After a 22 year hiatus in storage, I have dug my N scale stuff out and am planning a new N scale layout. I have four trains, two freights, a streamline passenger train, and a logging train. I have been accumulating infrastructure and buildings, and building stuff both from kits and from scratch. can't wait to start laying the track !
My trackplan:
My buildings and trains and test loop:
My tobacco farm barns, tractor and harvester (barns & harvester were scratchbuilt):
Wesboyette,
To The Forums.
You sound raring to go. Your track plan looks OK, but I would suggest you read up on reverse loops and how to wire them. In your plan, you have two, left by roundhouse and on right side loop.
Also will your layout be DC/DCC?
Could leave you some help links to read, but need to know answer to above.
Have Fun!
Frank
zstripe Wesboyette, To The Forums. You sound raring to go. Your track plan looks OK, but I would suggest you read up on reverse loops and how to wire them. In your plan, you have two, left by roundhouse and on right side loop. Also will your layout be DC/DCC? Could leave you some help links to read, but need to know answer to above. Have Fun! Frank
Thanks Frank, I will be setting up as DC since I have all old locomotives and don't want to go to the expense and trouble of upgrading them. I am familiar with reverse loop wiring, and associated block wiring. The turntable is a bit complicated but I believe I have it all worried out.
While a turntable and roundhouse can sure look neat, note how much space they take up that could be devoted to a large industry with sidings and warehouse doors and such that would help give your trains something to do. Actually two large industries could be placed in the middle. With run around tracks so that your freight train can change direction, there might not be a need for that one-direction reverse loop either, creating still more space for rail-served businesses.
Dave Nelson
wsboyette
a more typical arrangement would locate the engine house near the trains. The train storage tracks closest to the engine house are the spurs near the top of your drawing. An engine leaving the engine house can either go around the inside loop, or zig-zag to reach those tracks. It can then pull that train counter clockwise back through the inside loop from which the engine just came.
it can either remain in that loop or take the reverse loop to change direction and exit the inside loop going clockwise. there are two outer main loops, with one cross-over allowing a train going clockwise to reach the outer mainline loop. there are two spurs at the bottom of the drawing. But these are only accessible by a train going counter-clockwise.
To return to the inner loop, a train going clockwise on the outer loop would have to back through the cross-over and back through the reverse loop to return to where it started. It may be very difficult to back a train through these turnouts and curves.
I think you need to give more thought about how you want to run trains and think about how they would start and finish a run. If you would like to run two trains at a time, i assume you would prefer that they can run in opposite directions.
When running freight, i assume you would like to run trains so that you switch cars on the spur where your tobacco farm is. If you tobacco farm in on the spurs at the bottom of your draw, the train would need to run counter clockwise.
on your drawing, it might be better to locate the spurs on the top of you drawing closer to the engine house, on the track just above the turntable. Those spurs could be double ended, attached to the inner loop at both ends, allowing trains to leave those holding tracks in either direction.
add a 2nd cross-over between the inner and middle loops allowing a train to move between the inner and outer loops going either clockwise or counter-clockwise. Another cross-over would be helpful between the two outer loops to likewise allow a train moving in either direction on the outer most loop to return back to the inner loop.
a single reverse is often awkward because to reverse any train that went forward thru the reverse loop, it needs to be backed through it to un-reverse it. Since you have a turntable, it would be easy to reverse the engine direction, in particular steam. If you make the holding track double ended, it would be easy to attach the engine to either end of a train and run it in either direction, and easily return it to those holding tracks from the opposite end that it started from.
it may be more interesting to have two separate spurs: one on the middle loop and reduce the double spur on the outer loop to just one. Think about stations for you passenger trains, mayber squeeze one on each loop.
Also consider sidings. You have one on the inner loop. Properly locating the crossovers on the two outer loops would serve as a siding for one of them.
these suggestions are just to give you some idea of the restrictions of you drawing and some alternatives. It depends on what you want to do and will hopefully continue to find interesting.
you may find Byron's Layout Vision site interesting and look at how you might run trains on Andy Sperandeo's San Jacinto District.
I hope this helps
greg - Philadelphia & Reading / Reading
I've never been a fan of reverse loops. They take up a lot of real estate that could be used for scenery or industries. Also, roundy-round layouts are often improved by having a scenic divider down the middle to break things up. But a reverse loop gets in the way of that.
