why does everyone hate 4X8 layouts?

[Anonymous]

Ive noticed that some members despise the cliche 4x8 layout, and I was just curious why? My layout is 3x6, along the same lines as a 4x8, so I uppose that puts me in the same boat. Im just curious whats so wrong with them?

For me, I dont have the room to build a giant empire. I like my simple loop, I realize that it has several limitations, but Id like to hear from others what they think the pluses and minus of that style layout are...

[Adelie]

It's not a hatred. But a lot of people plop a 4x8 down in the middle of the room, and if you look at the available space, you can get a lot more railroad in an around-the-wall scheme. And on a 4x8, both of the 8' edges need to be accessible or reach is a problem.

[Anonymous]

I don't neccicarily have a problem wit a 4X8. Its just 4X8s are not as flexible as I would like. They would make good penensuals though in an expanded system that goes around the walls.

James

[railroadyoshi]

I agree with both of the above reasons. The main reason the 4x8 became the basics of MR was because of the standard and easy to obtain materials, but they aren't the most efficienct use of space.

[Marty Cozad]

Where did you get that they hate it?
4 X 8 is basic beginners and a simple wood method of construction. Once you fill the board you can change the design.
By the time you fill up 32 sq ft, you then can gain more space.
And I to had a 3 X 6 RR back in the ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,60's. woow,,, age,,, is catching up with me.[;)]

[Anonymous]

the HO scale layout i recieved this fall (my first one)was 4ft by 40"- it had an outside oval track and a circle just barely fit inside that- not only was it small 2 trains could run at once! my grandfather built it in the early 1980's. i promptly added 4' by 8' so now it's 4ft by 12 ft. i see nothing wrong with a 4by8- however once you've had bigger you will never go back --the thing i most hated about the 4'by40" was trains had to be short ,6 cars was the most without looking crowded. now with 4'by12' trains can be 20 cars long and it looks ok. i kept the small circle should someone else want to run a train. What scale is your 3'by6' Josh_A?

[Marty Cozad]

Dang, now 8 ft will only hold 3 engines in line.

[tmcc man]

Well, I started out with the 4X8 layout when I was in HO, and I got a lot of compliments on it. I never heard that anyone dislikes 4X8s on here. I am now into O gauge, and I am now moving outside wiyh all my G scale stuff.

[Itsed65]

I wish I had room for a 4X8! When I was a kid living at home I got my start in the hobby that way and learned alot by the 10 or so different trackplans I put down and tore up. When we moved to a bigger house, my parents very nicely gave up half of a two car garage for my HO empire which I sadly had to remove when I joined the Air Force and moved away from home.

Fast forward twenty something years and I am living in a one bedroom apt, and just managed to squeeze in a 32X80 door. I am now starting my first N scale layout and having a lot of fun with it. Sure more room would be nice, but its all about making the most of the space that you have!

ed

[cheese3]

actually i love 4x8s, they are usually more complete than larger layouts so they look great!!!

[Anonymous]

i like layouts that are somewhat small, say a few 4'x8' sheets of plywood. i would not want to have one of those layouts that takes up a 20'x20' room- i want to watch trains run- how do you keep an eye on them w/ a layout that large? the only advantage that has is being able to run 125+ car trains[:D]

[joeyegarner]

It's not that I hate them, it's that they are so impractical. Once a person gains experience they usualy go on to other things, with a 4X8 there is not much room to make many changes with your track plan, I like to build shelf layouts now they can give you good point to point or around the room layouts and it's a lot eaiser to do scenery on them. I really don't think there practical. But to each thier own.

[BRAKIE]

Only those that hate the 4x8 has no idea what can be done with a piece of plywood..Check out these small layouts!


http://www.gatewaynmra.org/project10.htm

Look more closely and you will see some of these layouts are 4x6 foot!!!

[Anonymous]

I dislike small looping layouts. I'd rather take that 4x8 sheet, cut it in half, and build either a 2' deep 16' long shelf switcher, or or an 8x10 l shaped switching layout. Watching a train go around and around doesn't entertain me. I'd be rather dropping off and picking up cars at a bunch of industries.

[DSchmitt]

[:D]Because 4 x 8 is too big[:o)] Look at this site:

http://carendt.com/

[BRAKIE]

QUOTE: Originally posted by Greyryder

I dislike small looping layouts. I'd rather take that 4x8 sheet, cut it in half, and build either a 2' deep 16' long shelf switcher, or or an 8x10 l shaped switching layout. Watching a train go around and around doesn't entertain me. I'd be rather dropping off and picking up cars at a bunch of industries.

Well check out the layouts I posted..I also prefer the switching type layouts but,these small layouts was built for switching.[:D]

[Anonymous]

4x8's are fine if your into the whole running in circles scene, but If your into realistic operation (Like myself) that space could be used better for a shelf layout.

[selector]

Hate is such a strong word. I think that their preference is merely for something a little more practical. While a sheet of 3/4" ply is "dark and dirty", it leaves a great deal to be desired in terms of the limitations it imposes by virtue of its shape and dimensions in its monolithic form...as modelers soon learn. Virtually every person finds that they have become bored with the outer loop and two small switch yards or spurs. And that, aside from a minor variation here and there, is what the 4X8' sheet affords.

If you take that sheet and rip it into three equal lengths, now you can do something. Or, if you take both corners off one end, in three large equilateral triangles, join those at the other end to mirror the shape of the cut end, now you have more room for your curves on your oval. It isn't so much the area, it is the shape.

