tomikawaTT wrote: I especially like the way you've printed out your track plan full size. Are you planning to lay track right on top of it, or simply use it as a location guide to be removed for final tracklaying
I especially like the way you've printed out your track plan full size. Are you planning to lay track right on top of it, or simply use it as a location guide to be removed for final tracklaying
I am only using the printout to get a feel for how everything will fit, and then I am going to transfer it to the wood with a tracing wheel down the center line of the tracks. Then pull up the paper and connect the dots with a sharpie. I thought about just laying track over it, but I don't think the paper will like it too much when I start gluing stuff down.
NZRMac wrote: Looks like good solid benchwork. I know what you mean about planning I've made lots of plans and nothing looks good so I'm just going to start building. That pink chair looks familiar!! You have a budding train driver at home too?? Ken.
Looks like good solid benchwork. I know what you mean about planning I've made lots of plans and nothing looks good so I'm just going to start building.
That pink chair looks familiar!! You have a budding train driver at home too?? Ken.
Thanks for the comments on the bench work. I have read a lot about building bench work. And I know it is a bit over kill for a model railroad. But I don't want a floppy bench that can't stand up to time. And that chair does belong to my daughter. She is turning 9 soon, and is loving helping me work on the layout. She was really upset when I disassembled the old layout, she enjoyed running trains.
jbmerv wrote: Also, you have a reversing loop in one direction only, which tends to mean all your trains end up going the same way (don't ask how I know) Justin
Also, you have a reversing loop in one direction only, which tends to mean all your trains end up going the same way (don't ask how I know)
Justin
Good eye Justin. What you say is true. Except I have a lower staging area with a reverse loop that I didn't post. Here is the lower staging plan.
As you can see, if I reverse a train on the upper reverse loop, I can run them down to staging and turn them. The lower staging has 2 arrival tracks, and 2 departure tracks. The upper reverse loop is more for turning the trains when I am going to put them back in staging, I plan to run my trains clock wise most of the time.
Just one small comment, if you look at all the crossovers from the inner to the outer main, the one at the north of the plan, under the title, would be better if it was reversed, to match the other two, so that going clockwise you first cross from outer to inner then from inner to outer.
Also, you have a reversing loop in one direction only, which tends to mean all your trains end
up going the same way (don't ask how I know)
That pink chair looks familiar!! You have a budding train driver at home too??
Ken.
Looks good so far.
I especially like the way you've printed out your track plan full size. Are you planning to lay track right on top of it, or simply use it as a location guide to be removed for final tracklaying? (Reason I ask is that I've done the same thing, but on card stock. The card stock will remain in place as a permanent tracklaying template.)
Judging by your photos, I presume you're working in N scale.
Working purely from my own experience, it's easy to get hung up on the, "Plan," part of, "Dream, Plan, Build." Even with the most carefully micro-planned paper layout, new ideas and opportunities will cause deviations even if your turnouts line up precisely with the computer's interpretation of their dimensions (which they frequently do not!) The best way to retain your sanity is to use your plan as a guide, not a straitjacket. Be flexible. That way you can adopt the better solution, not find yourself choosing the (hopefully) least of the available evils. (Which is really the same thing - it's all in the attitude.)
My own construction now tends to be the opposite. Areas which are simply blobs on the schematic get 'planned' with track templates and pieces of flex track about five hundred scale feet in front of the tracklaying party. I've been working on a large layout for over a year, and most of the benchwork remains to be built. I've figured out the general track arrangement, but I won't know where the curve centers are until I determine them. When I do, they tend to be somewhat offset from what I originally expected.
What, me worry?
Chuck (modeling Central Japan in September, 1964)
So I have been in the planning stage for over a year and a half. I have finally said to heck with the planning and started building. I have a good solid basic plan, and I plan to just go with it and make changes as I go. You can only plan for so long before you loose interest or go nuts. I was starting to do both. Here is the current plan, and as I said I will be making changes.
And here are some pics of the construction
This is before I started.
This is the bench work about 90% done.
And then I printed my Xtrkcad drawing in 1:1 scale and here it is partially laid out.
Give me some feed back, I am open to all of your comments.
More updates to come soon.