Rules of thumb for grade and power?

[Anonymous]

My father had model trains when he was a boy and my parents gave me a set when I was young. I had a Lionel (O-scale?) set and an HO scale set. I particularly loved the Lionel set.

15 years later, I just bought my first house. For some reason I have this incredible urge to resurrect my old train sets and put it in my finished basement. Space is a premium and there is going to be a lot of activity down there with the exercise equipment, a pool table, couches, and a TV. I was considering setting the trains up on a ledge around the perimeter of the top of the wall near the cieling. I don't plan on creating the gorgeous detail that many people have but the basement has a few features that could make the track layout intersting. In the far corner of the basement there are walls that segregate the living area from the furnace and oil tank. I was considering cutting a hole in that wall and having the train enter and exit that area like a tunnel. I'd also like to keep the tracks away from the stairs because I have cats that would love to climb around on the track that high up. To keep the track clear of the stairs (and thereby the wall) I was considering building a trainbridge out of steel and wood that would span from the edge of the room to the middle of the basement where the support beams for the house are.

Now to my questions:

1) For the Lionel (O scale), are there length limits to how long the track can be? The setup I want will be very large (1/2 to the full perimeter of the house). I'm sure the length of the track is dependent on the power supply. Is there a rule of thumb concerning watts/tracklength?

2) For my Lionel (O scale) train, what reasonable grade can I have? Adding some ups and downs would add more interest to the setup. I know this is dependent on the health of the track and locomotive and the length of the train. Are there any rules of thumb? Should I not bother and just keep it all flat? Remember, my setup will be very large.

Thanks!

[nfmisso]

Z;

First, unless your house is incredibly large (like over 10000 sq ft) your layout is not "VERY LARGE". The HO club I belong to, before moving has a layout filling 5000 sq ft. it is large, but not very large.

Grades, try to keep them under 2%, that is 2" rise in 100" along. 4% is workable with enough locomotives on the train. Make sure you have good vertical transistions. The grades need to start and end gradually.

Length of track depends on power feeders, not supply. Run 10 or 12 guage wires as a bus all around the layout out, and 18 guage wire feeders from the bus to the track every 6 feet or so, and you should not have any problems.

I would also like to suggest you join the Atlas O scale forum at http://www.atlaso.com/welcome.htm.

[Anonymous]

For the Lionel trains, I would consider just a loop of track (with no grades) around the top of the walls. This is an HO scale layout that runs around the top of a dining room. The bridges are quite impressive:

http://www.forcone.com/trains/index.html

Think about feeders for the track, as mentioned above by Nigel.

As for the HO stuff, I pulled my old Bachmann set out of storage after 25 years (got it when I was seven) and that is what has revived my interest. I don't plan on running the stuff, but have put it on a little diorama in the train "space" (it's not a room unfortunately...). No reason that you can't have a nice HO layout too - just keep the cats away!

Andrew

[Anonymous]

Funny how when you are a kid you don't think about wiring setups and cleaning the track and the trains. I often wonder if my exposure the electricity and transformers on my Lionel set had an influence on my choice of profession as I'm an electrical engineer.

Thanks for the advice and information! I may have to add a very small grade into the loop because of some of the room dimensions and the way the drop ceiling is... but I'm going to try to keep it to a minimum.

That link to the HO setup is nice! I like what he did with the bridges. Constructing them will be a fun task considering they will have to be longer and they will have to support the weight of an O-scale Lionel train.

Two more quesitons:

I was looking into track considering what I have is very old and not nearly enough for my concept. What is the deal with cork on the bottom of the track? Is it to keep it from moving? Do you suggest that I tie down the track to the board in some way? I don't remember if the old 3-rail lionel track even had tack holes?

Once the Lionel is up and running, I'll take a look at my HO inventory :)

[nfmisso]

QUOTE: Originally posted by Zoso
[I was looking into track considering what I have is very old and not nearly enough for my concept. What is the deal with cork on the bottom of the track? Is it to keep it from moving? Do you suggest that I tie down the track to the board in some way? I don't remember if the old 3-rail lionel track even had tack holes?

Take a look at 3 rail O scale track from Atlas and others.

Cork is to simulate the roadbed, many use other materials such a rubber (AMI, Inc), foam (Woodland Senics), Homa-bed (Homasote), or make thier own from foam, rubber, wood, cork, etc. In model trains, the road bed also serves to reduce noise.

Track should be attached, typical choices are small nails, carpet tape, various adhesives. IF it is not firmly attached, the inertia of the train may be enough to cause the track to slide, which could result in the train taking a dive to the floor ($$$$ with Lionel stuff).

[Anonymous]

You got a lot of great advice but you'll get ahead faster if you just chuck everything else out of the basement NOW and go for the whole enchilada. Just kidding but keep this piece of advice for later reference. Good luck and have fun!