Here’s my challenge: Create an HO layout on 4 hollow-core doors that provides a modicum of mainline running and a lot of peddler freight switching. Why 4 doors? I don’t have a permanent layout space, but a layout of this size would fit in my living room, with enough room to walk around the exterior. I’d be able to set it up for a weekend of railroadin’, then take it down and store it the rest of the time.
I’ll have plenty of questions about the actually engineering of the sections (legs and connections), but I’d like to save those for another time. First, I’d like to hear some constructive criticism of the attached track plan.
The concept is for a short branch line that serves three towns. The railroad’s main line is not depicted on this layout; the short spur in the lower right corner would represent the connection to the main line. It could actually lead to a small staging yard.
The three towns are at different elevations. Starting at the hidden reversing loop in the lower right corner, the line climbs around the exterior of the layout, ducking into a tunnel and around a sweeping curve before emerging in Town 2, which has a passing siding. The line ducks into another tunnel, loops around the layout again and climbs to Town 3, which has the reversing loop in the upper right corner.
The layout has a minimum curve radius of 18”, with easements. I know, that’s awful tight. But I don’t intend to run anything but small motive power, and since the era is approximately 1950, most freight cars will be in the 40-foot range.
The biggest concern I have at this point are the sheer number of tracks that must be connected between sections (doors). Is it reasonable to assume that this can be done successfully?
FYI: The layout has a running distance of nearly 90 feet, not bad considering it only occupies about 80 square feet of space. The turnouts are #6 on the “main line.” The white dots, for the most part, are about 6 inches apart, or about the length of a 40-foot car.
Your thoughts? Is it feasible? Any suggestions on improving the track plan?
Thanks!
Boy, that is a lot of track on there. I'm not sure plausible scenery could happen.
Simplicate and add lightness.
That is awful complex to set up and take down every weekend. You might do it once, and that would be enough.
I would suggest just making 2 towns, each having an L-shape. Scenic dividers between scenes. A piece of appropriate Snap-Track over the joints should work OK. Keep it flat for now, until you gain experience with it. Do you have any experience with this sort of a modular setup?
Here are a few shots of my table, with a door holding up the yard. 18" radius curves, 40 foot cars.
Looks simple, right? I can keep a guy busy for at least an hour switching.
There are 5 industries:
Car shop/RIP track (orange bldg) (1-3 cars)
Co-op (white bldg) (1-3 cars)
Team track (dock) (2 cars)
Grocery distributor (blue bldg) (2 cars on spot, another off-spot)
Printing Company (behind red station) (2 cars)
The buildings used may not be final, but there is room to put a building that looks like it could actually need rail service.
On the Grocery and Printer, each door has a certain car spotted there ("sure spot"). This adds to the time needed to do the work, as the cars need to be lined up right. I could add this to the other industries.
I have way too many cars to fit at one time. I rotate cars on and off as I feel like it.
A typical "day" starts with making up the train in the yard, and switching the car shop. I just write out a list of how the cars stand on the tracks, and where they go. Some cars don't move out. Sometimes a car needs to come out of the shop, to get spotted. A car could go "bad-order", or it could be car getting contract work done. It works best to have the train lined up before leaving the yard.
I then run a lap or 3 to simulate distance to the town. When in town, the work starts. Most industries are trailing point. One is facing point, on a switchback. Not the best plan, but it works here OK. I can get 4 cars plus 1 engine on the headroom/co-op siding. There is plenty of room to make the moves needed. Takes a bit of planning.
When done in town, there are 2 options: run around and head back to the yard, or shove back, with the caboose protecting the point. Shoving back is more common than you would think.
Getting back to the yard, then the train gets broken down, per the list. Some cars go anywhere, others go to a certain track, for interchange. Between sessions, I take them off the table, and rotate other cars in. Then, write a new list, and the next session can start.
Mike WSOR engineer | HO scale since 1988 | Visit our club www.WCGandyDancers.com
JTGThe biggest concern I have at this point are the sheer number of tracks that must be connected between sections (doors). Is it reasonable to assume that this can be done successfully?
No it's not. From my own experience building modular layouts, you will have problems for the following two reasons:
1) Too much track, creates many, many joints to bridge. You will go nuts trying to mate those sections together and have everything line up the first time.
2) Too many places where the track crosses a table joint at an angle other than 90 degrees. You will have real alignment issues with those track sections. Straight on connections are the easiest to manage.
I have figured out what is wrong with my brain! On the left side nothing works right, and on the right side there is nothing left!
I have to agree with stebbycentral .This will be a nite mare to takedown & set back up. I don't mean to be critical, but imho ,You will not enjoy this setup as it poses too many problems just by the all the track joints You will have to line up .Not to say it can't be done, but less track on the door method would be better.
Simplify. The module on the right in particular looks like a nightmare.
I'd also modestly suggest you consider N scale. If you have an itch for operations in a small space, I think you'll find N to be a lot more flexible given your space considerations. You might also find you can do a lot on one or two doors that wouldn't have to be folded away all the time.
Lee
Route of the Alpha Jets www.wmrywesternlines.net
I would consider doing a shelf layout along one or two walls of the living room - about 12-18" deep and have a couple of reversing loops on sections that can be attached temporarily to the ends.
Enjoy
Paul
My thanks to all of you who responded to the original post. Your comments have confirmed my suspicions, and I'll go back to the drawing board to see if I can find a pleasing but simplified solution to my 4-door restrictions.
Paul, thanks also for your suggestion. Unfortunately, there is no possibility of having any permanent layout fixture in the room.
I'll make the suggestion that you look at some of the modular layout specifications. They may give you some ideas about how to handle some of the issues with connecting track between sections. Joining tracks at module joints at anything other than a 90 degree angle can be problematic. Also, if you don't have 5 or 6 inches between tracks you are going to have trouble fitting in much realistic scenary.
In my opinion, you idea to use 4 hollow core doors is a good idea, but you need to come up a way to fasten them together that is solid and stable and a way to connect tracks and power between sections
I recently built 2 2ftx4ft HO modules that have 6 tracks connected between modules, 2 mainline and 4 siding tracks, the mainline uses 6" joiner tracks and the sidings use 4" joiners and are not exactly perpendicular to the joint. This works but on our modular layout, certain troublesome joints that are not perfectly aligned are always the source of problems.
I don't think you're going to be happy with all those tracks crossing the joints--they will end up being very tough to properly align. Double (or more) the difficulty if any of those tracks are NOT on the flat table level.
As was said above, simplify.
Also, taking some of the spaghetti out of that bowl will make room for more realstic scenery and structures.
Way to much track (makes it look like toy trains not model trains). Some time less is more!
I am using hollow core doors but in a point to point railroad. Here is my first door as it progressed.