how to post pics to show how and what my layout will look like to get help from you guys for a design
To post a pic, simply upload it to a hosting site, like Photobucket, then copy the Image link and paste it here. When done right, you get this:
thatboy37 im in the process of desiging a new layout in n scale in a room that is 13 feet by 34 feet. im looking to have on the long 34 ft wall a yard that is 24ft by 30" wide and the rest of that 10ft will be 30" wide also. along both 13ft walls it will be 2ft wide and along the back side of the other 34ft wall to be 2ft wide also. i will have a total of 4 penisulas 3 of them will measure 4ft by 6ft off the back wall and one will be 3ft by 6ft all walkways will be 3ft wide except in between the end of the 4 penisulas and the yard will be 30" wide. im looking to have a 3 or 4 mainline run leaning more towards 3. if you can picture what im saying in your mind i would like to have your advice on a track plan. i will try and get a photo of the drawing i did of the room and the benchwork. i tried to attach a photo to the site but its been so long since i have done so i forgot how to do it. if there is someone who can tell me how to do it i will post a picture of it. but i hope i can just get a little input until i get the picture up and viewable.
im in the process of desiging a new layout in n scale in a room that is 13 feet by 34 feet. im looking to have on the long 34 ft wall a yard that is 24ft by 30" wide and the rest of that 10ft will be 30" wide also. along both 13ft walls it will be 2ft wide and along the back side of the other 34ft wall to be 2ft wide also. i will have a total of 4 penisulas 3 of them will measure 4ft by 6ft off the back wall and one will be 3ft by 6ft all walkways will be 3ft wide except in between the end of the 4 penisulas and the yard will be 30" wide. im looking to have a 3 or 4 mainline run leaning more towards 3. if you can picture what im saying in your mind i would like to have your advice on a track plan. i will try and get a photo of the drawing i did of the room and the benchwork. i tried to attach a photo to the site but its been so long since i have done so i forgot how to do it. if there is someone who can tell me how to do it i will post a picture of it. but i hope i can just get a little input until i get the picture up and viewable.
well i figured out how to post pics again and its alot easier than before. well as you can tell the scribbly lines are the walk way and im building it by section that way it can be joined together and be taken apart with ease. it will be around the room and the bottom right corner is where the lift out will be. the door to the room is in the bottom right hand corner and swings/opens out into the hallway. it will be a 3 track mainline around the room i kind of have an idea but i would like to hear what you guys have for ideas. if you read the first post it tells what im leaning towards. thanks for any help you guys have to offer.
HI, You have already figured out how to post a photo, but my explanation may provide more help with various aspects of other features.
34'x13' in N scale, (with peninsulas, will give you quite an Empire. You are going to use DCCRC, (I assume). If you can afford it, I suggest that you go with Digitrax Radio Control. I preplanned my garage loft 24'x24;\' HO scale layout, and then built it in small Power Districts, with "future expansion" turnouts installed as dead turnouts. This will allow you to "have fun running your trains and learning from your mistakes", as you progress with your "Dream Plan Build" Empire. Because I ended up with 102 turnouts, (of which 96 are electrically controlled), I divided my layout into 4 (Power and Switch Control) districts. I made large diagrams of each of the 4 districts, and use touch probe switch control. (as shown in the photo), with 24 numbered double probes, (per district). I felt that with that many turnouts, that DCC controlled turnouts would be too expensive and slower than visually controlled numbered probe turnouts.
Make a detailed drawing of your proposed bench work, and what scenery theme you intend to use. After 7 years, I have just purchased the last structure that I can logically cram into my layout I assume that you are going to divide your huge layout into 6-8 Power Districts. You may eventually use a computer programmed set-up. We need to see your proposed bench work and desired location of scenery structures, so that we can help with suggested layout plans. Is this to be a prototype, or freelance layout?
