Hello,
My name is Jim and I am not new to the hobby but want to build a layout for a room in my house. I need ideas and plans for a 10 x 10 room. I want to run modern freight trains six axle engines. The industries I would like to have are a saw mill, grain, some sort of industry that will use alot of freight cars. Any plans or ideas that could be shared would be great and help me in planning my layout.
Thanks Jim K
We (as in those with more exerience than I) could use an idea of the room restrictions (door and window locations) as well as scale intended.
Find a recent post by Space Mouse and click on the beginners guide link in his signature. Of all the "beginners guides" I've read his is the most down to earth in the way it is presented. You have indicated some of what you want but you need to decide even more before continuing. His link will help in that aspect.
Do you want a point to point or a continuous loop?
Watch the thread about the contest for designs for a 10 x 12 room on this forum. Should give you some ideas, though none will fit exactly. But none would be exactly the right plan for you becasue they were designed based on the designer's interests. Layouts, like it or not, are highly invidualistic. In the meantime, work on refining your vision of what your layout should look like and operate like when you have "completed" it. Scale, scenery, region, protoytpe (if any), and type of operations all should affect your plan, although you haven't specified any of those yet.
yours in planning
Fred W
Welcome Jim.
Read, read and read some more. There are a lot of sources for model rail road plans.
Just a couple.
Check out Introduction to Model Railroading at http://www.nmra.org/
Also, the publication, 101 Track Plans byLynn Westcott, while slightly dated now, has plans in it for different size rooms etc.
Regards,
Tom
Jim,
allow me to give you one piece of well meant advice. I have a layout slightly largewr than the one you are planning - 13x13 feet - and although I have collected quite a number of 6 axle locomotives I use them only sporadically. I like trains with two locomotives pulling at least 8 -10 cars and I found 2 six axle locomotives looked a bit too much but two 4 axle locomotives quite acceptable. And if you limmit your carfleet to 40 foot cars your trains look more realistic.
Here is a 10x10 plan I made using Xtrkcad. It offers some basic stuff and industries that you could add on to. 24" min rad. All turnouts #5. Max grade at 2.2%. Most curves are at 26" or greater where allowed as space is needed. Yard could be enlarged and tracks extended. Another curved turnout would gain more siding space. More staging track could also be added as stub end.
Trains with 4 axle loco would work better and look better, but a 26" rad. can run these fairly well as long as the trackwork is smooth.
Hope this helps, not sure what scale you wanted.
Dan
Dan M wrote:Here is a 10x10 plan I made using Xtrkcad. It offers some basic stuff and industries that you could add on to. 24" min rad. All turnouts #5. Max grade at 2.2%. Most curves are at 26" or greater where allowed as space is needed. Yard could be enlarged and tracks extended. Another curved turnout would gain more siding space. More staging track could also be added as stub end.Trains with 4 axle loco would work better and look better, but a 26" rad. can run these fairly well as long as the trackwork is smooth.Hope this helps, not sure what scale you wanted. Dan
Dan , nice plan . twice around the room with hidden staging , a visible yard , and several industries , all in 10x10 . you should expand it slightly and submit it to the Spacemouse 10 x12 contest . only disadvantage i see is it requires a duckunder to get to the center operating area (something that's very hard to eliminate in a small layout)
ernie
Try a HOG in HO or N? Easy to tweak too.
http://www.hogrr.com/
Also look for a plan of the Wildcat Central in MR.
Both are beginner layouts with good operating potential. Not perfect but doable and potentially lots of fun.
Ernie ,
Thanks for the complements and perhaps I will find time for a 12 x 10 to submit for the contest.
You are right with the duck under, but if you keep your benchwork about 48" or have a lift out section, it makes it a little more tolerable than just ducking under.
My current layout design for my house is in a 19x22' room. I plan on a liftout section or bridge for the 36" door to the room. That was the only way I could get in what I wanted in my layout.