Yay, I managed to get the turntable and roundhouse in the plan

[robengland]

I hear what you guys are saying about no plan surviving the first engagement with the enemy [:D] I guess the thing is to get a mainline configuration that works and also check the gradients are feasible. The main thing CAD does for me is prove some ideas in my head just don't work on a plan.

[rrinker]

Not yet, I haven't drawn in the edges of the benchwork yet. Most spaces will be 3' or more, the narrowest part is the bump of the curve where the branchline comes off the loop, that's about 30"-32" but only for a short distance.

--Randy

[Anonymous]

Do you have a diagram which shows your benchwork. I am curious to see where your ailes are and how big there will be.

[rrinker]

QUOTE: Originally posted by Adelie

Looks good, Randy. I can't speak for all, but I for one don't get tired of seeing the plan and its evolutions. We all know that is part of the process, and sort of fun at that. So much so that I embed the date in my file names (including the year!).

Even though my empire is set in 1958 and is completely diesel, a turntable and roundhouse are still a must. For the casual observer, nothing quite says railroad like a roundhouse. My latest brainchild is where to put the ice house for the dozens of ice reefers that get hauled from one end of the line to the other.

I'm only 2 years earlier than you, so I'm pushing it with the steamer. The T-1 will be my first steamer, everything else I have is first generation diesel. But I have plenty of pictures with diesels inside the roundhouse, and one (in the Digitrax Big Book of DCC, of all places, of a GP-7 that somehow ran off the side of the turntable! It LOOKSlike a Reading loco, but I have not been able to find any information on the time and place. The book credits the photo to the Houser Collection, which only reinforces the idea that it's PROBABLY a Reading loco.

--Randy

[claycts]

Randy, the more you post your layout the nore the ideas spill into the balance of the forum, POST AWAY!

[Adelie]

Looks good, Randy. I can't speak for all, but I for one don't get tired of seeing the plan and its evolutions. We all know that is part of the process, and sort of fun at that. So much so that I embed the date in my file names (including the year!).

Even though my empire is set in 1958 and is completely diesel, a turntable and roundhouse are still a must. For the casual observer, nothing quite says railroad like a roundhouse. My latest brainchild is where to put the ice house for the dozens of ice reefers that get hauled from one end of the line to the other.

[rolleiman]

QUOTE: Originally posted by robengland

Understand. You have the luxury to do that with the space you have. In my 10' x 10' study I think I need to plan to the millimetre to get it to fit - at least for the mainline.

No you don't.. Cad programs assume a lot of things unless you tell them different.. They assume that everything is straight, level, and square for instance.. As someone else said, track dimensions aren't always as represented regardless of the claims.. What you need in a plan is an idea, much like rrinker is working to.. Plan your space and interface.. Have a general idea of what you want the mainline to look like. Have an idea of the buildings you want to place, make mockups out of poster board, set them in place and work your track around Them.. Sometimes half the fun in building a layout is NOT knowing exactly what it'll look like.. I've stated elsewhere, NONE of my plans has survived the first spike and there are over 100 different versions of my current one. All look similar to some degree but none is to the mm accurate to what really got put down. Even my most recent addition to the layout.. http://www.rolleiman.com/trains/redlight.html

Jeff
[swg]

[claycts]

QUOTE: Originally posted by robengland

Understand. You have the luxury to do that with the space you have. In my 10' x 10' study I think I need to plan to the millimetre to get it to fit - at least for the mainline.

Nice idea, BUT I tried to the nats butt and the nat flew away. I am using my plan like Randy, locate key points and go. I had a 17' x 22' plotted 1:1 from 3rd planet on 36" paper by roll length. Laid it on the floor and built the benchwork over the plan on the floor. PROBLEM was that the turnouts in the program where DIFFERENT in length from the purchased which put me to locate and conect like Randy.
Heck this is supposed to be fun and I LOST that in looking for the PERFECT plan.

[robengland]

Understand. You have the luxury to do that with the space you have. In my 10' x 10' study I think I need to plan to the millimetre to get it to fit - at least for the mainline.

