plan from jan.mr, minnesota and international

[rdettmer]

i like the plan and have the room. i can get a 21 foot by 13 foot version. only have to chop off two feet from the top wdith of 15 feet.. any drawbacks to the plan you all can see? would like to see more detailed plan and demensions buit i think its a goodplan. i lived in wisconsin and think the adams sub and of the cnw would be a nice option for the nb and could interchange with mw road or soo line? any other ideas.rick

[rdettmer]

i would think some of you would have some input. you talk to every one else,s plans.

[SpaceMouse]

The reaseon perhaps you have no responses are

1) You require us to have an MR on hand. I didn't when I read your post the first time.

2) Your use of no capital letters and sentnce fragments makes it hard to read.

But having said all that and looking up the layout, I can see no way to colapse the layout and make it work. Simply taking 2 feet out of the top not only loosed you an operation area, it colopses the loops together such that they overlap and block access. You can do much better in the same space if you take the time to design someting yourself.

There are good free layout drawing programs to help. Post your efforts here and get them reviewed.

[Texas Zepher]

QUOTE: Originally posted by SpaceMouse
The reaseon perhaps you have no responses are
1) You require us to have an MR on hand.
2) Your use of no capital letters and sentnce fragments makes it hard to read.

[#ditto] It is really easy to just skip a post that is hard to read and hard to understand. Took me a while just to figure out what the subject line meant.

Sooo....

You could reduce the radius of the loop in Bemidji, move the industries to the inside of the loop; then reduce the shelf on the left side to 6", tilt the center island to reduce both isle widths to 18", eliminate the dummy "main line" to Staples, trim the corners of the board. And then it might fit in 13 feet. Even then reaching those industries is going to be difficult. I believe this layout, as shown in the magazine, does not have a wall against the east side of Bemidji.

You cannot reduce the radius of the loop at Lake Hubert because it is needed for the separation of Brainerd and Nisswa. It depends on your room configuration but in general you cannot extend the lower part of the layout into your 21' space to clear the upper loop because you need the 3 feet on the bottom for access to the Brainerd. industries.

[Tom Bryant_MR]

The article was for an HO layout. If you are interested in this layout and think you have the space, I would recommend you download some CAD s/w.

http://www.sillub.com/ is free.

See what you can fit using HO in your space. You can also consider N scale for the same layout.

[Big_Boy_4005]

I really like this layout. It is a nice midsized plan with continuous run and operations. The fact that it is based on a real Minnesota railroad makes me like it all the more.

The way I see it, you can squeeze the width, and partially make it up in length, given your space. The place where you need to make changes is at Walker. It will have to move closer to the left corner. You are losing 2 feet along the top, but you aren't gaining 3 feet along the left side, because you need to leave a walkway to access part of Brainerd.

You may also be able to add extra industries at Bemidji, or even a yard on a shelf, depending on where your doorway to the room is located.

[rdettmer]

thank you all who have responded. sorry i didn"t start this off in the right way. i guess i thought you all had the jan. issue in hand and becuz i was so thrilled with a plan that almost meets my room i guess i thought you all wood know what i was talking about. well the plan is ok and i know taking 2 feet off of the top would be a problem there.along the side at brainard i have a walkway of 2feet or so before i run into the furness. so think i am ok there. i can go to 22 feet or more on trhe length and at the asile where the two ends come together i may have to fiddle around some. .been a long day on the real rr today so will get back to you later. thanks again and please keep your ideas coming rick.

[rdettmer]

Can anyone here tell me how to use this www.sillub thing? Big boy do you model a minnesota rr? I don"t usually ttpe letters so the spelling and use of capitol letters and sentences is new to me? I thought we were a forem of helping people not a classroom? Can any one tell me how to do the two levels of track work using foam and plywood? Room demensions are 13 by 30 with stairway at the bottom of the page of plan. At the bottom of Bemidgi i have a 3 footr doorway to another room then lots of asile space to the rest of rr.

[Anonymous]

MR - January of what year?

[Big_Boy_4005]

Blmgtn, that's Jan 06, the newest issue, page 82.

Rick, don't worry about the typing, I understood what you meant. It is just a little harder to read, but no big deal. Some of the guys can get a little cranky about spelling and grammar sometimes, but they really are good guys. Believe me, I seen much worse typing than yours around here.

The secret is to type as if you were talking. Keep in mind that commas and periods indicate pauses. It gets easier with practice. I used to hate it, and was terrible at it. After two years, I can hold my own.[;)]

Yes, I model Minnesota. My project is very large. I work in 3 rail O, in a huge space. A lot of mainline action with BNSF, CP, UP, Amtrak and other smaller railroads around the Twin Cities.

I'm not sure what that "sillub" thing is, it shows up as a link, but it doesn't work. Is it spelled right? URL's need to be exact.

When it comes to foam and plywood on this layout you need to be a little careful. The potential problem is, headspace for the lower deck, and the grade needed to get up through the extra thickness. You have 5" to drop down between Bemidji and the center of the long wall's lower level. The thicker the base on the upper level, the less room you have on the lower while maintaining the same grade. It can be done.

There is one other problem taking the 2 feet out of the width at the top, and that is that you close down the access aisle between Bemidji and Brainerd. You could clip the corner of Brainerd where the narrow gauge is.

It should still work, but it will be a little different from the magazine.

[SMassey]

For help on usint the XtrkCAD go to the webite and they have some really good tutorials. I used them to figure the software out and was able to make my track plan with it.

Good luck

[rdettmer]

Thanks again big boy, can read blueprints and make a track switch or track panal in 1 to 1 scale like as in real railroading but i can"t cypher a plan without real figures. Computers are still new to me and plans drawn without measurements will be a challange but i think if i round off both ends at the aisleway and do some moving of track i will get er done. worked 32 years for CNW and now pu i mean UP>> rick