Two Level Layout or Not

[rmbarry]

I am getting ready to design my future HO Scale layout that will occupy an 11' x 14' room that has no windows and just one door. Is this space adequate to construct a helix tor a two level layout, or will the helix occupy too much space and I should just plan on building a single level layout?

[rrinker]

It depends on what your minimum radius is. If you use 24", then you will need slightly over 4' x 4' to locate the helix. It can be done, I remember an old Model Railroader with a track plan by Ed Vondrak that had THREE levels all connected by a helix in the corner, which I believe would easily fit in an 11x14 room. I don't think the plan stretched out to either of those dimensions, so you could probably expand each level's track area in your space.
Or, you could go No-lix - the track continuously rises as it goes around the walls and melds into the second deck. The space otherwise occupied by the helix could become a penninsula for more operating areas.

--Randy

[orsonroy]

Who needs a helix? If you design the entire layout as one continuous run up the walls (corkscrew or "nolix" design), you'll avoid having to build the helix, and avoid having it eat up a fairly large amount of your layout space.

An 11x14 room with no obstacles will give you an around the walls with a center peninsula design (with a 5' wide turnaround and 3' aisles, IF you're willing to put up with only 1' wide shelves). That's roughly 70 linear feet of run per level. With a 1% grade, you'll have 8.4" of clearance between decks (which is tight), and with 1.5% grades you'll have 12.6" (which is better). Build in some sort of drop down/lift up arrangement to gain access to the central part of the layout, and you won't even have to duck.

I'm in between layouts at the moment, having just moved into a new home. My old layout had a 6x25 with a 6x8 addition footprint. I was able to squeeze in a three level layout with just over 3 scale miles of mainline. My deck seperation was only about 10 inches, but the design worked well. My new layout space is 14x25, and I'm designing a layout that's about the same as what I suggested above. I'll end up with just about four miles of mainline in HO.

[outdoorsfellar]

I model N scale in an 8' x 11' room. It's a point to point with 3 levels around the walls. It's not HO, but anything is possible.... forget the helix.