[rrinker]

Definitely. But it's way too time consuming to draw [:D] The plan is more representational than any exact to the millimeter where things go - I did that for the 8x12 portion, traced the full-size plan onto the table and laid the track to the lines. Never again. Using the caulk and the long rolls of Woodland Scenic roadbed, I could have had half the track laid in the time it took to trace all those lines, and it would have been just as accurate. But then I didn;t do any of that for my last layout, either. I had a plan I was working from, but just started with a critical turnout, got that in the right place, and filled in the rest with flex track.

--Randy

[robengland]

Randy, I haven't been following along with the story of the plan, but I've often seen the advice that tracks look better if they aren't parallel to walls or benchwork, and if they aren't too straight. Seems to me you have enough room to bend things around a bit?

[rrinker]

Or magnetic catches. When I get that far, I need to experiment.

[Tom Bryant_MR]

QUOTE: Plus most of the fascia in front will be removeable, I won't have to reach up from underneath

Neat idea. Velcro ?

[selector]

Randy, I knew you'd come around. [;)] Looking good.

[claycts]

QUOTE: Originally posted by rrinker

I printed it myself, one 8.5x11 sheet at a time - 3PI makes those nice index marks so you can tape it all together. I even had drawn the framing underneath, and it all lined up. But for all the time and effort, I could have simply taken a stick of wood and marked holes in and used it as a trammel to plot the curves.

--Randy

Gee, i just made a trammel with all the radius marks i need. I think that the plotter (old HP draft pro) was out of sync. I should have ran a plotter check before I had them plotted. I am changing the design as I am lating track due to access or just looks better. (no track just roadbed at this point). Hope to have some real trak down by Monday, IF no honey dew problems LOL.
Yours looks like it will be great to operate with all the room!
Take Care
George P.

[rrinker]

I printed it myself, one 8.5x11 sheet at a time - 3PI makes those nice index marks so you can tape it all together. I even had drawn the framing underneath, and it all lined up. But for all the time and effort, I could have simply taken a stick of wood and marked holes in and used it as a trammel to plot the curves.

--Randy

[claycts]

QUOTE: Originally posted by rrinker
It's really just two big giant ovals. Plus the branch line.
After printing out the 8x12 as a 1:1 and tracing it on the foam - I will NOT do that again. The CAd drawing is more of a plan to work from instead of a perfect to the millimeter representation of where each track will go.

So True, I spent $54.00 to get 3 1:1 plots one for each stage. Laid them on the top of the Joists and guess what, to many errors to work with. SO I picked a complex turnout area at the lowest elevation and will start their. The AutoCadd plot was closer then the 3rd planet. Problem was in the transitions, for some reasom they where not as clean as I thought they would be. I used a SPLINE to draw them, fine now.
I bought some Atlas SUPER SWITCHES #6, they are 100% different in appearence than the Custom line turnouts. They look better. At $11.95 my cost compared to $10.95 for the Custom Line.
Wife says I can work on the layout all weekend!! (Just got back from Florida)
Take Care

[rrinker]

Yeah, the long wall is 53'. It's that 8' width that kills me. That IS a 130' table that circle is representing. And 6 stall's worth of Walther's roundhouse, lined up as best as I could get it.

[SpaceMouse]

I forget how large this layout is. When I look at your squares, I see you are correct.

[rrinker]

I dunno, I think there's plenty of space along the straightaway heading for the table to put a water column, ash pit, and coal tower. I can definitely fiddle enough to get another track in to bring in coal and haul away ashes.

--Randy

[SpaceMouse]

You certainly acheived 2-9. I thought it strange that Armstrong did not allow for engine service. Then I back trackled through the chapter and found that none did. I guess he didn't want to complicate his presentation.

