South Texas? I'm sorry for the snarky mode, sometimes I can't help myself.
Many Newfoundlanders move away to find work. More of them live in Fort McMurray, Alberta than in any city back on the Rock.
He might be living within ten city blocks of me.
Hey Newfie Bullet!
Welcome to the forums!!!
You have chosen a very interesting railroad to model. I have read stories about the trains getting stranded in the middle of nowhere in winter weather. Wasn't the railroad narrow gauge? I seem to recall that the freight car trucks had to be changed as they were taken on and off the ferry.
I agree with the modular approach to building your benchwork. I want to be able to flip my benchwork sections up on edge so I can work on the wiring without having to crawl under anything. That will be really important for my lower staging which will only be about 24" above the floor. I don't ever plan on moving so how easy it would be to take my layout apart doesn't really matter to me, but being able to avoid crawling under anything as much as possible is very important.
I'm just a dude with a bad back having a lot of fun with model trains, and finally building a layout!
to the Forums, Newfie Bullet!
Dave is correct, your prototype was narrow gauge. There's certainly no reason why you couldn't do it as standard gauge, though...perhaps a what-might-have-been version set in a time after abandonment.I'm not aware of any models specific to your prototype, and my guess is that finding suitable locomotives will be the biggest stumbling block if you're planning to model narrow gauge.
Wayne
Well, for those who don't know, the newfie bullet was the nickname of the train that travelled across the rock. Heard very funny stories about that train ... Anyway, there is an excellent chapter about that railway in the CN steam in colour book (Ontario and East) (morning sun books). A must-have if you are in that prototype IMHO. No reference to the bullet though...
Simon
davidmurrayHe might be living within ten city blocks of me.
I didn't know. You guys look like Americans and sound like Americans, except for "eh" very sneaky.
hon30critterI want to be able to flip my benchwork sections up on edge so I can work on the wiring without having to crawl under anything.
This is a big advantage of modular, especially if you are coming back into the hobby late in life.
BigDaddyI didn't know. You guys look like Americans and sound like Americans, except for "eh" very sneaky. Big Smile
Actually you mostly look like Canadians. I was once told that I looked like an american politican. Truly insulting.
Welcome to the forums!
I noticed you are considering a 4' wide layout shelf. This would make it very hard to reach things near the wall. 30" is considered a normal reach, depending on your height, arm length and layout height. Set up a mock up of a layout surface, set some buildings or just boxes to represent buildings, see how well you can reach in without doing damage to your future scenery. You could have a blob at each end for continuous running, as long as you can reach in from the sides.
Just don't want to see you making a plan for something that would be hard to manage.
Good luck,
Richard
Agian thanks for all the help guys. Its great to be able to get advice on this before I get to ahead of myself.
For those who asked/wanted to know, yes the NFLD RR was a narrow guage railroad at 3 feet 6 inches.( still plan to just use HO scale track for now as this is my first layout) It was also known for sharp turns and step grades. my grandfather told me stories of how some trains had to stop at the bottom of a hill, take half the train up to the next sideing and than go back for the rest.
As for the layout I will look at keeping it under 30'' wide, my mind keeps wanting me to make it wide enough for a loop system when i'm planing to to do point to point.
Some good news in the MRR digital archives I found a 2 page splash about the custom diesel locomotives used in here which inculed messurements for the full size machine. Now I just got to find a suitable moeld to try and kitbash.
Thanks for all the advice you all make a person feel welcome.