Finally have the dream space of 10X30-looking for island plan preferrable new england style-loved the southern new england just a little wide and blocks entrance
any suggestions?
My suggestion is to think twice as to whether an island is better than an around the walls.
If you have more than one doorway, an island becomes necessary, if only one door, then around the wall, or an "E" shape touching some wall may give more layout for the amount used for walkways.
Dave
Around the walls is good, but with space you have, I also like the island style, keeping the hands on part, like switching, etc., some what close to the outer edge, and within easy reach, and lots of great New England scenery behind, along with wide curves, and continuous running.
The Walthers Co. has an island type layout with trains running, and lots of displays and action. As you walk around it following trains, it feels like it's a never ending layout.
Just a thought.
Mike.
My You Tube
A published track plan never works unless you have the exact same sized room. You need to make up your own plan. The best track plans are the ones which make the best use of the space. On a blank piece of printer paper draw the room dimensions and the locations of doors and windows and any other objects in the room like a water heater or furnace. Make a bunch of photocopies of the paper. Draw up several track plans on the copies and see what you come up with. Use the best one for the basis of the track plan which you create with track planning software. If possible design the track plan for continuous running but operate it as point to point. Plan for self staging for your staging yard. 10 feet is not very wide but 30 feet is fairly long. Around the wall shelves with peninsulas might work good for you if you keep the shelves narrow. A shelf only needs to be as wide as a piece of track and there is no rule that it has to be the same width at every point. The width of the shelf can vary from a couple of feet down to a couple of inches. I hope this helps.
thank you -like the idea of an E
thank you good points
jeffr1thank you -like the idea of an E
One of the problems with an 'E' design is that most of the track is on curves. That will be even more true since you only have 10' to play with.
Our club went through a design exercise for our new layout and the 'E' plan was suggested by several members. We had a space of 20' x 25' to work with, and we wanted to have minimum 32" radii. The 'E' resulted in one long straight section on the 'back' of the 'E' and everything else was curves. That made it harder to install sidings, and most of them would have been quite short.
Don't dismiss the concept of an 'E' outright, but do spend some time making sure it will look and operate like you want it to.
I'm just a dude with a bad back having a lot of fun with model trains, and finally building a layout!
With that size space, I would do a "C" or "U" around the walls.
Or, go all the way around with a lift out/duck under.
Sheldon
jeffr1 thank you -like the idea of an E
Hi Jeff,
Just a suggestion: The "Add Quote to your Post" feature above your text window when creating a post is a handy way to answer specific posters. (Example above) Otherwise, it's hard to tell who you are responding to.
Again, just a suggestion...
Tom
https://tstage9.wixsite.com/nyc-modeling
Time...It marches on...without ever turning around to see if anyone is even keeping in step.
C, U, or J shape would probably get the most railroad in the space. If the 10' dimension is bounded by fixed walls - you'd be looking at a 4' wide island at most, if allowing rooom to walk around all the sides. Basically a 4x24 block, which also severely limits the curves to no more than 22" radius.
Going around the walls, in an open J shape, maybe with an extra cross piece, leaves you room to use 30" radius curves on the turnaround blobs and still have 3 foot aisle widths. If you have sections less than 2' wide, there's even room for a narrow penninsula - though it won;t be able to have a turnaroudn curve at the end.
--Randy
Modeling the Reading Railroad in the 1950's
Visit my web site at www.readingeastpenn.com for construction updates, DCC Info, and more.
Welcome to the forums.
A couple of questions, your answers will help others with giving you ideas.
Do you want continuous running or point to point?
Do you want switching?
What era?
City or rural?
Is your space 10x30 or is the island to be 10x30?
If the space is 10x30 you need space to walk around the island. Even a 2 1/2' walkway would take half your space with a rather narrow aisle.
If you went with a 2 1/2' wide shelf (About the maximum recommended due to reach.) around the room, you would have a 5' space to move around in the center. An entrance gate tip up, lift out or whatever would make access possible if you wanted continuous runing. If you want point to point, you have all the wall space except the door area.
Good luck,
Richard
As a matter of personal preference, I don't like tightly curved turnback loops unless they are in the middle of the layout (aka peninsula) and you can properly scenic/cover the sharp turnback loop. A turnback loop along a wall invites access/reach issues, hidden track issues, or grade issues.
10 feet is not wide enough to have a turnback peninsula in the middle, IMO.
As others have suggested, I'd go with a C, a U, (point to point) or an O with a duckunder. (continuous run)
If you have multiple doors or other access requirements along the walls, a custom-fit track plan is probably needed.
- Douglas
That's what I said - the best you can do in 10 feet wide is a single ended penninsula with no turnback curve. A few more feet wide and a gull G shape would work, but not in 10 feet.
At least on one loop, the tracks could cross one over the other - there's enough space to have the two tracks at different elevations, not a true double deck but two tracks on different levels. Actually, with the 30 foot run down the long side, it could easily be done as a true double deck with a nolix, the two end loops stacked above one another. And if not planning to run more modern stuff, a 24" radius is a decent compromise to get a better fit, keep the aisles wide, and reduce reach in.