[rrinker]

QUOTE: Originally posted by rolleiman

QUOTE: Originally posted by rrinker

Had to ditch my 'rock quarry' siding, but now it fits with enough clearance all around.

http://www.readingeastpenn.com/images/trackplan/newplan91805b.pdf


I know you're all sick of seeing my track plan. Not too many more times, it's almost done now, then you can just visit my site on a periodic basis to see if anything changed. Once I get the plan finialized, maybe I can ctart buildign again which means CONSTRUCTION PHOTOS! I just realized it's been a LONG time again since I updated the construction progress. And I have a bunch of DCC installation photos that need cleaning up and posting, too.

--Randy

Show us a photo of the turntable when you get it all in.. Question... How far below the main tracks are the staging tracks??

Jeff
[8D]

That might be a while [:D] The staging tracks are 11" below the top deck, with 2" foam and 1x3 framing that gives me 6 1/2" clearance under joist, 9" clearance in the clear spaces. I mocked it up with some cardboard - I can reach in to that, barely, although I will have to move any trains in front out of the way to reach a stuck one in the back. The staging tracks will have plenty of rerailers, since it's hidden it doesn't matter if they look goofy. Plus most of the fascia in front will be removeable, I won't have to reach up from underneath. I figured on gaining an extra half inch of clearance by using the 1 1/2" foam for the staging base instead of the 2" - I can't have the lower edge of the bottom level benchwork be below 37" from the floor becauseof storage requirements.

--Randy

[rrinker]

QUOTE: Originally posted by SpaceMouse

How about fipping the stub section of the yard leaving the turntable where it is?

AGAIN? [:D][:D] I've flipped the yard so many times it must be dizzy. The problem with the ladder at the other end is the tight clearance where the branch line comes off the blob. I'll see what I can come up with - I'm after the mentioned figure 2-9 from Armstrong, except I have 4 tracks instead of 2 in the yard.

--Randy

[rolleiman]

QUOTE: Originally posted by rrinker

Had to ditch my 'rock quarry' siding, but now it fits with enough clearance all around.

http://www.readingeastpenn.com/images/trackplan/newplan91805b.pdf


I know you're all sick of seeing my track plan. Not too many more times, it's almost done now, then you can just visit my site on a periodic basis to see if anything changed. Once I get the plan finialized, maybe I can ctart buildign again which means CONSTRUCTION PHOTOS! I just realized it's been a LONG time again since I updated the construction progress. And I have a bunch of DCC installation photos that need cleaning up and posting, too.

--Randy

Show us a photo of the turntable when you get it all in.. Question... How far below the main tracks are the staging tracks??

Jeff
[8D]

[SpaceMouse]

How about fipping the stub section of the yard leaving the turntable where it is?

[rrinker]

QUOTE: Originally posted by claycts

Looks great, I am dying to see and how you are going to DCC that!
Oh, by the way, you will never be done with the track plan as long as there is CADD! My "finished, never will change it" track plan is on revision "M".
Also starting construction I found that even plotted 1:1 you still find a better way in real space to do it!
Glad you are getting there, thanks for you help in the past.
George P.

It's really just two big giant ovals. Plus the branch line.
After printing out the 8x12 as a 1:1 and tracing it on the foam - I will NOT do that again. The CAd drawing is more of a plan to work from instead of a perfect to the millimeter representation of where each track will go.

[rrinker]

QUOTE: Originally posted by Texas Zepher

QUOTE: Originally posted by rrinker
I know you're all sick of seeing my track plan. Not too many more times, it's almost done now, ...

Are you still planning on adding something inside the big loop in the top center?

Besides a scenic divider? Probably a few sidings. There will be some sidings along the main, too. And crossovers every so often.

[claycts]

Looks great, I am dying to see and how you are going to DCC that!
Oh, by the way, you will never be done with the track plan as long as there is CADD! My "finished, never will change it" track plan is on revision "M".
Also starting construction I found that even plotted 1:1 you still find a better way in real space to do it!
Glad you are getting there, thanks for you help in the past.
George P.

[Texas Zepher]

QUOTE: Originally posted by rrinker
I know you're all sick of seeing my track plan. Not too many more times, it's almost done now, ...

Are you still planning on adding something inside the big loop in the top center?