Im brand new to the hobby.. I dont even think ive ever seen a model railroad in person.
All knowledge has been gained off of the internet. My goal forthis n scale and first layout is to learn every step from benchwork to planning to structures.
I designed this track plan on atlas's right track and need some input and sugestions on it. Ive read up on yards and did what i could with my 30 x 96 benchwork in mind. Ive included a classafication yard, main line, lead, aux tracks, and a/d track. but im not really sure it will all work. Ask any question as im sure more knowledge is needed to give advice.
Please give any advice and criticism.
http://img36.imageshack.us/i/29515159.jpg/
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Input is badly needed
Welcome to the forums.
I'm not going to critique your layout plan, you have put work into it, given it some thought and it will work, but will it do what you want. Even a perectly designed layout will not satisfy you if it doesn't do what you want.
You have the right idea, read, however, since you have never seen a model railroad I would you suggest you look at some to give you some ideas on what can be done and what it will look like. Go to the top of this page to Resources then down to Coming Events and Model Railroad Groups. CE will let you know what is going on in your area, shows, open houses and the like. MRG will help you get in contact with model rr people in your area. Hopefully there will be a club with a layout, either fixed or modular, that will give you some ideas of what you can do.
Good luck,
Thanks cowman,
your advice is greatly appreciated. I will check out the coming events. It will help me alot to see some in preson.
What i need to know about my layout is if you or any other members see anything wrong or anything that could make my trains run better.
to the world of model railroading and to this forum.
You will find it most helpful, if you ask the right questions and are willing to listen and learn. Be prepared to accept some blunt statements as well - they are always meant to be helpful...
It is always good to have your own ideas about your track plan - don´t expect anybody to do it for you, because you need to know what you want to get out of your layout. The best is to prepare a list of your givens and druthers - this will help you to make up your mind as to what you want. Map your ideas against this list and you will find the areas where you can improve your design.
Take your time for planning - it can be fun if you don´t rush yourself.
Your plan -I guess it is in N scale - is a basic oval with some yard trackage and spurs. You can let a train circle the oval and do a bit of switching. If that is what you want to do, it is ok. If you want to go into real operation you need to introduce many changes. But again, you need to know what type of operation you would like to model.
Here is some reading that you should do:
http://www.layoutvision.com/id9.html
and
http://www.chipengelmann.com/trains/beginnersguide.html
Byron Henderson and Chip Engelmann are most helpful and frequent posters in this forum. I should not forget steinjr, who is also a wizard when it comes to layout design...
I also recommend to study this web page carefully, as there are many valuable tips and hints in there.
http://www.lancemindheim.com/
With the knowledge you gain through this reading you will be able to review your design and improve it. Don´t hesitate to post it here - we all will be happy to work with you.
to the greatest hobby.
This is pretty good plan for getting your feet wet, a little heavy on the yard track but not objectionably so.
However, the run around in the lower right corner has a tail track that is too short - I'm not sure you can even get a locomotive clear of the points.
Second you'll have trouble getting a full yard track of cars from the yard to rest of the layout because of where the turnout is that connects the yard to the passing siding.
My suggestion is to eliminate the run around in the lower right hand corner. Extend the yard ladder one more turnout so it connects to your passing siding. You can now pull a longer cut of cars down the yard ladder onto the yard lead and the other way as well. You will have a runaround clear of the main even though it now uses part of the passing siding track.
Enjoy
Paul
Thanks guys, thats exactly the kind replys i was hoping to get. ill make some adjustments to my plan and then post it again