Building from Trackplan, Questions

[Anonymous]

Help! Have a question for all. I'm building a model railroad from the book Small, Smart, and Practical Track Plans by Iain Rice, pub. by Kalmbach. The layout I'm working on is the Okehampton plan.

Here's my questions:

The plan says the ruling radius is 30", but does not say if all curves are 30", and does not specify the turnout sizes. Is there some easy way for me to figure this out?

Second, I'm working on benchwork, and only want to put plywood under the track area on the rural part of the layout - I want to use foamboard elsewhere. Is there some easy trick anyone has for laying out track positions on the layout, incorporating transitions, etc, that will be easy to follow?

Thanks for any help! I've finished the room, almost done with benchwork, so am anxious to fini***his part next.

[CNJ831]

Hi Mike - No one seems to have tackled your question so let me give it a try.

I've glanced through Rice's book several times at the local hobby shop but don't specifically recall the layout in question. Even so, his trackplan illustrations are typically laid out on a grid pattern of some sort and you should be able to get a fairly good idea of the various curve radii by comparing them to this grid scale. Lack of solid, listed dimensions is always a problem with "paper layouts" such as these.

When referring to the "ruling radius" one is normally talking about the minimum figure for the mainline. Thus, mainline curves could be larger than this figure but not smaller. Spur/siding radii might be sharper, however.

Regarding switches, with the small, compact layout plans that Rice usually does, #4, #5, or #6 switches are generally called for - the tighter the space, the lower the number switch usually employed. Again, you'll have to use some personal judgement here.

Hope this helps.

John

[Anonymous]

If by foamboard you mean foamcore used for signs don't use it. It warps when one side is painted. Use foam insulation (pink or blue) one inch thick if supported and 2 inch if not. To mark the track plan on it use a marking pen. Continue with it on the whole layout as transitions to plywood are a problem. To stick the track down various glues will work but AMI road bed or glazing tape make a good road bed that the track will stick to. I'm at risk mentioning it here but the May-June N Scale magazine has a good article on all foam bench work.