Now, "How do you Post a photo? Either digital camera (or scanner) photos must first be downloaded onto a Host. I use Photobucket.com, for my "Railroad Album" photos. Name the Album that you wish to use for all your model railroad photos. When the "Titled" photos" are downloaded as a sequential set, you will see that below each photo, there are four Options. The bottom option is usually labeled IMG, with brackets around it. (Incidentally, don't ever put the brackets around the IMG in any correspondence, or you will have "trouble".) Select the photo that you wish to transfer to Trains.com, Forums, and click on the IMG below the photo. It may "momentarily" say "Copied. Or,( "recently, for some reason") you click on the little square below the photo, then click on the rectangle to the right. and it turns blue. Then go to "Edit" above, and click on "Copy". Now, go back to Trains Forum and either start your own Thread, or click on Reply. You can then enter any "editable" text that you wish. Click on Enter to move the cursor down. Click on "ctrlV" and the lengthy code for your photo will appear. After you have checked for "typos", you click on Post. Soon, your text and small version of the photo will appear, at the end" of the string of other modelers posted texts. You can enlarge any photo by clicking on it. Next to the enlarged photo may appear three other small photos from your Photobucket MR Album. Click on the right photo, and proceed through all the photos in the Album. If you enlarge any photo, you click on the X on the Work Line, to return to the Forum Thread. You can always Edit the text of a Posted Reply, Likewise, you can delete any "ugh"! duplicate posted photo by backspacing over the photo "code". Nuff said! Post a photo of your benchwork for your layout, and tell us the era, theme, location of desired structures, etc., and we will try to suggest a possible :Layout. Following is a photo of my "inside stairway, garage loft HO layout", and a photo of one of the 4 power district consoles. Bob Hahn
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The last photo is one end of my stub-ended 7 track yard, showing the lengthy "drill tracks", which allow the switcher to format consists of full freight trains, without going onto the main line! This is important in setting up a staging yard. Note the double-slip switches. The other 5ft long yard on my layout is a 7 track pass-through yard, which can be used as a run-around, if necessary. It is used, basically, for the storage of 48+ freight cars. The roundhouse and entire Ashland Iron and Steel complex will, also occupy the peninsula (with access hole in the center)
This is exciting, to imagine a 34'x13' N scale layout! I assume that you are going for a Digitrax SuperChief DCC set-up. (or equivalent). Is this a basement layout with cement block walls, or are the walls "dry-walled"? If possible, get your backdrop for the entire layout done before you install the bench work. With movable bench work, you may be able to do the backdrop later. I use a continuous set of sequential 7'X11" SceniKing photos,(attached with a giant glue stick to a Luan backdrop") How about lighting and electric wall outlets. Where do you plan to have the Master control located. I have a suspended ceiling, with 10 two tube shop light fixtures.( which provides good lighting, but cannot be dimmed!) If possible, get all the layout wiring in while the benchwork is still open. I am 82 years old, and am not quite as agile as I once was. I have to inhstall buss wires and switch wires to a completed layout. A 24' yard is tremendous in N scale. How many tracks in the yard? What is your Theme and era to be? Mine is freelanced, with two towns, two harbors and mountainous steel mines and steel manufacturing set up. Have you considered using center backdrops on your peninsulas? Or do you want to view the entire layout on entering the room? (That's what I do with my unobstructed 24'x24' space.) Send drawings of your layout ideas and we will "critique". e-mail ROBTAHahn@Earthlink.net
well the photo's that i posted had the bench work drawn in sections as to how im going to build the bench work. section by section this thing will be built and yes it will be dcc but with a throw switch somewhere so i/club members will be able to run dc also, but it will mainly dcc for my likings. but here's a picture of the sections size and how the layout will be built. the bold marker is the size of each section. sorry for not making the letters bigger in the first 2 pictures.
There are possibly more efficient ways to use the room footprint than what you have sketched. For example, a long spiral peninsula will usually reduce the total curvature and allow for more areas where yards and industries can placed.
In my experience, it's often limiting to design the benchwork first, before fully defining the vision, concept, and rough schematic of the layout, but best of luck to you.
ByronModel RR Blog
Layout Design GalleryLayout Design Special Interest Group
yes im excited about this as you can tell. here are a few pictures of the yard i have built it is only 16ft long and i have to build the other 8ft section to build to make the yard complete. these are some pics of the 16ft yard in a train show at johnny's toys in january of this year. the yard worked fine for the firts show except for the one switch that gave a couple problems but no biggie. just have to replace the switch and up and running trains we went. hope you guys like. im going to build my layout of the specifications of the ntrak club im in that way if i want to take my yard out and take it to a show i can. it has no scenery as i almost didnt get it finished for the show. but i made it and here is what i have to show of the show and some of my trains.
cuyama There are possibly more efficient ways to use the room footprint than what you have sketched. For example, a long spiral peninsula will usually reduce the total curvature and allow for more areas where yards and industries can placed. In my experience, it's often limiting to design the benchwork first, before fully defining the vision, concept, and rough schematic of the layout, but best of luck to you. ByronModel RR Blog
well i like your idea maybe you can sketch aomething up for me and i will take it into consideration. i went with what i thought would get me the most real estate in the room and with the minimum walkway space of 30" in front of the yard and 3' in the isle .
