Login
or
Register
Subscriber & Member Login
Login, or register today to interact in our online community, comment on articles, receive our newsletter, manage your account online and more!
Login
Register
Home
»
Model Railroader
»
Forums
»
Layouts and layout building
»
Track to use
Track to use
836 views
5 replies
Order Ascending
Order Descending
Tom Bryant_MR
Member since
January 2005
From: Jarrell, Texas
1,114 posts
Posted by
Tom Bryant_MR
on Monday, March 6, 2006 3:56 AM
[#welcome] seafire. Here are some other helpful links.
First:
http://www.nmra.org/
. Half way down the page is a link to starting a layout and what all should be considered. This will help answer a lot of the basic questions. The NMRA web site has a lot of good information.
Second:
http://ldsig.org/
. This is the Layout Design Special interest group. Look at the
primer
link on the left of that page. Again, a lot of good information on the design part.
Third:
Once you have an idea, track planning s/w will help you. There are a few for free such as Atlas RTS (Right Track Software) @
http://www.atlasrr.com/
and XtrkCad @
http://www.sillub.com/
(be sure to read about the free registration part)
Fourth:
4 by 8 layouts are common to start with. Some who've done more than a few layouts may not agree with a 4 x 8, but it is a valid choice. You can get some ideas on what can be done with a 4 x 8 other than just round and round running @
http://home.earthlink.net/~mrsvc/id28.html
Fifth:
Once you have a design in mind, post it here on the forum and the members will help you fine tune it and/or answer specific questions.
Tom
Reply
tomikawaTT
Member since
February 2005
From: Southwest US
12,914 posts
Posted by
tomikawaTT
on Monday, March 6, 2006 1:48 AM
Track to use:
If you are brand new to tracklaying, Atlas Code 100 is probably the easiest and most forgiving to use. Avoid sectional track, with or without built-in roadbed - getting it perfectly aligned and kink-free is a hassle.
I would recommend that you start simple. Modeling the approach to a major terminal can wait until you have developed the skills and acquired the space.
Reply
selector
Member since
February 2005
From: Vancouver Island, BC
23,330 posts
Posted by
selector
on Sunday, March 5, 2006 4:35 PM
If, as you say, you'd like your first experience to be enjoyable, you would go a long way toward that by reading up on DCC (Digital Command and Control) and making a conscious decision to control your locomotives that way. It is so much more realistic, and the sound adds that much more. Pcarrell's advice is spot-on, too. The more time you invest in drawing up a concret list of activities and structures that your trains must deal with, the happier you will be with your re-introduction to toy trains.
So many of us jumped in with a half-baked plan and some preliminary reading that was just enough to allow us to make only one or two major mistakes instead of all of them. Later, when you are up and running, those two mistakes will wink at you every time.
Reply
Anonymous
Member since
April 2003
305,205 posts
Posted by
Anonymous
on Sunday, March 5, 2006 4:34 PM
I use Atlas Code 100 Flex Track. It is rugged and forgiving. Code 83 is a little more realistic looking but from what everyone tells me is that your track work needs to be more exact. A 4 by 8 does not necessarily need to be an oval with spurs. There are plenty of creative 4 by 8's out there that are conducive to interesting operations. Check out the Turtle Creek Central that Model Railroader published a couple of years ago. There are also a number of other interesting plans out there.
Reply
Edit
pcarrell
Member since
February 2005
From: In the State of insanity!
7,982 posts
Posted by
pcarrell
on Sunday, March 5, 2006 2:32 PM
Why not create your own plan?
I'd recommend you pick up a copy of "Track Planning For Realistic Operation" by John Armstrong. I'd get this whether you plan on making your own plan or not. You'll learn tons from it.
When it comes to planning you need to define a few things first before you can really make a plan or even find the perfect ready-made plan. Things like minimum radius, which can sometimes be affected by the choice of steam or diesel, switching or railfanning, or something in between, multi level or not, and several other factors. Let me give you a link to a site that should help you quite a bit. It's;
http://www.vetmed.auburn.edu/~smithbf/BFSpages/LDSIGprimer/TOC.html
Look through those links and do some reading and that should help narrow the field some.
As far as track goes I model in N scale but most of the people that I talk to who do HO like the code 83 for it's good looks and ruggedness.
Philip
Reply
Anonymous
Member since
April 2003
305,205 posts
Track to use
Posted by
Anonymous
on Sunday, March 5, 2006 2:20 PM
I'm just getting into model railroading. I'm not a newbe at this, I used to have a O scale layout when I was a kid. However, I would like to start on a new layout in HO scale. My benchwork size is 4x8. I have read about code 83&100 and true-track by Atlas. Since I'm somewhat new to HO I would like my first exprience to enjoyable. Does anyboy have any ideas of plans?
Thanks
seafire
Reply
Edit
Subscriber & Member Login
Login, or register today to interact in our online community, comment on articles, receive our newsletter, manage your account online and more!
Login
Register
Users Online
There are no community member online
Search the Community
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Model Railroader Newsletter
See all
Sign up for our FREE e-newsletter
and get model railroad news in your inbox!
Sign up