Hello,
Just was in the database here at the website and found an layout that I really want to do. However, when I click on it only a PDF is provided. Is there a program to open this with so i can see the type of track used and maybe some of the degree inclines and declines and maybe a better picture of the moutains and tunnels?
The layout is the Western Maryland Ry.
Blackwater Division in the HO scale less then 100 SQT section.
Rob
The PDF references a photo article which appeared in MR back in 2004. Take another look and you could narrow that to the proper month. If you haven't got access to that historical data, call MR customer service about a copy.
Just looking at the PDF and the specifications, I would assume that the track was a combination of Atlas Snap-Track (with Snap-Switches) and Atlas flex track. The switch on a curve at the extreme right is a dead giveaway.
This is definitely a short engine/short car/short train layout. If that matches your wants, go for it. I have one railroad (out of five on one set of benchwork legs) like that, but my Nihon Kokutetsu catenary motors, passenger equipment and long freight cars need 21"+ radii to stay on the rails, and look better on 24" seen from the inside.
Chuck (Modeling Central Japan in September, 1964)
Thanks for your reply. The reason I went with this is because I only have a 8X5 bench to work with and I wanted to mountain and town look as well. I think a switcher and a few other engines wuld work on this, not looking for anything big, no room so I just want to have a double main, a yard and a town on a 8X5 any suggestions to look at, i have ben looking now for three weeks with no results except this one I told you about already.
MR track plans are somewhat generic and have been drawn with a professional graphics tool and not a track planning tool. It´s more of an artist´s rendition of a layout plan.
There fore, "drilling down" to the track list is not possible.
If you want to recreate this track plan, I´d recommend to actually employ a track planning software to do this job, just to see whether the track will fit onto your benchwork. There are freebies available on the Internet, such as Atlas RTS or SCARM (essentially the same, but not limited to Atlas track).
I doubt that you could shoehorn the plan into your 5 x 8 space. The extra foot of length makes a big difference. The plan is a overall 5 x 9 single track, major changes are needed to make it double track probably requiring even more space.
Follow Sir Maddog's suggestion about track planning software. You could probably come up with something different, but inspired by the plan.
I tried to sell my two cents worth, but no one would give me a plug nickel for it.
I don't have a leg to stand on.
I think that this is Ken Kyser's HO 5X9 layout from the July 2004 Model Railroader. This, in turn, is a slight modification of Linn Westcott's HO 4X8 HO Railroad That Grows.
As drawn, it's a very tight layout. Most of the track is still within the original 4X8 area, so it doesn't make the best use of the overall footprint. If you redrew the layout to “relax” it out to the full 6X8 dimension you were talking about earlier, it might be easier to fit all the elements, but the lost foot in length will be a challenge.
The specifications box in the layout article indicates that "#4" turnouts were used, it appears that some (or most) may have been trimmed to fit. (Note also that the Atlas Customline “#4s” are actually about a #4½ frog.) Westcott’s original 4X8 had a number of Snap-Switches, which are significantly sharper than #4.
There was no more detail as far as turnouts, radius, start and end of grades, etc. in the magazine article. The maximum grade is listed as 3%, but I think it might be a little higher. Minimum radius is 18”. There would be more detail for the 4X8 version in the HO Railroad That Grows book.
It looks as if the Blackwater 5X9 layout was built with flextrack, so a sectional track version may not fit in the same space.
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