Hey guys i need help planning my 4x8 layout and also a few questions. i have room to add another foot to the width would this be wise to do. i want some operation and a decent amount of scenery. railroad is going to be norfolk southern. modern railroad type of deal. im clueless as to what i can achieve also want two bridbes one on the river in the front of the layout and one on the bakc nd the river going through the middle of it so any help is great thanks CSX. yeah ill also be running csx trains as well.
YES! If I had the chance to make it 5 feet wide I would absolutely!
If you can I would also make it 9 feet long too. A 5x9 is far better than a 4x8, but a 5 x8 is better than a 4x8 also because it affords you bigger ovals.
That way you can have a 24"R outside oval and a 22"R inside oval and still have space to spare! Much bigger radius curves to run much bigger modern locos and RR cars on, which it seems you want. {modern that is}
Or you can have a 22"R outside oval and a 18"R inside oval AND have space out side the larger oval to have a staging yard area towards the outter edge! ALthough , a bridge and a yard do not go very well toagether, but you can certainly stage your trains there.
-G .
Just my thoughts, ideas, opinions and experiences. Others may vary.
HO and N Scale.
After long and careful thought, they have convinced me. I have come to the conclusion that they are right. The aliens did it.
CSX17 Hey guys i need help planning my 4x8 layout and also a few questions. i have room to add another foot to the width would this be wise to do. i want some operation and a decent amount of scenery....modern railroad type of deal....also want two bridbes one on the river in the front of the layout and one on the bakc nd the river going through the middle of it....
Hey guys i need help planning my 4x8 layout and also a few questions. i have room to add another foot to the width would this be wise to do. i want some operation and a decent amount of scenery....modern railroad type of deal....also want two bridbes one on the river in the front of the layout and one on the bakc nd the river going through the middle of it....
You have to answer some questions before anybody can begin to help you, such as:
Another quick read on the web is http://www.chipengelmann.com/trains/Beginner/BeginnersGuide01.html. It is intended to help you understand why you are being asked the questions you are being asked.
There have been literally hundreds of HO track plans for 4x8s published over the years. Every Kalmbach plan book has some examples. The February 2011 issue of Model Railroader has 3. The key to an HO 4x8 (I know from experience) is to understand that there are no great all-around plans that fit that space. In 4x8 in HO, you can only do one or two things well. There just isn't room to have it all. And almost all 4x8s in HO are going to have a minimum radius that is going to restrict what equipment will run well.
hope this gets you started
Fred W
yes i have the space on two long sides and one short end and im looking into a 5x9 ping pong tabe top.
i mean as in i want a lot of switching opertunitys.
and yes modern six axle safty cab diesels and atleast 60 foot cars im wanting a coal type of operation, or a gravel plant heavy aggrigate theme i like construcktion so that is why i want the heavy agrigate look. and industrial is more the route i want ot go with.
hope this answers some of waht you guys want to know. let me know if i missed something csx17
hi
do you prefer this one?
or this one? both need the same room space!!
paul
well im kind of stuck with the table top layout a it's already built and i can get the ping pong table top for like 20 bucks to go to the 5x9 and i can't see n scale enough to model and enjoy it wish i could. and i also jsut recently purchases some rail cars already in ho they are 50 foot hopper cars. and would like to use them that is why i want a coal loader or something on the layout. cause ns does a lot of coal around my area. that is mainly all i see ns pulling when i see the go by csx does the other stuff like tank cars and mixed freight. and i like the coal drags. and want to model a short coal drag. but prolly not enough space even in 5x9 so any help thanks in advance csx17
CSX17 yes i have the space on two long sides and one short end and im looking into a 5x9 ping pong tabe top. i mean as in i want a lot of switching opertunitys. and yes modern six axle safty cab diesels and atleast 60 foot cars im wanting a coal type of operation, or a gravel plant heavy aggrigate theme i like construcktion so that is why i want the heavy agrigate look. and industrial is more the route i want ot go with.
Most ping pong tables I have seen sag visibly over the years. Sag is very detrimental to the performance of your trains. You will probably have to reinforce the ping pong table with 1x2's stood vertically, or similar to prevent the sag.
