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[Anonymous]

I Am Making A Layout Like A Big (T). The layout is 3 tables that is 4ft"x8ft" made into a T you probally realize. I am on a budget of $550 bucks. Can anyone give me designs for a layout?

[Anonymous]

Need to know what scale you are working with. What setting are you interested in, perhaps mountains, rural plains, city scape, passenger and or freight? First recommendation "right off the bat" is to cover table tops with Homosote for sound insulation and easy spiking of rail. You may want to cover the Homosote with a sanding sealer as well. Of what material is the table top, masonite, plywood? Will you be abutting the tables with the base of the "T" between the other two (making a 20 ft.X4 ft. arm) or will the "base" face the joining ends of the other two (making a 16 ft..X8 ft. arm)? A track plan will be largely affected by the gauge "O", "S", "HO", "N", etc. as will how far $550. will go for materials, rolling stock, locomotives, etc. All in all we need more input to be of any real help. Good luck 4-H, by the way is this a X-mas layout?

[Anonymous]

I amgoing to go with "N" and the buttom of the T will be like a town and the tp of the 2 will become more moutains. I was thinking of the size pf 3 4ft" X8ft" Tables made into a T. And no it is not a X-Mas layout... And i am going to use Plywood. And cover it with 1inch foam!

And i am 4-H-member becuase i am in a model train club and they have a n-scale layout and the club called 4-H Train club.

[Anonymous]

Yes, 4-H-Member, you have made a good choice with "N" gauge. You will have room for a virtual empire. Given the fact that your choice for layout design is nearly unlimited, you may find great ideas in "Track Planning for Realistic Operation" which is a Kalmbach publication. If you go to their web site, I'm sure you will be able to find it. If not, any near-by hobby shop or perhaps some of your club members should know of some good articles on track planning. You mentioned a town at the "bottom of the T." Be mindful that you will probably want a freight yard (through or stub end) in close proximity to the town. Yards do take some space, so you may need to allocate more surface space than you think for acheiving realistic switching operations. If you will make a scale drawing of your track plan first, you will save a lot of time and avoid many pitfalls when you begin laying track and solving wiring issues. D.C.C. has some advantages over "block control" and you might want to come that decision before wiring begins. I hope this is more of a help than a hinderance for getting started in the greatest hobby on earth. Patience will be your greatest virtue because we all make mistakes at first. Just remember the worst day will come when the layout is finished and you have no more building to challenge you. Best of luck.

[Anonymous]

i made a paint pitcure of my layout design on the computer if i can email it to you

[IRONROOSTER]

HI and welcome to the forum[#welcome][#welcome]

I don't mean to rain on your parade, but $550 is not going to build a layout of the size you describe. It will just get you started, tables, some track, and one train with some cars. I would suggest you start smaller and plan to expand later on. I would suggest you do one 4x8 table, pick a plan that has a couple of spurs leading off the edge that start out as industry sidings, but can be converted later to mainline or branchline. As you get some experience and more money you can expand. It's very easy in this hobby to get over extended, become frustrated, and quit.

BTW if you post on the Model Railroad forum you'll get more responses.

Enjoy
Paul

[Anonymous]

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