Caps key stuck?
Dave
Just be glad you don't have to press "2" for English.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zQ_ALEdDUB8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6hqFS1GZL4s
http://s73.photobucket.com/user/steemtrayn/media/MovingcoalontheDCM.mp4.html?sort=3&o=27
[edited]
Perhaps you should try reading the LDSIG (Layout Design Special Interest Group) primer on layout design to get a clearer idea of what you are trying to do ?
Here is a link to the LDSIG primer
Good luck with your design.
Smile, Stein
Seems to me that there are probably better uses of the space as well. Here's one possibility that jumps out at me. Of course, this is just a rough sketch. You'd want to plan it out better then this, but I think it would work and give you a long run with some nice scenic possibilities, as well as have decent isles. You could add some big, broad scenic curves here and there, say in the 100"r range, throw in a town or two and not be able to see any other towns from there.....it could be nice.
Click to enlarge
I'm sure there's other uses of the space that would be good too, maybe better.
BTW, sweet yard!
steemtrayn Caps key stuck?
why do you ask that. no its not just how i like typing. if i were applying for job i would do as needed to my typing
Great photos! Is that you in the first photo? Do you plan to take sectons of your layout to your club, or to shows ? Must the rail design placement and height of the rails match your assigned place in the club or show layout? Do you plan to use reverse loops, cross-overs and wyes on your layout. These are intended for DCC use, but with special wiring can be addapted to DC. You say that you want to use your layout as both DCC and as a DC layout. Are your locos able to run on both DCC and DC ? Are you mostly interested in running long trains around the mainline ? Or, do you plan to shunt freight onto the peninsula sidings. With over 100 turnouts, mine is basically a switching layout, with detailed scenery and structures as my prime interest. My (complex), possible routing of many trains on reverse loops, cross-overs and wyes allows for some 18 possible routes for a given loco to go around part, of all of the layout,and to reverse direction at many locations. What are your desires and specifications? Do you plan to have pass-overs and ravines with rivers and lakes, or harbors, mountain tunnel, hidden rails, etc ? Bob Hahn
HHPATH56 Great photos! Is that you in the first photo? Do you plan to take sectons of your layout to your club, or to shows ? Must the rail design placement and height of the rails match your assigned place in the club or show layout? Do you plan to use reverse loops, cross-overs and wyes on your layout. These are intended for DCC use, but with special wiring can be addapted to DC. You say that you want to use your layout as both DCC and as a DC layout. Are your locos able to run on both DCC and DC ? Are you mostly interested in running long trains around the mainline ? Or, do you plan to shunt freight onto the peninsula sidings. With over 100 turnouts, mine is basically a switching layout, with detailed scenery and structures as my prime interest. My (complex), possible routing of many trains on reverse loops, cross-overs and wyes allows for some 18 possible routes for a given loco to go around part, of all of the layout,and to reverse direction at many locations. What are your desires and specifications? Do you plan to have pass-overs and ravines with rivers and lakes, or harbors, mountain tunnel, hidden rails, etc ? Bob Hahn
no this is me with my beautiful wife thats allowing me the room and my other little princess
and here she is helping me build the yard man she's a great helper
Hi Reggie,
Great Stuff! Looks like your family is doing well! Glad you're still into the trains.
Stop by and say hi at the CTT Coffee Pot!
Kurt
That's a cute little "big helper" you have there!
If you are mostly interested in running long trains, it seems that the opposed loop layout suggested in the sketch by "pcarrell", would be a better set up for you. You could put the long yard on the side of the room by the door, and have a smaller yard, as he shows. My first thought is that you are trying to replicate a huge "Club layout yard", on a personal layout. Those short rectangular peninsulas won't possibly accommodate your long trains, and a single mainline gets awfully dull, very soon! My personal multi-switching reverse loop layout may not fit with your desires, but it lends itself to challenging model railroading. With an HO setup, I built my 24'x24' around the room layout in small preplanned sections, so that it not become "tedious".
