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" DONNER PASS"

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  • Member since
    December 2005
  • From: west of Portland Oreg.( the city of Roses
  • 599 posts
" DONNER PASS"
Posted by TrainsRMe1 on Thursday, April 2, 2020 4:27 PM

Hi all                                                                                                                        First of all I hope everyone is doing well during this pandemic, Stay Safe, Stay Well, and if you can, STAY HOME!!  My question is this, as my train room shed is in the planning stages, I have been looking at different track plans (as some of you my know)Big Smile. I came across a plan that caught my eye, it's a multilevel plan, Nscale, with a staging (hidden) yard, It's called "Donner Pass" it's from the 1998 modelrailroader issue, I found it in the track data base, but, (yes there is a but)    they didn"t print the deminsions!! I thought that was strange, would anybody know the demisions of this plan??? I "m wondering if this is a typo, Hmmm?? Anyway, thank you for any info you can find and please guys n gals take care, and please be safe,                                                                                                    CoolTrainsrme1

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Posted by cuyama on Thursday, April 2, 2020 4:42 PM

There's a one-foot grid on the plan – you can count them.

It's about 12'X16' plus the closet. 

From the April 1998 MR.

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Posted by BigDaddy on Thursday, April 2, 2020 5:56 PM

Henry

COB Potomac & Northern

Shenandoah Valley

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Posted by riogrande5761 on Thursday, April 2, 2020 6:15 PM

It looks more like 12x18'.  What size is your shed?  My last basement layout room was 10x18' so that layout would not have fit.  Looks like that layout has a 2' pinch point as well.

Rio Grande.  The Action Road  - Focus 1977-1983

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Posted by caldreamer on Thursday, April 2, 2020 8:57 PM

It is a good track plan, BUT Cape Horn is actually only a few miles from Colfax.   Used to chase trains with my best friend there.  Walked the tracks to Cape Horn and waited for the trains go past.  You could hear them for miles.  Great view, you could see for miles.  It was over a thousand foot drop straight down to the North Fork of the American river.

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  • From: west of Portland Oreg.( the city of Roses
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Posted by TrainsRMe1 on Thursday, April 2, 2020 11:11 PM

Hi There,                                                                                                                   Oh man,  My shed size is 10 x 20,  where I live a 10 x 20 shed can be built without a permit, other than that you would need one. I really like this track plan, I thought it would work.

  • Member since
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  • From: west of Portland Oreg.( the city of Roses
  • 599 posts
Posted by TrainsRMe1 on Thursday, April 2, 2020 11:19 PM

my shed size is 10 x 20

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Posted by Enzoamps on Friday, April 3, 2020 12:25 AM

Overheard on a restaurant loudspeaker:

Donner, party of 8...

Donner, party of 6...

Donner, party of 4...

Donner, party of 2...

Mr.Donner, your table is ready.

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Posted by rrinker on Friday, April 3, 2020 7:38 AM

 Yes, there is a 2' pinch point and it's on the side you DON'T want it - next to the yard.

 It's tough to fit a center penninusla with a turnback loop in a 10 foot width and still allow good aisle width. I N scale, a 15" radius turnback and 18" wide benchwork along the walls alongside the curve would allow for 30" aisles at the pinch point. That's a little tight for modern 6 axles and long cars, but fine for earlier era.

                             --Randy


Modeling the Reading Railroad in the 1950's

 

Visit my web site at www.readingeastpenn.com for construction updates, DCC Info, and more.

  • Member since
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  • From: west of Portland Oreg.( the city of Roses
  • 599 posts
Posted by TrainsRMe1 on Friday, April 3, 2020 8:50 PM

Well, since I will be running six axle loco's, sounds like I could do it but it would be a little tight and the loco's would look toy like going around curves instead of sweeping easement type curves. 

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Posted by mbinsewi on Friday, April 3, 2020 9:00 PM

Not sure if your a subscriber, but if you are, go to the black bar at the top of the page, mouse over "How To", click on the track plan data base, and in the search box, enter the room size for your space, and see the results.  Maybe you can pick one out.

Mike.

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Posted by bagal on Saturday, April 4, 2020 3:35 AM

Nice layout. A folded dogbone so single track giving the impression of double track. Great for train watching. Agree it needs a bit more than 10 feet to do the turnback justice. Squeze the decks opposite the turnback and 12 feet should just about do it.

Bagal

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Posted by rrinker on Saturday, April 4, 2020 12:11 PM

 Yeah, with only 10 feet or less, the main use for a central peninsula would be a stub end of some sort. If going around the room, there could be a view block down the center of a peninsula so each side could represnet the opposite end of the line, and for continuous running, a sneak path could be set up across the base of the peninsula. 

 Turning it and using the 12 foot imension won't help much, because the other dimension is then 10 feet, and in the space you need: benchwork opposite the peninsula, an aisle, and a full diemeter of your cirve radius, plus some extra because the track at the base won't be tight againstt he wall, and you don;t want the track at the end to be right at the edge.

Minimizing benchwork, cutting the aisle to 30", and using say 18" radius curves (this is N scale), you're looking at least 6' of the 10' demension used as the benchwork, aisle, curve plus not putting it tight to the wall and edge. So 4' or less of straight between the curve onto the peninsula and the loopback curve.  Even worse, along the base of peninsula, there's be less than 6 inches of straight between the curve in the corner and the curve onto the peninsula. 

 As has been shown many times, a G shape tends to get the most track in a given space without having to resort to duckunders, as opposed to effectively an E which is the around the room plus a peninsula. Depends on where the door to the 10x12 shed is. If it's towards a corner, that would be ideal. In the middle of one of the walls, much less ideal.

                                      --Randy

 


Modeling the Reading Railroad in the 1950's

 

Visit my web site at www.readingeastpenn.com for construction updates, DCC Info, and more.

  • Member since
    December 2005
  • From: west of Portland Oreg.( the city of Roses
  • 599 posts
Posted by TrainsRMe1 on Monday, April 6, 2020 12:01 AM

Thanks for the great advice guys, my trainroom space will be 10 x 20, not 12. 

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Posted by espeerr4449 on Monday, May 4, 2020 4:43 PM

Sorry a little late here but I had to say something ... this is a nice little track plan, but why is it a mirror-image of how Colfax-Cape Horn are laid out in the real world?

I have toyed with modeling this myself - almost just like this, but: imagine standing, facing "north", with Colfax on the wall to your left (not right), the dramatic curves and I-80 viaduct would be directly in front of you, and Cape Horn on a peninsula to your right. This plan omits the I-80 viaduct which is a big part of the drama here, and hides the track for some reason? Anyway I think the plan is good if you "mirror" it, and put the I-80 viaduct and ravine in there where they currently have that "hidden track" behind the Highway 174 overpass unnecessary "view block". 

  • Member since
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  • From: west of Portland Oreg.( the city of Roses
  • 599 posts
Posted by TrainsRMe1 on Wednesday, May 6, 2020 1:29 PM

Big SmileYour never too late for a comment espeerr4449, I like the plan a lot, it took me quite a while to find a plan ( even trying to come up with one of my own) that fits what I want, my layout space was going to be 10 x 20, but now I'm going to have 12 x 20 instead, and get this" here's a spin my location, it's going to be in the Oregon mountains, a "what if protolance layout, Union Pacific sub from Eugene, Coos Bay to Coquille Oregon, 

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