You've asked, so here it is. My trackplan.

[jeffrey-wimberly]

I know there's going to be a flurry of suggestions about where to put what new track and where to rerun a track. There's not room.

[soumodeler]

Why is one a lift out and the other a drop out?

Are the speakers for a sound system like MRC? 

 

[Hoople]

Why is one a lift out and the other a drop out?

[jeffrey-wimberly]

One area lifts out from above and the other drops out from underneath.

The speakers are indeed for a sound system. The MRC diesel synchro sound box. It's hooked up to a 5.1 surround sound system that originally was connected to my computer.

[csmith9474]

I like the track plan. It isn't too "cluttered" with track (at least in my opionion). That is one thing I tried to avoid with my track plan.

[ARTHILL]

That's my kind of track plan. There is lots of room for that good scenery you make. It must be fun to watch your trains go by all those neat scenes.

[jxtrrx]

Nice use of the space you have.  I'm sure the lifouts get tiresome on some days, but they give you alot more layout in the space.  Can you reach everything OK?

I like it!

[jeffrey-wimberly]

Nice use of the space you have.  I'm sure the lifouts get tiresome on some days, but they give you alot more layout in the space.  Can you reach everything OK?

I like it!

That's what the liftout and dropout sections are for, so I can pop up through the opening to get to something that I can't get to from the layout edge. With a reach of around 2 1/2' to 3', 6' 5" is a bit of a stretch.

[grayfox1119]

No suggestions from me Jeff, I think you've done a great job with the space that you have..... I can see that you have layout well under control.

[jecorbett]

The upper rectangle is almost identical to a used 4x8 my brother and I purchased back in the early 1960s. That was my first exposure to HO. The only difference I can see is that on ours, that right most inner spur wound around inside the oval to the left side where it terminated in a mine.

[bwftex]

Jeffery,

  Looks like a nice fun plan and good use of your space without crowding too much in. The only suggestions I can offer is to see if you might get a way with #5 or #6 turnouts at the passing siding and possablely at the turnout to the southwest of buildind 3 over there on the left hand side. From what I can see you may have enough space to ease your curves just a bit. If you can work them in eased curves really help when it comes to smooth reliable operation even with small locomotives and short cars. I know space is always an issue and my suggestions may not be useful in your situation but after building my first layout I gave myself a rule to go by. No mater how small my space eased curves and #6 or larger turnouts on the main or where ever a long string of cars would be run will be used at the sacrfice of every thing else. Bruce

[canazar]

I dig it.  Considering the room you have, or the lack of, that looks to be pretty good.   Enough spots to do operations, and plenty of track if you want to just  run trains.   Appears you could have 2-3 trains running easy. 

That'll do!

[jeffrey-wimberly]

I'd like to put in some larger turnouts and maybe an easement here and there, but there's no way to do it without scraping the entire plan and that isn't happening. After considering the space that I have to work with and what I wanted to do with it, the existing plan is what I came up with, after going through many, many plans. This had originally started out as a 5' x 7' 8" layout and I quickly realized that I needed more space. So I tacked on an additional 1' 5" to the front. This gave me the room I needed to have the passing siding with the main line running beside it but didn't give me enough room for a small maint facility, so I added on the extension to the left side of the layout. This meant that my computer desk hit the flea market and the computer and it's components are now on the floor beneath the layout with the monitor and printer in a special stand with the monitor tilted upward so I can see it. It also demanded that the storage rack next to the kitchen sink go out the door as well, so my electric skillet, cooking spices (I'm a pretty fair chef. My chili will knock you out of your socks and make them crawl away.) are now stored on top of the microwave oven. The walk through space in front of the layout needs to be maintained because that leads to the door, which I must have access to. Even at that, I have to edge around a computer chair to the door. So you can see, when I said there's no room, there literally is no room. This plan is the best one I've come up with that can let me have three trains running at once while also carrying out switching operations in 1 or more locations.

[CSX_road_slug]

 ... This had originally started out as a 5' x 7' 8" layout and I quickly realized that I needed more space. So I tacked on an additional 1' 5" to the front. This gave me the room I needed to have the passing siding with the main line running beside it but didn't give me enough room for a small maint facility, so I added on the extension to the left side of the layout. ... This plan is the best one I've come up with ...