I find that scanning a pencil drawing is better than trying to take a picture of it, to download on your computer. You mentioned that you have a bunch of Kato truss bridges. The following photo shows one way to make use of several truss bridges, other than for crossing a river. There are a total of 6 truss bridges forming the ramp. Click on the photo to enlarge it Do you and Kurt Polak live in the Ann Arbor, Michigan area? I live in the house with a white picket fence, at 9841 Hamburg Rd, (about 3 blocks North of M 36). Drop in some time! Give me a call Ph: 810-231-2171 I would like to hire someone knowledgeable with DCC wiring, (with reverse loops and wyes), to help with the wiring of my Digitrax Super Chief layout with many reverse loops. Anyone, available? Give me a call. Bob Hahn
Click on the photo to enlarge it, Then click successively on the left picture (which shows a track diagram that I just suggested to one model railroader). With each click, you can get an enlarged series of pictures of my layout. (with some duplications)
Hey Reggie. Good to see family is well, and that little one - WOW!
That is an awesome yard you constructed. How many cars will it hold?
As to your dream layout, if you intend to have folks over for operating sessions, you're gonna need 3 foot aisles...trust me.
I would read up on everything about David Barrow and his Cat Mountain and Santa Fe. He really nailed the linear layout design, and I think I lot of his techniques would work for you.
fifedog Hey Reggie. Good to see family is well, and that little one - WOW! That is an awesome yard you constructed. How many cars will it hold? As to your dream layout, if you intend to have folks over for operating sessions, you're gonna need 3 foot aisles...trust me. I would read up on everything about David Barrow and his Cat Mountain and Santa Fe. He really nailed the linear layout design, and I think I lot of his techniques would work for you.
yeah she's growing up fast and right before my eyes. thanks for the compliment on the yard and i really dont know how many it hold as it will be 24ft long, but i think i have enough rolling stock to fill it up from one end to the other, and i have right at a thousand pieces. the yard has 17 tracks and can add 2 more to make it 19 if i plan to move the part i have for intermodal yard to the peninsula. the yard is the main feature i want on the layout and im going to have another one on there somewhere. just havent figured out whether or not it;s going to be on the 13ft wall at the opposite end of the romm from the door or on one of the penisulas. i think im going to put either my passenger station or move my intermodal yard from the yard and put either of them on that 3' x 8' penisula. i hear what you are saying about the aisles but being the size of the room is narrow do you think i will have problems with the aisle being 30" wide in front of the yard or should i take off half a foot on all the peninsulas and give that extra 6" to the walkway in front of the yard and that will make all aisles 3ft wide.
Reggie,
Nice area for a layout. That's even huge for HO let alone "N".
I also agree that the space could be better utilized w/ a different approach. Those yard pics are really impressive and you seem real covinced to want to incorporate a massive yard yourself. The yard shown is great for a what it is, an enormous staging facility for that show layout.
You should keep the mainline to double track, additional through tracks, passing sidings, and interchange can always be implimented within the design if desired.
You have quite the space to build a better operating yard to use a more prototype configuration.
I would suggest a freight yard, classification, passenger yard, coach yard, commuter tracks, RPO and the all important yard, drill tracks and leads. Pending the era the yard can be built to use the appropriate engine faciliy.
You are on a mission to build quite a large layout, much should be considered as to the overall operating potential of such a space.
The yard you describe will "stage" many trains only to run them around the room antil such time that they return to the yard. The potential for running extremely long train exists, however, The plan w/ all those small/ short peninsulas somewhat defeats a great view and operating potential. Longer mainline runs sweeping along much longer peninsulas through the finished sceniced layout would be quite impressive.
I don't know just how much thought has been placed on the operational possibilities for such a layout, But this needs to be considered at this time. The space can utilize a couple of divisions w/ various interchange yards, industrial yards and switching etc.
I sense your excitment about the plans for such a layout, but so much more though is needed at this time. I would hate to see such a layout become a shoulda woulda, boring ops, that will be reworked and reconfigured in time.
Modeling B&O- Chessie Bob K. www.ssmrc.org
Reggie - In reference to ailse width, again it'll be predicated on whether you will be hosting operating sessions/open houses, or just you and maybe 2 others. 3' will be comfortable, for the most part, if your operators are follwing their trains. 2' will create "choke" points. Also the standard door width is approx 30"...could you stand to keep squeezing past other operators in that space...? I think if you eliminate just one peninsula, your room will be more comfortable.
