Preliminary Track Plan

[Jumijo]

Below is my preliminary track plan for the Jumijo Railway. The name Jumijo comes from the first two letters of each child's name (JUlia, MIchael, and JOhn). The RR is set in 1940s New England and will have an autumn look to it. Nothing says New England more than fall colors and stone walls, so they will be incorporated into the layout.

As you can see it's comprised of 2 loops with no switches. I will most likely add some switches in the future, but for the time being, my kids are too young to know how to operate them.

All track is O27. The outer loop has 42" curves with one corner made up of 54" (green track). The inner loop is 27" curves at each end of the "L" with a 42" (light blue) at the top and center.

From left to right, the rail bridges consist of a scratchbuilt cement style, a truss style, and a girder. A small Plasticville covered bridge will be used for autos. The station is being scratchbuilt now from wood and MDF. The dairy farm and produce stand are Plasticville. I've decided to use some Plasticville structures after building and weathering one of their water towers. It came out very realistic. Obviously more structures will be added. The two mountains will be made from styrofoam and expandable spray foam and will each have access hatches for track maintenance.

Terrain will be 1/2" plywood covered with Homosote covered with layers of 2" ridgid stryrofoam. The HD near me sells a sound absorbing product similar to Homosote for roughly half the price. I'll most likely use it unless someone gives me a good reason not to. Benchwork will be 1x4" with finished fascia on the visible sides.

I think that's about it. Comments? Suggestions?




Jim

[Anonymous]

ok, first question: What software did you use to create this?

2. Why do you feel you need the 2" styrofoam over the homosote? Homosote has pretty good sound absorbing properties. Are you planning on cutting/burning the styrofoam for terrain or something?

[Big_Boy_4005]

How old are your kids? I think you are short changing yourself and them by not including the switches from the start. Even if you feel that they aren't able to work the switches themselves, adding them will provide a lot more interest for everyone, and save you the trouble of redoing everything later. One way to to handle the situation is for you to ask them where they want the trains to go, then you throw the switches. It won't take them long to figure things out.

Personally, if I was going to build a layout of that size, I would include at least 8 switches, 10 or 12 would be even better. A crossover between loops in each direction is 4 switches right off the bat. Using the inner loop, I would create 2 reverse loops, that's 4 more, now we are up to 8. The rest would be for industrial sidings, giving you a place for operating accessories. I'll draw you a sketch, and post it here.

This isn't to scale, but it will fit your space. The industrial tracks don't need to be as long, and it may be better to have fewer, but you get the idea. The point of this design is to give you a choice of many path for the trains to take. It allows reversing in both directions. It allows the trains to move between loops.

[FJ and G]

how old are your kids? If younger than about 5, may be good idea, as they might leave the train on the switch and fry the switch; always can add them later, as you say. No one says a layout HAS to be completed to run & have fun.

Go for it and add as you wish

[Dr. John]

I think you have a nice, basic plan. I like how the inner track curves inward to break the monotony of the design. The larger radius curves on the outer line will allow you to run some longer equipment. The bridges and the river also add interest.

You have left yourself some room to add sidings, a reversing route and crossovers between the inner and outer loop. If you are concerned about switches now, you have left ample room later. You might consider using manual turnouts if you are worried about a parked train burning out a coil on a switch machine.

Is the layout going against a wall? If so, you may want to add an access hatch in the middle.

By the way, I'll be up in your neck of the woods next week. How's the weather been up there?

Bottom line - if you and your kids are happy with it, you've got a winner! I hope you will post some pics of your progress.

[Jumijo]

I plan to use the 2" styrofoam to vary the topography of the layout. It will stacked, carved, etc. to make granite outcroppings and hills. I'm not relying on it to deaden sound, but if it does, so be it.

My kids are all under 5 years old, and as of now they don't go near the trains without me. But very soon they will be at that age where they get "bright ideas" and if they do start them up, I don't want a scenario like what David mentioned, or derailments or who knows what else when I'm not around. Let's face it, they're kids and kids will be kids . . . I'm trying to mimimize potential trouble and maximize fun.

I'll add some switches and sidings eventually, but for now, we'll watch the trains barrel around the rural northern New England country side in an era gone by. Plenty of fun will be made just by working on the scenery. My daughter is helping me build the station and is really excited about it.

I appreciate all the comments, guys.

Jim

[Jumijo]

John,

The weather has been miserable this spring! Snow well into April. Then it rained 27 out of 31 days in May. So far June has been dry, but as we say in New England, if you don't like the weather, wait a minute.

Big Boy's track plan is clever. I like the way the inner loop reverses. It opens up a lot of routing possibilities. I'll admit that I do suffer from a lack of imagination in the track planning department. I'll keep Big Boy's sketch as a go-by for future expansion of the Jumijo Railway. Many thanks, Big Boy!