[Anonymous]

If you have to have the 4x8 style layout, you're better off with a 5x9 (ping-pong table size) layout. You can have a much better radius with 5 feet to turn around in than 4. But as someone already mentioned, around the wall usually takes up less space, but gives a lot more layout room. Oh, and the bigger ones usually aren't complete and detailed because they are easy to modify, which means about the time everything's perfect someone takes a keyhole saw to it.

Greg

[MisterBeasley]

"To promote domestic tranquility," in the words of Thomas Jefferson, forced me into a free-standing table layout instead of a fixed around-the-room layout. I started designing a 4x8, and found it just too confining. Instead, I opened up my belt a couple of notches in either direction and ended up with a 5x12. It's not ideal, but realistically it's already pushing the envelope on the family front.

Cheese3 up above made a very good point - a 4x8 is much more likely to be nearly completed than a project that could be great, but in most cases just ends up overwhelming. With my 5x12 (60 square feet) I've got almost double the area of a 4x8. I've been working very steadily for 8 months now, and I figure I've got another year to go before the building covers the last bit of pink foam.

The 4x8 format may not be ideal, but there are probably more trackplans for that footprint than any other. The availability of building materials in that size drives this, of course, but it's really what you make of it. 4x8 makes an excellent "first layout," a place to learn, make mistakes, but still end up with something to be proud of. I'll bet most of us have a 4x8 somewhere back in our resumes, and it's hard to think back on it without a smile.

[Anonymous]

I started to think when Mister Beasley said we all have a 4x8 in our past. Mine was a 027 Lionel, Fort Apache was at one end and some thing else at the other. I even have a picture of it. That was over 45 years ago. I still have the train and Fort Apache. Thanks for jogging my memory MB.

[Train 284]

I dont think it is really hatred. In fact I would love to build a around the wall type layout, but I have no room! A 4x8 is as big as it gets. I don't have very much extra room.

[dinwitty]

matter of preference, the hobby is about fun.
my design is now shelf design max 18"x4 foot but modular in design. I would have to remove a shelf to do up close work on it and I can place it on a comfortable place and work it carefully.
I can place a temporary shelf to keep things running.
When your going to accurately build a North Shore Milwaukee terminal, your gonna want to do it right.

QUOTE: Originally posted by Train 284

I dont think it is really hatred. In fact I would love to build a around the wall type layout, but I have no room! A 4x8 is as big as it gets. I don't have very much extra room.

I know 4x8 is good for the simplicity to getting it going.
I've been that route, and all of them layouts are history.
When you have a certain goal your looking for the right thing to do.

[Big_Boy_4005]

I think the problem with the 4x8 in HO is the curves.

If you want some kind of continuous run, you run into some serious limitations. N and even 3 rail O can make better use of the 4 foot dimension when it comes to their curve radii. There is nothing WRONG with the 4x8, but most people desire more.

[jecorbett]

I would guess a majority of HOers and N-scalers started with a 4X8. Its a great way to get started but its only a start. Those who get hooked by this hobby naturally are going to want to progress to something more sophisticated and over the last couple years, shelf layouts have become the choice of a majority of serious modelers. It allows for more prototypical back-and-forth operation rather than around-and-around. That's not to say you can't do operations with an oval layout but it requires a little more imagination. Every year I've intended to build a 4X8 Christmas layout with a winter scene but there's just too much to do right now with the big layout as that is taking priority.

[Anonymous]

My 3X6 is N scale. I have added a 1'X4 1/2' extension off the one side for staging, but thats simply because the oppotunity to build over the TV presented itself[:D]

I personally prefer a smaller layout (not as small as 3'X6', but thats all I get for the time being) because as some haev mentioned, they're more likely to be finished.

Ive seen some huge layouts that are never finished, or they are finished by cutting corners in teh scenery and track department and the owners and viewers find them less than satisfactory due to the lack of realism. Im hoping with my 3X6 footer, I can superdetail everything from one corner to the other.

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by BRAKIE

QUOTE: Originally posted by Greyryder

I dislike small looping layouts. I'd rather take that 4x8 sheet, cut it in half, and build either a 2' deep 16' long shelf switcher, or or an 8x10 l shaped switching layout. Watching a train go around and around doesn't entertain me. I'd be rather dropping off and picking up cars at a bunch of industries.

Well check out the layouts I posted..I also prefer the switching type layouts but,these small layouts was built for switching.[:D]

Saw a link to that site in another thread. Some of those are pretty neat, but a little bit smaller than I like. I'm building a 4 1/2' x 1' switcher. I've already extended a few feet out for staging, though. It's good to have a "rest of the world." :)

[miniwyo]

Well im working on starting one that fits in a spot that I have but its 4x6 but I also want to make a shelf layout all the way around the room, possibly a doubletrack mainline if I can get the material I want Its perfect has a lip all the way around the edge to keep the trains on it in case of a derailment and wide enough for 2 tracks.

[Anonymous]

I don't hate 4x8s at all. In fact, were it not for 4x8s, we might not have some of the great influence on the hobby we have today.

[SpaceMouse]

My biggest problem with the 4x8 is the one I built. If you do like I did and place the switches all on one panel, then the far ones are out of reach. This is a problem if you want to set cars out and do run arounds and the like. Throw a switch. Run around uncouple a car. Run back throw a switch. Run around dorp a car. Throw a switch. Run back and uncouple. Run back and reattach the loco.

IF you use the same space for a U shaped layout, you don't have to run around your layout.