Are you frelancing your pike, or are you trying to capture a specific region/railroad?
bob:
thanks for the input you had i will try and comment back to you everything you told me and how i think about it. i like the thought of just 2 mains but dont you think it would be better to have 3 that way more fun as we all say can be had and done. i dont want to get it up with 2 and say later i wish, should, could have done that and then will be to far along to go back and change it without to much difficulty. i also think with 3 mains you can have all the passing sidings you would have with just 2. which would make for more fun.
yes i like massive yards and yes what i have built and are building now has to be incorporated in the layout somewhere and somehow. also the yard i have is nowhere near complete as i was trying to just get it up and ready for the show that it was in. being that the yard is 24 feet long and the wall it will be on is 34ft that leaves 10 ft to have switches that lead off of one of the leads at both ends of the yard to have all the things a yard should have. like engine facilty, sand facility, water towers, rip tracks a/d tracks as i dont know what either are, roundhouse and table, engine wash places and all of the other things that a major yard normally has. remember im not modeling any particular railroad or region but this is more of a freelanced layout. i like taking ideas from magazines, and layouts i have seen/toured an try to incorporate it in what i have. also let me say im a guy who really likes running trains more than the scenery itself. my first goal is to get the trains up and running with all the track in place if that can be done so to say.
yes the layout will be massive but like you said much has to be considered and thats what im trying to do before i nail screw or even really think about building the bench work except the yard i have built already. i built a huge o scale layout in a house im renting out and man i really learned alot from that layout and said i will not make the misstakes i did on that one on this one. example build with lighter wood and in smaller sections to make it that much easier to take down or dismantle if i had to. also the last layout was an island one with a couple access places. didnt really like it once i gotit up but said what the heck im no about to go back and redo this again so it stayed the way it was. i will do massive research and get as much help as i can before i go any further. thats way im asking for aal the help i can get before i proceed any further.
yes my operational thoughts are as follows i want all aisle's to be 3ft wide 30"at the minimum. thought of the long broad curves are the things i want and i thought i would beable to get that with a peninsula that is 4ft wide and will bare a radius of 23 to 18 inches and have a reach no farther thn 2ft if i had to reach over the layout for anything if i had to. i want/plan to have sessions with the group im in and whoever else want s to come and enjoy as long as i get advanced notice of you coming. i will be running dcc mostly and possibly have a toggle switch to relay from dcc to dc if you get what im saying. my dcc system of choice is NCE
? for you what type of benckwork are you suggesting as i said earlier i would love to keep the yard i have in this benchwork but would consider redoing my yard another way if its going to give me more fun and thats what i what lots and lots of fun. yes please if you do consider it for a 3 track main. i want that and will pick the 3 main over the yard.
thanks for the input and im not being critical of anything you said i have the certians i want and will be invitng of all thoughts you have and i know i will incorporate a few of them in this process of building my layout.
again thanks in advance for your help
fifedog:
yes i think im going to go with 3ft aisle to keep it comfortable. yes i am freelancing i will see something and just want to put it on the layout. so i really dont want to model anything as i am really spontanious and will just go with the flow if all fails. being that im going to have these running sessions i thought about letting a couple of the guys if they wanted model something on my layout and i will provide all the material and allow them running time on the layout whenever they want as long as im home.
if i eliminated a penisula which one should i remove the smaller 3x8 or one of the bigger 4x8's.
Wow !
Johnny's Toy Shop, talk about kindling some memories. I remember when they first opened up, not in the building they are in now but a relatively small shop down by Ritte's Corner. Used to spend some $'s there on the model car kits, glue and paint, bought a few ship models as well but they never seemed to survive the firecracker and cherrybomb attacks by some unseen enemy forces.
Reggie, Thanks for the trip down memory lane.
Remember the Veterans. Past, present and future.
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The 3x8 one. You could then space the other peninsulas 4 feet apart, which will lend towards those sweeping curves you want. Kinda "less is more" thinking.
pcarrell Seems to me that there are probably better uses of the space as well. Here's one possibility that jumps out at me. Of course, this is just a rough sketch. You'd want to plan it out better then this, but I think it would work and give you a long run with some nice scenic possibilities, as well as have decent isles. You could add some big, broad scenic curves here and there, say in the 100"r range, throw in a town or two and not be able to see any other towns from there.....it could be nice. Click to enlarge I'm sure there's other uses of the space that would be good too, maybe better. BTW, sweet yard!
i went back and looked at this plan you gave and im really liking it. i see some things i can do with this im going to draw one out with this and see what i get.