Jim

[Big_Boy_4005]

You're welcome Jim, I enjoy track planning, and it was a pleasure to draw that for you. I hope you decide to build it. It should provide years of fun and excitment for you and your kids.

If you haven't already invested in 027 track, I might suggest considering regular O gauge instead. The reason goes back to Dave's comment about frying switches. The 022 switch is a superior design, and there are lots of used ones available at shows or on Ebay. There are modifications that can be done to the 027 switches, but in the long run it isn't that much of a savings over just going straight to O.

At one time I had a huge investment in 027 track, but changed to O so I could get 072 switches. Now they make them 027 style, but I'm still glad I switched.

Have fun.[8D]

[#oops] In my haste to post that plan, I made a small mistake. Both of the crossovers connecting the two loops are the same hand. There should be a right and a left crossover. I drew them both as rights. The one near the inside corner should be the left.

[spankybird]

Jaabat, If you are planing on 027 tube track and adding switches, then I would strongly recommand using the K-line 027 low profile switches.

with these you don't have to worry about burning them out if a car is park on them. They also can be powered from fix power instead of track power and also have lights on them. Because of being low profile, you can run larger cars and engines on them.

Here is what one looks like



tom

[Dr. John]

Jim, thanks for the weather info. I hope it clears as this is a construction trip!

There's some really good advice on this thread. Still, the nice thing about using sectional track is that change is pretty quick and easy. I think BigBoy pretty much gave you the most flexible trackplan for the space. While he has some very valid points about O vs. O-27 track, I personally like the low profile look of O-27 and as Tom noted, the K-Line turnouts are top-notch!

[Big_Boy_4005]

Jim, Tom, and John, I guess the things I like most about the 022's are the fixed voltage plugs, the lanterns which indicate which way the switch is thrown, and the fact that you can turn the motor to either side. Yes the rail is annoyingly tall, but if you dress it up with extra ties and ballast it can still look nice. Another trick to deemphasize the height is to paint the sides a dark rusty brown.

If you want to get fancy, there is a modification where you can chop the curved leg of an 022 down to the equivalent of slightly more than a half curve. This is very useful for creating those crossovers, and allows you to have smoother operation with closer track centers. I haven't done one in a while, but it's pretty easy, and I could explain the process to anyone who wants to give it a shot.

I'm not that familiar with K-line's newer switches, but I can see from Tom's picture that clearence is pretty good. I distinctly recall that an engine like an FM could not handle the curved leg of the Lionel 027 switch, as the overhang would strike the motor housing. The problem was similar for aluminum passenger cars.

[3railguy]

I think you have a good plan. Looks like you want to be up and running in very little time with little expense. You are on the right track. Go without the switches for now and run them trains. Be advised adding switches to the mainline can be a hassle in the future if you ballast the track. You don't want to over-do it either by crowding your layout with too many switches and track. It leaves little room to arrange structures and scenery in a believable manner and gives the layout a hodgepodge look. Plus it can limit the lengths of your trains..

Someone posted on the OGR forum that the homasote look-a-like that Home Depot sells is not good for layouts. I can't remember why. I think it had something to do with the way it holds track screws or doesn't dampen sound very well. I've had good luck with cork or foam roadbed or foam weather stripping pieces under the ties (the length of the ties) Assuming tubular track, weather stripping pieces under the ties is by far the cheapest and easiest method and they work well straight on plywood and are quiter than using homasote. The advantage to foam weather strips under the ties is they allow you to experiment or expand your track plan easily. The disadvantage is they don't work well if you decide to ballast the track. But, once you establish your trackplan, you can switch to conventional road bed. Whatever roadbed you use, the key is not to let the screw heads touch the ties. otherwise the screws will transmit sound into the plywood base.

[Jumijo]

Thanks, everyone. I'll keep those K-Line switches in mind, as I keep hearing the same thing from many people - use K-LINE switches!

Yes, I do want to be up and running in short amount of time with low expense. I've already bought the track at a 40% off sale. It's Lionel O27 tubular. I can live with it. I hope the locos can too!

All of your comments are noted and greatly appreciated. Thanks again.

Jim

[spankybird]

Elliot,

You make all good points on the Lionel 022 switches, but most of these good point are on the K-Line switches.

1. running at fix power
2. lights on both controller and switch
3. use of tosites type switch motor (no noise when parking cars on it)

The only thing that you loose is being able to turn the switch motor to the other side of the turnout.

As for an FM, here is a K-line scale FM going thru the switch



yep there is overhang, up it does clear it.



Jaabat, My layout is done with 027 tube track, click on the web icon below and check it out.

tom

[Jumijo]

Tom,

I've been enjoying your layout photos since I first started visiting this forum. It's a real treat to see a whole web page dedicated to it. I especially like your 671 Turbine set from your childhood. What a beauty! I've bookmarked it for future enjoyment!

Thanks for your advice on the switches, Tom. I will remember it when the time comes.

Jim

[Anonymous]

Jim, can you tell me what software you used?

thanks