I have a room that is about 17 x 14 ft. i am planning a n scale layout set in the mid fifties with the road of Milwaukee Road. I would like to have continous running and yard. I will also have staging that is next to the original 17 x 14 ft area. My question is where can I find track plans for this space!!! I have tried free lancing a large layout (see my railimages) and it didn't quite work out! So any help would be appreciated ( a link to a site, a book or suggestion would be great). Again thank you for all the answers and support in the past!
The bigger your space is, the fewer plans you'll find for it. Besides, it's always more satisfying to build a unique layout. More information! Where is the layout set? The Upper Midwest? The electrified Pacific Coast extension? I'm not used to the new Railimages, and unfortunately can't find your photos. Could you provide a link?
It would be located in the midwest. Unfortunately after I got the thread started I couldn't find my album on railimages either!!! Oh well! I guess what I'm looking for is a push in the right direction!! Again thanks for the replys!!! Jeff
Jeff Your images are in the old railimages album and not the new one. Here is a link to your gallery http://www.railimages.com/gallery/jeffreymiller
Dr. J, There are a ton of threads in this forum that should give you ideas to build from. I know that I have learned lots by following a 2-3 page topic that started from a basic around-the-room layout to a nice flowing, semi-complex but realistic layout. The forum members are top notch here. I suggest you post a basic layout, outlining the space and maybe basic benchwork shape you want to use. From there we will give you input on the plan. Make whichever changes tickle your fancy and post the updated design for more comments. Another place to start for some basic ideas is the Layout Depot @ http://www.layoutdepot.com When you're done your design, be sure to post it for other people to see and learn from.
You have a nice size space and will be able to model a lot in n scale. Have you read Tony Koester's book on layout design elements (Realistic Model Railroad Building Blocks)? If not, that might be a start for organizing your thoughts. What he did with his model RR was similar to what you'd like to do: model a prototype, but selectively. He chose 'scenes' from the prototype to model and connect together. A small town, a yard, an interchange, a major industry: almost anything can be a scene or LDE. He concludes the book explaining the domino method of track planning. You don't have to use that method with LDEs but you could. You probably know a good deal about the Milwaukee Road so you're in good shape to start. Find the parts of the section or sections you want to model and sketch out some plans for them. Then see how you could link them together. That would give you a good start. Better IMO than finding someone else's plan and calling it the Milwaukee Road.
Darn! Can't get his album link to open. You time frame of 1950's- Will this be all dieselized, or still a little steam? Boxcab E50
I always looked at layout plans in the major modeling magazines and saved interesting parts to incorporate in my dream layout (still a long way off). For example, you might find a town on one layout that looks interesting, and another town on another layout that offers complex switching opportunities. Save the ones you like best and tie them all together to create your own unique layout. Good luck.
Kis has hit the nail on the head. If you subscribe to any of the three, Model Railroader, N Scale Magazine or N Scale Railroading, an examination of one year of issues will give you all of the ideas you will want. If your library system has back issues of any of these, it will suffice. If not, see about purchasing back issues of N Scale Magazine on CD format. The long main lines need little or no inspiration or guidance. The towns, industries, sidings, yards, etc. do. I have used these assets to get a rough idea of what I want and where I want it on the layout. Your space is roughly equivalent to what I will have available in about a month and it is plenty for an N scale layout with several specific areas for action.
Dr. J., for some generic ideas on a large space I can recommend 2 books by Kalmbach: "18 Tailor Mde Model Railroad Track Plans" by John Armstrong (Model Railroad Handbook 19) "Walkaround Model Railroad Trackplans" by Don Mitchell (Model Railroad Handbook 29) They both offer trackplans that were custom designed for specific owners and locations, but they do serve as introduction into the "way of thinking" and as a "how-to" designing a railroad for a larger space. For me reading these books was a great introdcution into the planning process. I have used the information presented there to fit what I wanted to model into the available space. In my view the better your idea about the prototype and the location and what you would like to model the more useful the books might become early on. I would second Mark's advise: Find scenes that you like, that make you wnat to model them, and try to incorporate them into one plan. To ensure that these scenes combine into a meaningful and exciting layout the best guidance I have received was: "Make sure you understand what you are looking for in a model railroad!" Building a large layout is a considerable comittment of time and money, so it pays dividends to think that through and write down the goals (John Armstrong called that "Givens & Druthers). It could be something like: Heavy Mountain Grades with Pushers and double-headers Steam to Diesel Area Harbour Scene with lots of Bridges Major Passenger Terminal, but only limited passenger car switching Connecting traffic with other roads Small but functional yard Preferred Pacific Northwest settings Yep, these are my objectives, and it has been working great so far. It is my 5th layout (though the biggest yet) and spending ample time on planning (about 1 year) hjas proven to be very beneficial. Make soem scetches plus soem more detailed comments what you would liek to model and post it here: I have never seen such a helpful crowd ) Cheers Dirk
Dr. J., The advise you have been given here is first rate! From reference books to procedures, everything should be throughly considered before you commit to a design. Just by chance, I happen to have a room available that is almost exactly what you describe. Poke your browser to the blog (See Link below) I started a few weeks ago about the process I am going through in designing a layout. You can thank Triplex for the staging. That was his idea. The rest of the work is my interpretation of a design by John Armstrong from back in the 1960's I hope this helps Jerry
Off topic/thread ""Read not to contradict and confute, nor to believe and take for granted... but to weigh and consider." GM- I rarely pay attention to the tags, but yours caught my attention. Food for thought for everyone.
Jerry good thoughts on the layout design, probably one of the reasons I still have a test loop. Mark Thanks for pointing out Jerrys Tag line, very good food for thought.
Will be getting some back issues of N scale magazine and will post once I get some layout ideas. Thanks to everyone! Jeff
Please remember, don't ignore the HO layout drawings. It can be done in N scale in 1/2 the space. Just get a general idea of what you want and then tailor it to your taste, space and wallet.