Hi Reggie
The more I look at "pcarrel's" suggested layout, the more I can see that a modification of it will be just what you want. Suppose that you use the center 24ft. of the 34 ft wall.(leading to the door),for your long yard. This will leave 5 ft. for the entry and lift out track section on one end ,and 5 ft.at the bottom left for extension of a the drill tracks and 3 mainlines. The "rip" (Repair In Place) tracks are for minor loco, or freight car repair. The A/D (Arrival and Departure) tracks should lead directly to your mainlines, so that they do not interfere with tracks used for staging,switching, and the maintenance tracks, eg.(washers, water,coal etc.) The maintenance structures are quite small, (compared to the 27"x17.5" Blast Furnace footprint, that I an about to construct). All these structures can be next to each other on one side of the maintenance track..
As I see it, the shape of the layout would be sort of a "backward stylized capital S", with the ends of each curve and the ends of the S enlarged more than is shown on "pcarrel's" diagram. This would give you a straight top and bottom on the 34 ft. sides, and provide for the long sweeping curves for your long trains. There would be plenty of room for industrial sidings and run arounds. The top of the layout would be made of 5/8" plywood, with undulating curves, (to conform to the S), and shaped to overlap the benchwork, which could still be basically small rectangular braced modules made of 1"x3" (or 2"x4"s) bolted together,(or bolted to odd shaped wooden frames), so that it could be dismantled into small braced topless tables. Do you plan to use 2" insulation board, above the plywood ? What are your thoughts on this suggestion? Bob Hahn
HHPATH56 Hi Reggie The more I look at "pcarrel's" suggested layout, the more I can see that a modification of it will be just what you want. Suppose that you use the center 24ft. of the 34 ft wall.(leading to the door),for your long yard. This will leave 5 ft. for the entry and lift out track section on one end ,and 5 ft.at the bottom left for extension of a the drill tracks and 3 mainlines. The "rip" (Repair In Place) tracks are for minor loco, or freight car repair. The A/D (Arrival and Departure) tracks should lead directly to your mainlines, so that they do not interfere with tracks used for staging,switching, and the maintenance tracks, eg.(washers, water,coal etc.) The maintenance structures are quite small, (compared to the 27"x17.5" Blast Furnace footprint, that I an about to construct). All these structures can be next to each other on one side of the maintenance track.. As I see it, the shape of the layout would be sort of a "backward stylized capital S", with the ends of each curve and the ends of the S enlarged more than is shown on "pcarrel's" diagram. This would give you a straight top and bottom on the 34 ft. sides, and provide for the long sweeping curves for your long trains. There would be plenty of room for industrial sidings and run arounds. The top of the layout would be made of 5/8" plywood, with undulating curves, (to conform to the S), and shaped to overlap the benchwork, which could still be basically small rectangular braced modules made of 1"x3" (or 2"x4"s) bolted together,(or bolted to odd shaped wooden frames), so that it could be dismantled into small braced topless tables. Do you plan to use 2" insulation board, above the plywood ? What are your thoughts on this suggestion? Bob Hahn
yes i do plan on using 2" insulation on top but one of te mains will be on the tabletop that way i will have to use less insulation as price per sheet is 30 to 35 a sheet.
Personally, I don't see the purpose of using the insulation. My tracks are laid on cork roadbed directly to the plywood, for most of my layout. The tracks may rise on ramps, (in order to have cross-overs), but in general the roadbed is flat. I cut the plywood out for rivers, gravel pits and lakes,(and screw on old drawers to support them). I cover scraps of styrofoam with plaster cloth, to form minor undulations of terraine. and build mountains on plywood arcs, with heavy screen wire tacked on, and plastered. What do you think of my previous suggestion of using a modified form of "pcarrel's" suggested backward S shaped layout. Bob
Note my changing AVATAR ! I am about to write instructions, on how to Post photos and the personal AVATAR. Many of the modelers would Post these, if they knew how.
HHPATH56 Hi Reggie, Personally, I don't see the purpose of using the insulation. My tracks are laid on cork roadbed directly to the plywood, for most of my layout. The tracks may rise on ramps, (in order to have cross-overs), but in general the roadbed is flat. I cut the plywood out for rivers, gravel pits and lakes,(and screw on old drawers to support them). I cover scraps of styrofoam with plaster cloth, to form minor undulations of terraine. and build mountains on plywood arcs, with heavy screen wire tacked on, and plastered. What do you think of my previous suggestion of using a modified form of "pcarrel's" suggested backward S shaped layout. Bob
oh yes im drawing one up now. i really think im going to switch to this it really gives the long runs as compared to what i had and still give the broad curves. i like it alot i really dont want to use alot of insulation i figure just one layer all the way around in the places i would need it to make the transition to that level