Who says a you can't cram a lot into a 4x8?

[Anonymous]

In atlas RTS i have developed a supereb trackplan.

There has been a lot of bad press about 4x8's, so i will try to set the record straight.

Here are the features it boasts
8 track yard (Some could be converted to other type things like Loco Servicing)
3 industry spurs
Room for a town
A station

Whoever tried to say that 4x8's have no potential haven't seen this layout.

However i need help with the image hosting. Would someone be willing to host it on my behalf?
Alexander

[harrisburg]

I have a 4x8 and enjoying it everyday!!![:)][:)][:)][:)][:)]

[SpaceMouse]

Email the file to me in .jpg form and I'll put it up. I don't have RTS so I can't convert it.

[MisterBeasley]

Go to www.railimages.com and sign up for a free account. It's a donation-supported site, so if you can spare them a few dollars they'll appreciate it.

Although I have the "luxury" of 5x12, I like seeing the creativity that a lot of people put into their 4x8's. The basic thing we all must live with is the room that the layout goes in, and the other people we have to share it with. Sometimes, the 4x8 is just the best way to go.

[simon1966]

Alexander, it will be nice to see your plan.

The apparent "put down" that you sense regarding the good old 4x8 is not so much that you can't do anything with it, but that in the same space that a 4x8 occupies (including the space needed to get around the layout and actually reach things and operate it) you can do a lot more with some creative thinking. The 4x8 is a great way to start in this hobby and many of us did just that. It is also the first thing that newbies think of when wanting to build a layout. I think that it is good to consider all options for using the avialable space when starting. In this way the new MRR'er ends up with something that is satisfying the them. If that turns out to be the 4 x 8 then great.

[ARTHILL]

I am with you. I have had three 4x8s and even had a three level overpass on one. My current layout is truely a pair of 4x8s connected with a shelf. I did pack one with track and enjoyed the switching involved. I look forward to seeing your plan and some scenery pics.

[conrail92]

www.imageshack.us is a great free image host it will giv you the image link directly and it free and fast, i previsously had a 4x8 i did fit alot but i wanted a longer mainline. so it made extension to it.

[jecorbett]

I'd be very curious to see the 8 track yard. Even using #4 turnouts it is going to require a lot of length and width. To fit it inside the oval, you are going to have to begin the ladder with curved turnouts and even then the last few tracks couldn't hold more than a few cars. Even 6 tracks would be pushing the envelope. Prove me wrong but I don't see how it is possible. I have nothing against 4x8s but I think it is a mistake to try to pack too much into too small a space.

[conrail92]

ya thats why i got an extension, it doesnt looks as nice with lots of crammed track in one area

[DigitalGriffin]

10:1 it's N scale, or even possibly Z

[conrail92]

thats true didnt think about that he didnt mention the scale probly is N

[Anonymous]

No, I'm pretty sure alexander13 is in HO scale.
You can also do a lot with a 6x10 layout. I alsmost built a 6x10 spaghetti bowl with a 4x4 extension but I'm back to my original larger layout plan. Not because the little one wasn't great, but because I DO have room for the bigger one.

thats the 6x10 plan- the main would run off the table and onto the 4x4 erxtension.

[conrail92]

Thats the one thing about model railroading once your in it you always want to make a bigger layout, its like an addiction. mine layout is 8x9 roughly

[dinwitty]

Theres prolly one 4x8 that I looked at in Linn Wescotts book of 100 plans, which had some looping ups and downs and plenty for operation and storage. But my modeling demands just go further than 4x8 and the 4x8 doesnt suit where I am building.
4x8 is great for the quick build get it going.
but a 4x8 is hard to move. I went modular shelves with my own design, working on them now...slowly.

[BRAKIE]

Guys,Like I mention in another thread..I would love to have room for a 4x8 foot layout..[sigh]

[simon1966]

QUOTE: Originally posted by BRAKIE

Guys,Like I mention in another thread..I would love to have room for a 4x8 foot layout..[sigh]

Brakie, that really is the point. If you consider access to a 4x8 you really do need to set aside alot of space to have one. Just a 2' walkway around the layout and you need an 8x12 space. That same 8x12 space could have a nice switching shelf layout with far more operational interest and still leave most of the room available for other activities.

[BRAKIE]

Simon,The point I was trying to make I would be very happy to have a 4x8 layout even if one end was against the wall.I would choose this'n.
http://www.gatewaynmra.org/layouts/gcrr2.jpg
and would be very,very happy.However..In a 24' x 48' double wide trailer one just doesn't have the luxury due to the size of the rooms..

[jeffrey-wimberly]

My first HO layout was 4 x 8

[Don Gibson]

SIMON SAYS it best - read.

I said:" A 4X8 is a LARGE layout, it takes up more room than 4X8 to operate" (unless you are like Jeffers,mz). Is that 'panning' the 4X8? (Certainly not the resourceful Mr. Jeffers).

