This is my track plan for our Nscale Union Pacific Oregon Coast Subdivision, it's a modern "what if" layout, what if UP had a line linking the Cascade Summit to Eugene to Coos Bay and Coquille Oregon. Tell me what do you think, it's a take off from Dave Barrows and Mark Lestico plans, the layout is 18ft x 19ft.
Take Care
Trainsrme1
You need to draw the layout to scale, using templates or preferably a track planning program. There are a number of free programs available for download on the Net. I usually use XTrackCad.
You are over optimistic on the lengths of yard tracks. The ladders will use up much more length than you anticipate.
The loop at Springfield appears to be about 15 inch diameter (7-1/2 inch radius). This is way too tight even for N scale. If you operate only small locomotives and freight trains only with 40 foot cars (maybe with an occasional 50 footer) you could get away with a 12" radius, but 18" would be much better. If you plan to run passenger trains or 80 foot freight cars trains the minimum mainline radius on the layout should probably be 24 inches.
There appears to be only 1 foot or less clearance between Myrtle Point and Mapleton. 2 feet should be the absolute minimum.
Larger radius loops should could be built at Myrtle Point and at Loco Summit. There appears to be enough room for both of them to encroach further in the area between the two peninsulas.
Larger radius curves will further reduce the lengths of the yard tracks.
I tried to sell my two cents worth, but no one would give me a plug nickel for it.
I don't have a leg to stand on.
DSchmitt You need to draw the layout to scale, using templates or preferably a track planning program.
You need to draw the layout to scale, using templates or preferably a track planning program.
Well said, we could stop right there.
I have spent the past two years drawing and redrawing plans for my Dream Layout.
One thing that I have done is to tape together several sheets of graph paper with 1/4" squares each representing 2 inches of real estate in HO scale. So, I have 5 sheets of graph paper taped together to represent a 42 foot length of layout.
You need to do something like that to determine if your dream meets reality.
Rich
Alton Junction
Hi,
I've been drawing layouts for well over 55 years. I learned early on that unless I drew to scale, my plans were just "wishful thinking".
Richhotrain is "on the right track", in that quadrille or graph paper makes an excellent base for the drawing. Also, the weak link of many hand drawn layout plans is the depiction of turnouts and the space and curvature they represent. In this regard, I would urge you to pick up a layout template ($10) which has the proper angles for the various sized turnouts.
Lastly, I would be conservative on my spacing of the tracks, especially where double mains curve, and situations such as that. Remember, there is a big difference between the width of space needed for a train to go down a track - as opposed to the width of a pencil line.
Hey, good luck!!!!!
ENJOY !
Mobilman44
Living in southeast Texas, formerly modeling the "postwar" Santa Fe and Illinois Central
There IS one alternative to carefully scaled drawings - John Armstrong's "Squares" method. As long as you are disciplined and put no more in a 'square' than will actually fit, it doesn;t have to be a perfect drawing, yet it will be buildable in the allowable space. Read up on this and understand it - you can then even make quick sketches on the back of a napkin while eating breakfast and know it is a workable idea. And that jelly stain? That's where the lake goes...
--Randy
Modeling the Reading Railroad in the 1950's
Visit my web site at www.readingeastpenn.com for construction updates, DCC Info, and more.
See. See! This is why LION does not bother with drawings. Build the tables, and then start with the track, you will quickly discover what will fit and what will not fit.
LION picture layout in eye's mind and then built this.
It looks remarkably like what ewe have in mind, mine is on three levels so there are many helixi. But remember, my room is 24x27 feets. Diagrams of layout are here. But layout was built first, then diagrams to show what was actually made, Diagrams are not up to date or even finished. Diagrams are made on computer with simple page making software.
The Route of the Broadway Lion The Largest Subway Layout in North Dakota.
Here there be cats. LIONS with CAMERAS
Really great layout plan! It has tons of potential for operation and realistic scenery.
There are a couple issues with curve radii and turnout ladders, though. As previously noted, some of your turnback curves are impossibly tight. It addition, you have some #2 turnouts drawn on your plan, which are tight for trolleys and are impossible for mainline diesels.
If you want, I could take your plan and put it into CADrail and then post it to this forum so you have a perfectly scale drawing.
S&S
Modeling the Pennsy and loving it!
Hey S&S
By all means, do so, I would love to see how it would look in CADrail, go for it man!!!
TrainsRMe1Union Pacific Oregon Coast Subdivision, it's a modern "what if" layout, what if UP had a line linking the Cascade Summit to Eugene to Coos Bay and Coquille Oregon.
You are on the "same track" as the OC&E as envisioned by the Greeley Freight Station Museum. Coos Bay to Lakeview via Klamath falls. Connecting traffic for SP, WP, GN, NP.
Your room is 18 x 19. If you figure a scene is 2 ft deep and an aisle is 4 ft wide with a 2 ft deep scene on the other side that makes an aisle about 8 ft wide. So you have room for one peninsula in your room if you have wide aisles.. A turnback blob at the end of a peninsula is about 5 ft in diameter. So the aisles will be 3 ft wide at the ends of the blobs. I am assuming you will have a radius on your curves above 24" since you are modeling the UP and will probably want LONG engines and cars.
If you went with 18" wide scenes and 36" wide aisles, an aisle would be 6 ft wide. In that case you could get two peninsulas.
At the bottom of the drawing you show 3 turn back loops. It will only work if the door is about 50-60 inches from the right hand wall and is a 30" door.
At Coos Bay, the scene at the to is 1.5 ft deep, there is a narrow 2 ft aisle around the blob (3.5 ft) , the blob is about 4 ft to the base (7.5 ft), the curve at the base of the peninsula comes out about 2.5 ft from the wall (10 ft). That leaves about 8 ft of straight bench on the peninsula. You show a yard lead with 4 switches. Four #6 switches is nominally 4 ft long. If you use #6 switches in the yard, your leftmost yard track as drawn will be zero inches long. A #4 switch is about 9" long, so the lead with #4 switches would be about 3 ft long, one on each end, 6 ft total, which makes the track next to the aisle about two feet long. You will have difficulty getting long engines and cars through #4 switches.
Not trying to be a downer, but I've designed a few layouts and can pretty well estimate what will fit.
Dave H. Painted side goes up. My website : wnbranch.com
a bit hard for me to see. I would have an easier time with a simple black and white drawing that more clearly shows trackwork instead of scenery.
i like the idea of a point-to-point, or maybe more specifically in your case, loop-to-loop, because such a layout has a sense of purpose, to move trains and service industries between two terminals. But what do you plan to do with it?
runs trains from one terminal to the other, or run trains from the terminal, out and back?
the yard(?) on the right seems much longer than the yard on the left (Cous Bay). shouldn't they be roughly the same length. What length trains do you plan on having? shouldn't the yards and sidings be sized for that length train or smaller?
it looks like there's room (but it's hard to see) for more station/sidings and more industrial spurs.
do you plan to run passenger trains? more stations would mean more stops for passenger trains. freight trains would need to wait at sidings to allow faster passenger trains to move past them. Sidings also allow a through freight to pass a peddler freight switching cars.
more sidings suggest more towns/areas for switching. more towns suggests more distance.
not sure if there is a siding or enough room at Coquille to allow two trains to meet. A train arrives there, and waits. after the next train arrives, the first train departs. A 3rd train could be on the way, and the 1st and 3rd pass one another at a siding.
have you seen Byron's Layout Design Gallery. He has lots of other good info. think purpose
greg - Philadelphia & Reading / Reading