Darn it, now I want to fire up 3rd PlanIt and do some quick designs. I have my own layout to plan - just did a design for a friend, more width but less length than the OP - he has 14' wide, 22 the long way. Unless he went around behind his HVAC.....NO! Bad Randy! Do not launch 3rd PlanIt... On his, the one side is not a physical barrier, there's more basement before you hit the opposite wall, but he agreed with his wife not to use the whole basement. So the leg down that side, which has a turnback loop at the end, is accessible from both sides as well as across the base of the loop - basically 270 degrees around is. And sinceit's 26" radius, there's no reach problem. It's a spiral G shape, and the loop in the middle is likewise accessible around 3 sides.
My last cab control plywood central was in 10'6" x 14' area, I had 2' around 3 sides, and 4' on what I called the front side, where you walk into the room.
So the island was 6'6" x 8', approximate. It started out as a 4'x8', and I just kept adding on. Benchwork wasn't pretty, but I could get up on it, when needed.
Just started scenery, and I had to take it all down. It sure seemed big when I was building it. All the track work and industries was around the edges, only scenery in the middle. I was inspired by Walthers layout, and figured that's the way it's done.
But anyway, I'm sure he would be better with an around the walls. That what I did on my current layout.
Depending on where door are etc., around the wall will get you more layout for the space vs. island.
Due to stair access and basement arrangment, mine plan is to be against the walls on essentially 3 sides. The basic configuration is shaped like a lower case "e" with one lob in the left middle and the other coming off the bottom of the e on the right hand side. It all depends on the room.
Rio Grande. The Action Road - Focus 1977-1983
An "E" shaped layout is what I have. The middle part of the "E" shape is a peninsula. I like having a broad curve since there's something quite majestic about a long train going around it.
Perhaps having a visual of your area can help. Besides the considerations already mentioned, you also have to consider what industriese you want to depict. Without accounting for what you plan to depict, there's no point in having a working layout.
My suggestion is work around all those things that can't be moved and come up with your own track plan. I had three doors, a large window, a big entrance into the room and a fireplace.
The room is 24' x 15'.
Doors on the right, fireplace on the left.
Looking the other way, note the notch so the door can open. I took the oak mantle off the fireplace and it is in the cupboard and can be reinstalled in seconds. It pays to think outside the box and get creative. The whole layout is freestanding. This one bench is 18' x 6' and can easily be carried by two people. My neighbour and I carried it in around the house from the garage. It can go out that far door, through the family room glass sliding door and into a five-ton truck if I decide to move it. Here is the underside, all 1" x 4"s put together with lap joints. Clamped all the boards together and ran them through the saw. Easy Peasy.
Looking the other way, note the notch so the door can open.
I took the oak mantle off the fireplace and it is in the cupboard and can be reinstalled in seconds. It pays to think outside the box and get creative. The whole layout is freestanding. This one bench is 18' x 6' and can easily be carried by two people. My neighbour and I carried it in around the house from the garage. It can go out that far door, through the family room glass sliding door and into a five-ton truck if I decide to move it. Here is the underside, all 1" x 4"s put together with lap joints. Clamped all the boards together and ran them through the saw. Easy Peasy.
I took the oak mantle off the fireplace and it is in the cupboard and can be reinstalled in seconds.
It pays to think outside the box and get creative. The whole layout is freestanding. This one bench is 18' x 6' and can easily be carried by two people. My neighbour and I carried it in around the house from the garage. It can go out that far door, through the family room glass sliding door and into a five-ton truck if I decide to move it. Here is the underside, all 1" x 4"s put together with lap joints. Clamped all the boards together and ran them through the saw. Easy Peasy.
It pays to think outside the box and get creative. The whole layout is freestanding.
This one bench is 18' x 6' and can easily be carried by two people. My neighbour and I carried it in around the house from the garage. It can go out that far door, through the family room glass sliding door and into a five-ton truck if I decide to move it.
Here is the underside, all 1" x 4"s put together with lap joints. Clamped all the boards together and ran them through the saw. Easy Peasy.
Brent
"All of the world's problems are the result of the difference between how we think and how the world works."
Brent - no pictures showing.
How's that Jim?
Shouldn't you be hard at work right now?
Yes, and don't forget to leave the fluffy curtains in your man cave. I never needed to look that high.
Get a copy of Track Planning for Realistic Operation by John Armstrong.
Even if you eventually go with a published track plan, this book will help you decide what you want and what can work in your space. This will help you pick a plan, develop your own plan, or modify an existing plan.
Good luck
Paul
BATMAN Yes, and don't forget to leave the fluffy curtains in your man cave. I never needed to look that high.
Your camera always seems to catch them. The don't go well with the trains, just sayin... of course it's your layout but for me, no thank you.