Steve S
I asume that you are prepared to take on some points of critique, when presenting your track plan in this forum,.
I don´t mean to be negative, but building a layout consumes quite a lot of time and money, even if you have most of the nedded material on hand. Before rushing in, I´d recommend to do some reading and gathering of as much information as possible.
Our host offers some nice books, like Martin McGuirk´s "N Scale Railroading", which you can get here. A few $$, but well spent!
Hi and
You have recieved some good critiquing of your plans. I hope you take it as constructive criticis, that it is meant to be.
AS Sir Madog says, you have opened yourself up to such.
1} revesing loops ar a pain to wire to avoid short circuits. I avoid them at all costs, so you might wnat to revisit that as mentioned above.
2} The TT {turntable] and the round house take up LOTS of real estate to be done right. They often can take up far more space in real life than one plans on paper. Ask me how I know. SO don't be surprised if that doesn't work out as planned. if you are runnign steam exclusively, where wikll youlocate supprot fo r the locos? {the coaling sttion, ash pit and water tower? WHere will you locate the passenger station? adn have a town that would signify a reason for passenger service?
3} I agree industry could take up the center, and I am curious where eactly will your"logging train" fit in? You have a tobacco barn, but not a logging camp? Or the Tobacco farm? Point here is that you may have too many competing "businesses" for the realistic space and railroad you want to run. and you want to run passenger too? Or will tobacco, logigng and passenger service be your only support for your railroad?
4} as mentioned, have you decided to go all DC control or to adopt the new DCC system for controlling your trains? DCC controls each individual locos, DC controls track current to move a loco. You can control more than one loco on DCC in any speed, direction you want while other locos are running too with ONE controller. DC won't really allow for multi-loco contrlols form one unit. WIring is far simpler with DCC too.
5} I hope you can walk all the way around the layout. Otherwise the 3' reaching distance to the other side may be too far to reach if you derail or to build scenery.. I put my layout on wheels so I could pull it out to reach the other side. Msot reach is aobut 15-18". That Yard will be a pain if too far to reach.
6}gregc give some good advice to think about when developing your layout.
7} have picked an era to model? I assume mostly steam as the round house gives tha away.
8} check and rechek yoyr equipment. WHen I got bak into the hobby in 2006, I got out my old N scale stuff too. I found it lacking to say the least. ALSO: if it is old stuff the new N scale now has things like knuckle couplers more true to size than the old couplers that were as big as the loco itself. If you opt for DCC, you may want all new equipment as the amps draw on old locos can be high. Newer DCC equiped locos run smoother on less juice.
9} do you have Nickel silver track? It is better than brass of steel.
Ultimately plan well, replan, bring your plan here for critiquing is the best way to devlope a good layout with lasting options. I disagree that roundy-rounder {oval of track for continuous running} is boring, I can get a good hours worth of enjoyment just watching the trains go around and around. Perhaps you can too?
Read, plan, reread, replan before you lay a single section of track. Then make darn good and sure your track is "bullet proof {beyond perfect}" before securing it to the layout.
Lastly, DO Have fun!
COme back for more questions to be answered, don't be shy. We aren't!
-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.
I like your plan though I would ditch the reverse loop as IMHO it serves no real purpose and is a pain to wire.
Also being a scenery guy that would free up the center for a town or industries.
I won't comment on the turn table as steam plays a secondary role on my layout but I would use that space for some kind of a yard.
Finally I think there are 2 S curves on the top of you layout and the left side S curves are a no no and will cause derailment try to make then as gent as possible.
Joe Staten Island West
I see everyone is addressing the reverse loops, roundy roundy and operation, but no one is addressing the grades that you are sure to have. The far right loop has to have a grade somewhere to cross over the two tracks on the bottom, does it go down to the roundhouse, or is it the same level? Some more to think about. They will probably have to be steep grades, in that short of distance to rise.
Just a Thought!
Some of the curves on the plan look a bit tight, and the switches have sharp angles. If you actually build the layout according to the plan, you will find that they take up more space than you realized, and sidings would be shorter than expected.
Redraw your track [plan with one of these:
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