Minimum radius is going to drive what you can achieve in the space you have chosen. Here is some good advice on minimum radius - http://www.ldsig.org/ldsigwiki/hints-tips/curve_radius_rule-of-thumb and http://www.nmra.org/standards/sandrp/rp-11.html. You can use sharper than recommended, but it means sooner or later you will run into a car or locomotive that is going to need some work to get around your sharper curves. Sharper than recommended curves also increase the need for very good track work.
At the same time, the maximum radius you can use on 5x9 is 28". And a radius that big is pretty much limited to an oval around the outside with some spurs for switching. For more flexible track arrangements on a 5x9, 24" is the general minimum radius. For 4x8s, the general minimum radius is 18".
good luck in your search
thanks could you maybe draw something up for me with the 24 inch radius ive been trying to fiddle with the atlast rts software but im ahveing a rough time with it. and yeah im going to reiforce the ping pong table with my existing table was going to bolt it down to the existing table i already ahve built. i was thining somethign with maybe six to eight turnouts. would be good enough thanks csx17.
CSX17 thanks could you maybe draw something up for me with the 24 inch radius ive been trying to fiddle with the atlast rts software but im ahveing a rough time with it. and yeah im going to reiforce the ping pong table with my existing table was going to bolt it down to the existing table i already ahve built. i was thining somethign with maybe six to eight turnouts. would be good enough thanks csx17.
No. There are hundreds of 4x8 and smaller track plans out there. Take a simpler plan you like, and redraw it with Atlas RTS and 24" radius curves. Adapt it until it is what you want, and will fit in your 5x9 space. RTS is easier to use if you go through the tutorial once.
Caution: if you pick a complex 4x8 plan and try to grow it to 5x9, it probably won't work. You are expanding the radius by 33%, the table width by 25%, and table length by 12.5%.
There are also 5x9 track plans out there to use as starting points. Many/some of them use 24" radius curves.
Until you can define what you want pretty precisely, nobody can draw a plan that is ideal for you. They will end up substituting what they like where your direction/theme/vision is not clear enough.
I missed the part about 6-8 turnouts. I assume that means financial constraints is limiting the number of turnouts.
I would do a simple oval on your 5x9 using 24" radius curves at either end. Finish the end curves with a turnout on one side of the layout to make a passing siding between the 2 curves. Angle the whole thing so the straight track is not parallel to the table edge. Use the rest of the turnouts for spurs for switching. Set at least one spur facing the opposite direction of the others for switching interest.
Add scenery and structures and enjoy.
At a later date, you can easily modify the layout into other configurations with additional track and turnouts.
Here's a simple 4x6 layout called the Tidewater Central that was published in the Dec 1956 Model Railroader.
Heare's an adaptation of the same layout to fit 4x7 using RTS. At one point, I hand drew a similar layout for 5x8, using 22" radius.
hope this gets your creative juices going
yeah my funds arent the greatest at this point i just want some switching and a mainline run to sit and watch trains when i don't want to switch.
Have you read the current (Feb) issue of Model Railroader? They have some pretty good 4x8 ideas with short narrative explanations.
- Douglas
okay thanks ill check out taht issue im not subscrived yet to the magizine working on it. ill go to either wally world or my lhs and pick that issue up. any other suggestions on 4x8 plans. thanks csx.
You'll like February's 4x8's . They are really nice!
tony314You'll like February's 4x8's . They are really nice!
And the HO 4X8 track plans will work even better as 5X9s or 5X10s since the Original Poster has the space. This will relieve the radius restrictions at the small cost of cutting some wood.
You'll want to be a little careful with some of the HO 4X8s in the February MR. The grades are pretty steep in some cases. And as drawn in some cases the grades start like a hockey stick, without allowing for the transition from level to grade and back necessary for smooth operation as shown below.
Byron
Layout Design GalleryLayout Design Special Interest Group
okay thanks guys ill definatlye pick up that issue. and thanks for the tips on the grades. are theree any twice around layouts in the feburay issue in this size. thanks csx.
CSX17 okay thanks guys ill definatlye pick up that issue. and thanks for the tips on the grades. are theree any twice around layouts in the feburay issue in this size. thanks csx.
Yeah. The one on the cover.
Didn't read your OP close enough. Go for the extra foot of space. It makes a big difference. You can also search the trackplan database on this website for more options. Pickup the books 101 trackplans. or 48 TOP Notch Trackplans Most of the 4x8 trackplans you will find will be better with the 5x9 space.
okay thanks im still trying to get a way to get to a walmart or somewhere that seels them can't drive anywhere vision thing