Straight, straights... where to align the track...

[Anonymous]

A different thread asks about running track parralel to the baseboard edge.

I have my own ideas about this, mostly set around creating an illusion that the modelled track exists in a wider environment and decieving the eye about what is going on. (I will duplicate my comments from that thread in green at the end of this).

I'm also interested in what other people get up to to create an "off stage" world and fool the eye...
Some of the things I put into plans...

Differences in height and direction don't have to be large.
Railroads frequently tend to line up from one direction to the next through long sweeping curves... so long they appear almost straight. BUT then an adjacent yard may be laid out with straight tracks... so there is an increasing space between the main and the yard.... BUT... the increased space does not have to be at one end... it can be in the middle... or at both ends.
Sometimes (more often in built up areas where real estate is more difficult to come by and curves are sharper (but not necessarily SHARP) this lack of squareness can pinch off a required facility and cause it to end up on the other side of the main track from the bulk of the yard. this may be accessed via a diamond or various combinations of switches.

Something else that happens is that main tracks don't always run parralel to each other. One of the easiest reasons can be that there is some scenery for a later, added line to go round... or through. As a rule the bigger machinery and longer/heavier trains of later developments meant that engineers blasted a nearer straight course than earlier line builders. Also, where early lines worked round things later lines may have been added, or even one of a pair of original lines may have been moved, taking an easier route.
I suspect that I've seen pics that show that a main has been slewed to allow a pier for an interstate overpass to be placed where the lengthy of standard bridge spans needs it to be... so the track wiggles round it.

My point is that it is worth looking at real examples AND playing about with your own designs (on paper). Just small diferences can make the model both look better and more interesting to operate.

That's enough for the moment. I can waffle some more if people are interested.[?]


You only need a small wiggle to break up the parrallel to the edge.

If you need to have the ends parrallel you can just pu***he main as little as 1/4" inch away from the edge at any point along the length that allows a smooth transition back to the parrlale ends at each/both ends. I would tend to avoid putting the offset in the centre of the length as this would lean towards the same problem as dead straight.

If you are near real track take a look to see just how straight a "straight" length is... if it isn't curving across the horizontal plane it will probably be rising or falling.... this is more difficult to include in a short layout... but you can introduce small level changes in the scenery. This can accentuate a curve... or diminish it! You can even achieve an apparent curve in a straight... not a big one... but you just want to break up the appearance... at least I think that's what you're wanting to do.

Personally I run hardly any straights straight whether they are along the board or diagonal.

One thing you can do to mix up the picture is to juggle your switches around. At its simplest this means using a right hand turnout instead of a lefthand... obviously this will change the angles of where the track is going/coming from. I'm NOT going to try to explain any of the combinations that can be used! ...It works better where you increase the switch number... or if you can use a curved switch.

If you bend your straight around a fixed point (as opposed to curving it over a distance) you need to provide the line with a fixed obstruction that it would have had to be built round rather than gone over, through or under.. Railroads prefer long easy curves to short sharp bends... less added drag getting the cars around.

So why would the track make sinuous curves? Following the flood line/contour of a river is one reason... and that can be some way from the water and not apparent even full size.

It is easier to look right if you can keep one end of the run not-parralel to the edge.

if you are running a loop it will look less like a loop if at least one end is curving in the opposite direction to where it is actually going to go at the point the track disappears off scene... it doesn't have to be going massively the "wrong way"... in fact it can be straight... but an angle apparently heading off the front edge of the board will contribute to an illusion that it is not a loop.

Have fun!