I wish I knew that the "train table" I was about to build a "layout" on was terrible benchwork. It's kind of too late to start again now...
Harrison
Homeschooler living In upstate NY a.k.a Northern NY.
Modeling the D&H in 1978.
Route of the famous "Montreal Limited"
My YouTube
Harrison, post photos of what's wrong with it, maybe we can help with a retro fix.
Brent
"All of the world's problems are the result of the difference between how we think and how the world works."
richhotrain gmpullman MisterBeasley This is typically not a first-time thing. You need to consider and plan for staging. I'll second the need for plenty of staging. I've got two staging areas, one for freight and one for passenger trains but I could always use more. As I think about this, based upon my own experience, it may be asking too much to expect a newbie to plan for staging on his first layout. Staging requires a lot of space, and it is difficult to determine where to place staging on the layout and how much space to allocate for staging. The problem, as I see it, is that a newbie will have no experience with how any layout will operate, let alone his own first layout. With time comes experience, and then the need for staging becomes obvious. So, I don't think a newbie should stress over the need for staging on his first layout. Rich
gmpullman MisterBeasley This is typically not a first-time thing. You need to consider and plan for staging. I'll second the need for plenty of staging. I've got two staging areas, one for freight and one for passenger trains but I could always use more.
MisterBeasley This is typically not a first-time thing. You need to consider and plan for staging.
I'll second the need for plenty of staging. I've got two staging areas, one for freight and one for passenger trains but I could always use more.
As I think about this, based upon my own experience, it may be asking too much to expect a newbie to plan for staging on his first layout.
Staging requires a lot of space, and it is difficult to determine where to place staging on the layout and how much space to allocate for staging.
The problem, as I see it, is that a newbie will have no experience with how any layout will operate, let alone his own first layout. With time comes experience, and then the need for staging becomes obvious. So, I don't think a newbie should stress over the need for staging on his first layout.
Rich
I'm all over the place. On one hand, I agree - it's too much for a newbie to take in all this fancy "beyond the walls" concept and designing for operations when they've never even had a train set before. But then you come across those articles now and then where the owner has a beautiful basement filling layout, and when asked, it's his first ever layout. I have no reason to suspect they are being anything but truthful, but sometimes I wonder if it's not like the farmer's axe, still the same axe he started with, but the head's been replaced twice and the handle 4 times.
At the same time, I can see many of those newbies starting out with the basic 4x8 oval getting bored with the train just going round and round and then never going further in the hobby. Maybe they only had a mild case of train fever, because plenty of others including myself started that way and have stuck with it. I didn't have a layout that wasn't some dort of round and round until I came back to the hobby after college - then I built a shelf switching layout. Everything since has been designed for operation.
--Randy
Modeling the Reading Railroad in the 1950's
Visit my web site at www.readingeastpenn.com for construction updates, DCC Info, and more.
Im learned quite a few things. first your layout is NEVER big enough! I started 4x8 then realized I wanted to run minimum 22" turns because of a locomotive that I bought. Well that turned into a 5x11 layout. I then tried an oval around a figure 8 it looked cool but I then realized I needed to consist my locos to run the grades. since all my stuff was mismatched for a consist (GP9 with an SD45) I bought 2 new locos. well the locos that I bought can't go through my switches cause I have the wrong switches on my layout and 1 will pull the other off the track. I am now looking at redesigning my entire layout again but unless I expand my layout all I can come up with is an oval inside an oval so again I need more room for the layout.