I feel your pain LOL - that sounds very similar to my layout story, funny how these things 'grow' during actual construction!  I had to accept a lot of compromises with my track plan as well.

[engineerjoey]

I skimmed this this and I like the layout, too. 

One suggestion;

You are SO close to having a nice reversing loop module. 

I love reversing loops and if you connected the track leading into the maintainance area 1 to the mainline where it's closest with a couple more turnouts, you've got one.

 

 

[ndbprr]

I guess I will be the curmudgeon here but I think you could fit in more railroad easily by eliminating the inside loop of your mainline.  This would allow you to place the passing track on the branch line and give you more room for other tracks.

[wm3798]

Being an N scaler, I thank Garsh every day that I don't have to have pop-ups, and that I can easily reach everything from the aisle.  You'll have 18" r curves that will look too tight and limit some equipment you can use, I can have 15" curves that look okay  and work fine with 89' cars and six axle diesels.

If I was so inclined (and the new small steam that Bachmann is doing in HO is mighty tempting) I would build a shelf-style HO layout that runs around the room, heavy on scenery, light on operations.  Maryland and Pennsylvania probably.  Otherwise, HO has too many scenic and operational compromises for my tastes.

But then, Rule Number One applies, so enjoy your railroad! 

Lee 

[jktrains]

one recommendation would be to add a 2-3 track stub yard and a separate caboose track near your engine terminal.  This would give you some place to switch cars to and from the indiustries located on the layout.  Car capacity only needs to be a few cars on each track.

[twhite]

Nice plan, Jeff--plenty of running room, industries to switch, the whole works.  Looks really WELL thought out to me.  And I really like it when you contribute photos of your layout--some super work, there! 

(Now, if only I'd sacrificed a few of my mountains to some industrial spurs--oh well--, (bang head on wall).

Tom

[selector]

Jeffrey, I like what I see.  If one wants to, one can always find ways to add parallel tracks, to squeeze in one more turnout or a crossing....but that quickly changes other things.  I like my layouts to be open, breezy, with lots of expanses of bush, rock outcroppings, hillsides...sort of like in the real world. 

One thing I am sure you see, and I would be curious to know why you elected to forego it, is the obvious opportunity for a turning wye at lower left, using that one industrial spur.

-Crandell

[jeffrey-wimberly]

One thing I am sure you see, and I would be curious to know why you elected to forego it, is the obvious opportunity for a turning wye at lower left, using that one industrial spur.

There's a very simple answer to that one. On the trackplan, the tracks look like they can line up well enough to do that. In reality, they don't. To do it would cost me my two tracks into the maintenance facility, cutting it down to one track. The idea works well on paper but in the real world it just doesn't stand up. Looking at the plan, it looks like there's room for several things but when you eyeball the layout, you realize it's pretty tight in those areas.

[jeffrey-wimberly]

Several people have posted the question of why I don't make a certain part of the track into a reversing loop. The answer is in the pic below. The turnout going to the maintenance facility is the big fly in the ointment. This turnout cannot be moved. If it's removed to complete a reversing loop, I lose the maintenance facility, which is where I keep my locos parked when they're not in use. Keep in mind that the curves are 18" radius.

The gray lines show where the reversing loop could be completed, see how the turnout is JUST in the way?

[jktrains]

Several people have posted the question of why I don't make a certain part of the track into a reversing loop. The answer is in the pic below. The turnout going to the maintenance facility is the big fly in the ointment. This turnout cannot be moved. If it's removed to complete a reversing loop, I lose the maintenance facility, which is where I keep my locos parked when they're not in use. Keep in mind that the curves are 18" radius.

The gray lines show where the reversing loop could be completed, see how the turnout is JUST in the way?

Have you thought about making the striaght section completing the reverse loop the turnout into the maintenance facility?

[jeffrey-wimberly]

Yes. It just doesn't work. Using a turnout from that position changes the angle of the maint facility tracks and they end up being too short.

[Anonymous]

   Any track plan is great as long as you 'gleam' the rails!