ALEXANDER says "Who says a you can't cram a lot into a 4x8?
Agreed - but isn't "CRAM" the watchword?

[Anonymous]

If "cramming" is your objective, then it's a fine thing to do. Lots of track doesn't (necesssarily) make a good layout, less track doesn't (necessarily) make a poor one. But, there is only one person that has to like it!

[Texas Zepher]

QUOTE: Originally posted by alexander13
Whoever tried to say that 4x8's have no potential haven't seen this layout.

I don't believe anyone has ever said that. The arguments against 4x8 layouts aren't that one can't cram lot into them.

I however can't imagine what one would do with an 8 track yard on a 4x8 layout. Even if one track is arrivals and one track is departures that implies there are six other towns or major industries requiring separate trains to send cars to. I have one plan where I squeezed three separate towns onto a multi-level 4x8. Even then the industries did not warrant a yard at all. One local train in each direction was able to service them all.

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by simon1966

QUOTE: Originally posted by BRAKIE

Guys,Like I mention in another thread..I would love to have room for a 4x8 foot layout..[sigh]

Brakie, that really is the point. If you consider access to a 4x8 you really do need to set aside alot of space to have one. Just a 2' walkway around the layout and you need an 8x12 space. That same 8x12 space could have a nice switching shelf layout with far more operational interest and still leave most of the room available for other activities.

Yeah but some people find pure switching layouts boring as crap (unless the have a dogbone setup). I personally had 1/2 of my continuous loop down due to paint and switch replacement and could only run point to point for a week or two and was completely bored with it. I would have rather watched paint dry then endlessly switch box cars all day so a continuous layout is what i need and a 4x8 (mine is 13x7 L shaped but based off a 4x8) fits the bill perfectly for me and many others who want to run trains with some speed and not have to reverse directions every 2 minutes. Switching is ok for some but i want to actually run trains not move blue box freight cars back and forth all the time (which i can still do on my layout).

[Anonymous]

here is the 4x8 (so far)
that said, I believe have may be able to expand the room to allow a u-shaped layout on right , 2 x3 and 13 x 2....hope the pic displays
[img]]4x8.jpg [[img]

[BRAKIE]

Simon,I have built more then my share of industrial switching layouts.Those are nice layouts but,one needs a love and desire for switching industries not many modelers have that love and desire to switch cars continually so a industrial switching layout is not a very good argument against the 4x8 foot layout with continuous running nor a cure all answer from these that push switching layouts over a 4x8 foot layout..
Regardless if I had the room for a 4x8 footer in my double wide trailer hades its self could not stop me from building a 4x8 footer like the one I linked to.[:D]

[simon1966]

Brakie and Hotshot, I don't disagree with you at all about the desire to have continuous running. I would get bored myself if this were not possible on my layout. Having built a 4 x8 myself and seen what a space hog it was, and how I could not reach the center back of the layout when I pushed it up against the wall, I think you can use the same space more efficiently with an around the walls type approach. IMO this does not preclude continuous running.

[Anonymous]

lets try this pic

[Anonymous]

To answer your questions: Yes, it is a 4x8 in HO scale. The 8 yard tracks aren't arranged like a proper yard, but they serve the same purpose. It has a continuios loop, and a town.
In RTS I have put some scenery on, just thought you might like to know.

http://www.trainboard.com/railimages/showphoto.php/photo/8168/cat/510
The file is around 55kb, so if you have really slow internet then yes, you should watch out.

And BTW I like all the 4X8 Discussion that is going on.
Alexander

[SpaceMouse]

It's not that you cram or not, it's how well you cram. Needless to say it has to make sense on both an asthetic level as well as an operational level. That said, sometimes it makes more sense to do an around the room layout in the same foot print. Other times, making a larger layout only increases the footprint (you stil have to get around it) and a 4 x 8 makes more sense.

It's all about planning, planning, planning. On a small layout (or any layout) every square inch has to make sense and be there for a reason.

[BRAKIE]

Simon,Around the walls layouts takes space as well.while the width of the layout can be 12-30 inches you still need turn back lobes that protrude into the room and those can be quite large if one wishes to have decent size curves for long wheel base engines and cars which cuts down on the straight running,yard area and industries..Of course one could always go around all fours walls and across the door way but,still one would need wider areas in the corners for curves.Now,if one chooses to anchor their layout in the wall studs then one would need to know the studding spacing which could be every 18 or 24 inches.So IMHO a around the wall layout is still a weak argument against a 4 x 8 footer especially for us that has built around the walls layouts with good LDEs...BTW LDEs is not a new thing but been around as long as I can remember in layout sigs.
=============================================================
nbsrr, Sorry! Gotta ask..What is that picture suppose to be?

[SpaceMouse]

Alex,

Can you turn off the track part numbers and post it again.

There are a couple things I see that are cautions. First of all you have multiple S turns in the upper center. Secondly, although you have multiple yard tracks, you have no yard lead that you can use to effectively classify cars. Maybe you could explain how it is supposed to work so I can understand.