Layout review needed or recommendation for new one

I am going to build a small layout in a table that's going into our basement gaming room. The table is going to have removable top to reveal the layout. Size is approximately 2x4 feet but it can vary few inches each way as I am going to build the table from scratch. I would like to keep it DC with ability to run two trains mostly since I already have some DC locos and power supplies.

So with that in mind, I was thinking of two oval loops. Outer loop for small passenger train with siding for a station. Inner loop for freight train with two sidings where I can build some industries. There is going to be no connection between the two loop lines so both of my kids can operate trains independently. This layout is approximately 20x40 inches.

What do you guys think about this layout? I am total beginner so if there is a better layout than this, I am open to suggestions. FYI: I already have Kato Unitrack for the inner loop with sidings. I would just need to buy track for the outer loop.

 

He's right, you know. There is something to be said for interconnecting those two lines. If you're worried the kids won't be able to resist throwing the switches and staging a nice Gomez Addams collision, you can idiot-proof them by concealing the switch controls. Or you can spike the switches, and add controls later when the kids are older. Why go to the trouble? Because if the layout's too idiot-proof, the children will outgrow it and lose interest.

Also, backing the passenger train into the spur will be problematic because there's an ess-curve in it. A double ess, in fact--the train is moving to the right as you back it around the mainline end curve, then it curves to the left through the switch, then back to the right--and all in reverse. A quick set of reverse curves like that encourages cars in general, long passenger cars in particular, and cars being pushed most of all, to part company with the rail. You can eliminate that by using a right hand switch, and locating it in the mainline curve. Normally the engine will pull the passenger through the curved leg of the switch. When backing into the station, it will push the long passenger cars through the straight leg of the switch, reducing the chance if a derailment.

That will give you room to park a slightly longer train there, too, because (from the point of view if the diagram above) you move the switch a few inches to the right.

When including a curve in a spur, it's wise to make the first track in straight, and then use curves. Cars can be parked on any track, curved or straight. But uncoupling and coupling works much, much better on straight track. If the switch leads straight into a curve, the spur may be long. But you have to push cars to a straight track to uncouple them, so the string you can park on the spur is still short.

 

If you use D.C., the cross over between the two loops would need some kind of cut off switch to operate two trains independently, but still have the option to change tracks. I would use a DPDT switch isolate both lines. Connecting two controllers when the switch is on may cause problems for your locomotives on such a small layout though. The track plan doesn't look too bad. In such a small space, there is not a lot to do.

 

Very true. Good thought! But wiring can be changed more easily than track at a later date.

Use insulated rail joiners to isolate the passing track--on both rails. Then, for now, wire the leads to the isolated section together with the rest of that loop. Much easier to just rewire it through the DPDT switch and un-spike the turnouts when the kids are older, than to cut out track and add the crossover turnouts and insulated joiners at that time.

 

I started with a layout similar to the one you've designed. My friends and I, had hours of fun with it. However, I soon tired of it and wanted something different. More...more...more. I look at it and remember the fun and how easy it was to care for. Unlike what I have now. So, I say, go ahead and enjoy the...well...out of it.

Have fun!

 

Thanks for all the helpful replies.

I am sort of limited with the space and what Kato Unitrack offers so I do not know if I can avoid the S-curve problem without making the layout a lot bigger.

I also thought about the crossover idea but I have to admit that I am somehow not sold on it. The inner loop will have either freight or army train making deliveries to a depot. Outer loop will be passenger train (if I can find passenger cars that will clear those tight turns). I have modified slightly the layout adding another spur on the outer loop, some magnetic uncouplers and another turnout for the inner loop. This way both trains will run in opposite direction and be able to drop cars at one of the spur and go to pickup new cars at another. The inner loop's spur without magnetic uncoupler will lead to engine shed.

I am building this layout to have some fun with my kids. When they grow up and I need to make some changes to it, I will most likely start brand new one.

 

If you want shorter passenger cars, you could look into an older passenger train. Or you could try a European model. Sometimes their cars are smaller than the big 85 foot ones here. In HO, there are "shorty" passenger cars that were designed when 18" radius was standard. These are around 72 feet, so they can take tighter curves without derailing or derailing trains on adjacent tracks. You could look to see if you can find something like this in HO.

 

Sure you can. It's simple.

The only reverse curve on the whole original layout is the entrance to the passenger station.

Instead of replacing the last straight track of the loop with a left-hand switch, replace the first curved track of the loop with a right-hand switch. Abrakadabra! An entrance to a passenger station spur with no reverse curve. And a longer station platform track.

Nothing could be easier.

Man, backing a passenger train through a double reverse curve is not a trivial matter. It's an exercise in constant frustration. Replacing that left hand Unitrak turnout with a straight section, and replacing the curve immediately to the right of it with a right hand Unitrak turnout, is a trivial matter. You might want to add a straight section to the station track, as there will suddenly be room to make it longer. Otherwise, you have to redesign exactly nothing.

My friend, I like you. I like kids. I really don't want to see you install this operational land mine of frustration in your kids' layout. But you're suffering from a very common misconception among beginners. So, please, listen carefully. Main lines do not have to go through the straight legs of turnouts, and spurs do not have to be accessed through the curved legs of turnouts. On my layout, the main line goes through the curved legs of the turnouts more often than not. It's fine.

Please don't take that wrong. I can see you're smart enough to know that running a main line through the curved leg of a switch isn't against the law or anything. It often doesn't occur to newbies to do it that way. That's all. Well, now it has occurred to you. And just in time, too, because that double ess curve would have been just as nasty as I predicted. Please trust me on this. You came here looking for the voice of experience. You just got it.

As an aside, you honestly don't need that spur at all (though I think you should keep it). The passenger station platform could be next to the main line. A better idea still would be a double-ended passing siding. A left hand switch to the left of the station, a right hand switch to the right of the station, four insulated rail joiners, two extra wired power supply joiners, and two $3.95 SPST toggles, and you can have two passenger trains for the outer loop. One will need to be parked while the other runs, but there's nothing wrong with variety. And still no reverse curves, if the trains exit the loop from the end curves instead of the straightaway. That way Track 2 will actually be long enough to hold a train, as well.

Gives you something to buy them the following Christmas--the second passenger train--to rekindle interest. And if the passenger trains are facing different directions, one can run the opposite direction from the freight, then the other can out-race it.

And I don't advise adding a second spur outside of the outer loop. You're running pretty close to the edge of a 2'x4' table with just one.