Overhead Wire working locomotives

[Anonymous]

Looking at starting back at an "N-Scale" Layout. Have a small room (10 x 12) to use as a base and want to branch out a small section of track ( Hopefully about six inches wide ) around an entertainment room later on.
There will be three themes to the base station, Modern "Kato Bullet Train", European- Overhead wire for working locomotives that run from the overhead wire, and steam type locos. ( Have an 2-8-8-2 engine and coal tender with passenger and rolling stock) Want to find a means of designing this base station on computer before actual working.
Are there any tools for Windows base computer to assist with designing?

[Anonymous]

What do you mean by "base station"? I don't understand what you're looking to design... a layout? a train station? a computer interface?

PS - I'm not entirely sure how you intend to resolve having three mutually exclusive themes on your layout (bullet train, euro-overhead and steam era)... What's your thought in doing that?

[claycts]

QUOTE: Originally posted by Buccaneer1

Looking at starting back at an "N-Scale" Layout. Have a small room (10 x 12) to use as a base and want to branch out a small section of track ( Hopefully about six inches wide ) around an entertainment room later on.
There will be three themes to the base station, Modern "Kato Bullet Train", European- Overhead wire for working locomotives that run from the overhead wire, and steam type locos. ( Have an 2-8-8-2 engine and coal tender with passenger and rolling stock) Want to find a means of designing this base station on computer before actual working.
Are there any tools for Windows base computer to assist with designing?

Track planing I assume, Cad Rail, 3rd Planet and a couple of free ones are on the market.

[Jetrock]

Indeed, having three different radically different themes is a recipe for disaster--eventually one will win out and you'll regret having spent money on the other two. Why not model, say, 1930s Pennsy--a line that featured heavy steam, electric overhead and aerodynamic-looking "bullet" streamliners, all at the same time!

[Leon Silverman]

If you want to combine themes, you could glue a steam engine smoke stack on the rear of your bullet train and call it a "rocket train". The overhead wires coujld be used for regenerative braking. One stop from 300 mph would generate enough electricity to light up a whole city block for a day.

[Anonymous]

Base Station is meant as the main area for trains. This would include the roundhouse and yard for the trains. Layout design is what I was really after. Thanks for your responses.

[folkestonekeith]

Hi Buccaneer!! I'm on the same wavelength as you but in HO/OO rather than N. At the moment I'm building a layout in a 19ft x 10ft shed at the bottom of the garden - my first real layout and being used as a testbed for my modelling skills etc.

Later I hope to build an extension to the back of the house and move the layout indoors - and hope to build a new layout to incorporate separate circuits for the US, European, UK and Japanese outline models I've accumulated over the years....at that time I will be looking for a layout design package just as you are now......

I don't think our idea is a recipe for disaster .....it's our layout for our enjoyment!!! I've also got a garden railway on which I run Swiss Rhaetia Bahn, German Saxon & Harz Narrow Gauge, some Union Pacific and Boston and Maine as well as a Sumpter Valley Mallet, a Heisler and a Shay!! Not everything runs at the same time...that might be a little odd..... but I can ring the changes as I want!!

Enjoy Buccaneer, best of luck with your layout.....and enjoy!!

[tomikawaTT]

First - separate out that Kato 'Bullet' and run it on its own, private, loop of track, elevated on a concrete viaduct over everything else. (The prototype only operates on its own dedicated system, which doesn't even have the same track gauge as the rest of Japan's rail network.)

Then, put up whatever overhead wiring your motors require, covering only the tracks on which they will operate. Your steam, diesel (electric or hydraulic) and hobo-powered handcar can use all of your tracks, but industrial sidings don't usually have catenary over them. I have seen steam under catenary (Pennsy, as mentioned, and also in Japan), and even on track used by third rail MU cars (Long Island Railroad). I have also seen diesels under catenary, especially where the through tracks were wired but the spurs and switching leads weren't.

In my experience, most model motors draw power through the rails and the catenary is purely cosmetic. This is certainly true of my collection of Japanese-prototype motors and EMU cars. I considered running them off the overhead wires, but quickly realized that isolating the pantographs would be more trouble than it would be worth. Also, the same tracks would be carrying combustion locomotives and DMU cars - a uniform method of powering everything won out over prototype fidelity.

[steffd]

QUOTE: Originally posted by Buccaneer1

Looking at starting back at an "N-Scale" Layout. Have a small room (10 x 12) to use as a base and want to branch out a small section of track ( Hopefully about six inches wide ) around an entertainment room later on.
There will be three themes to the base station, Modern "Kato Bullet Train", European- Overhead wire for working locomotives that run from the overhead wire, and steam type locos. ( Have an 2-8-8-2 engine and coal tender with passenger and rolling stock) Want to find a means of designing this base station on computer before actual working.
Are there any tools for Windows base computer to assist with designing?

XtrkCad is a gem of a track planning software, which I can highly recommend as I used it to design my New layout. You can download it for free at http://www.sillub.com/. It’s packed with many tools and is very user friendly. I downloaded the software and 3 days later my plan was complete. You can see my track plan on my Website. Good luck.[:)]

Stephan

[dinwitty]

True dere, powering in N scale overhead is tricky...
I recall an article someone made a Z-Scale sized pike and really powered from the overhead. Quite an undertaking...for such a small size...this before Z-scale.

I would fake the overhead.