Wescott's D &S Park Layout HELP

[douginut]

Hey friends,
I have been adapting the Denver and South Park layout in Wescott's 101 Layouts from Kalbach.
I model mostly in N Scale and had a 36x80 inch hollow core door laying around so I decided to reduce the plans for N Scale use. I blew up the original plan from the book at Kinkos til it was was 3 ft by 6 feet. To ease the grades I have made the elevations 1/2 of the HO height 5 inches for 10 in HO etc. The problem is that when I went to lay track I found that only 30degree switches would fit into the plan and the the #4 and #6 I had accumulated were just TOO big. The question is, has anyone actually built this layout successfully and are ther any pictures of a finished one out there? this is beginning to look to me like one of those beautiful layouts ON PAPER that is impossible to build.
Am I wrong?
Thanks,
Doug, in Utah

[Anonymous]

Hi Doug;
I don't have the '101 track plans' book any longer, I do remember having it many years ago. My recollection is that the plans were all buildable, but not necessarily with 'commercial' turnouts, unless some of them were modified by shortening, or relocated a bit. What was the intended full-scale dimensions of the H0 layout in the book ?
regards / Mike

[Anonymous]

Hello Doug,

I believe it was my retired boss, Jim Kelly (hand salute!), who said track planners propose, layout builders dispose. In other words, what looks workable on paper in most cases needs to be adjusted -- and more often than not for turnout size.

The trackplan indicates stub turnouts, which do appear to be sharper than no. 4s, and "very sharp curves." It's 2x4 feet in N scale. Still, I'm a bit puzzled as to why with more space the general arrangement wouldn't work.

Can you come up with something that pleases you and has the overall character and similar design of this trackplan that appeals to you? You might find you like it better.

I do feel your pain. I discovered something quite similar when I built a 4x7-foot N scale version of John Armstrong's Milwaukee Road layout featured in Creative Layout Design. The Peco curved turnouts I purchased were of a larger radius than those John drew. It affected the number of yard tracks I could include and the length of the passing tracks.

Without trying to sound Pollyanna about it, I adapted the trackplan using the geometry of the track components I had on hand, and it turned out well in the end. I hope you can do the same; it's an intriguing track plan.

Regards,

Paul Schmidt
Contributing Editor
Trains.com

[douginut]

It was intended to be a 4x8 with standard guage emulation of Colorado Narrow guage.

[douginut]

Paul,
it will actually work with the 30degree turnouts that Bachmann used to sell. There is a GATS happening this weekend. Being a trolley freak I am setting this up to use the Kato Electric Switcher and "fake" catenary/trolley. The herd of Bachmann trolleys and 40/50 foot cars that I have been accumulating will be put to good use here.
I had felt that if I had read it in MR or ANY Kalmbach book it would work as shown.

[Anonymous]

Doug...I'm a little puzzled on this, and not just because of my advancing age, although it's nice to blame SOMETHING.
Here's another take on this...no H0 4 X 8 plan ever fits an N scale 2 x 4 proerly, because N is not 1/2 the size of H0, it's larger than that, by nearly 9%.
That being said, an H0 4 X 8 layout plan should always fit an N scale 3 x 6 board, quite easily.
I think what may have thrown you off was enlarging that plan to 3 x 6..in reality, the relationship of the turnouts to the tracks needed to change, and your 3 x 6 photocopy didn't allow that.
I think you needed to enlarge the plan only to 2 x 4, and then cut it up to fit it to your 3 foot table top...in this way, you'd have been forced to insert additional trackage here & there. An additional trick would have been to get Kinko to photocopy a bunch of your actual turnouts, and used these pictures to assist in the laying out of the design.
Regards / The Hindsight Guy / Mike

[douginut]

I am reworking things so that the most nasty situations will be using 30degree trix or Bachmann switches. In the mean time several of the lines will just not get finished
the most urgent thing is to get ANYTHING running well. Like the doper neding a fix, I just need to see a few of my trains RUN (pant pant).
a couple of the places just wont work with anything less than the 30degree units
I call them #2 or #3.
every other time that I have built a layout I have made my own plans and mocked up everything first so this is the first time that I have EVER had a problem.
Thanks for your suggestions.
this is one layout that will never get finished. BUT will be fun to run.
Doug, in Utah.

[Anonymous]

Doug,

I am also going to modle the D & SP that is listed in the book 101 Layouts. I've studied plans far and wide and that is the one for me. I did run across a lead cover article by Carroll Weis and the Layout of the month which occurred in the September 1941 issue of the Model Railroader. The issue featured a cover shot of Carroll Weis who was the origional archetec of the plan in 101 Layouts. The feature article coverd Weis and his builing HOn models of the loco to run on his new layout he was building. The article was on pages 460-462. Then the Layout of the Month of the same Denver and South Park included the very same layout in 101 Layouts. He goes into detail on the layout and explains things more fully.

This is the one and only layout to build. All kinds of scenic possibilites and history to boot.

Let me know of your progress if you are still doing it. I'm still in the planning stages but indeed am going to do this layout...

Wish I could see pics of this layout. But alas none are available...