Curious about how many guys here designed their layout track plan before laying any rail, versus who just bought a grip of track (Unitrack, whatever) and just ran rails until it "felt right". I am moving into a house where I now have an entire room for a layout, and I'm staring into the abyss here.... never had so much room for a layout before!
I am a bit different because I am building and finishing one section at a time but I did develop an overall plan before I started and so far have stuck fairly close to that plan.
No written track plan...Went with the gut !!! Wife and I got the base cabinets in and 1/2 plywood on top inside THE RV. We had been making a list of what we would both like to see on the layout. We narrowed it down to where neither of would budge ! We started snapping together Unitrack and laying it on the plywood prairie. Took us days as we kept changing things around. But in the end...I think it came out pretty darned good !!
I did my first layout winging it and thus baked in steep grades and faulty alignment. My second incarnation I used Cadrail to precisely nail down the alignment and grade. There were a couple of supports that made installing switch machines sporting. I could not have done this level of complexity without Cadrail. ML&S track plan by hoyden posted Feb 14, 2014 at 4:44 AM
Doing a little of both. I have general ideas of "what-goes-where", but in the end, you have to fit to the available space. So I'm trying to build it domino style. Laying track on one section as I gaze at the next blank section and figure things out.
I wanted to check both, but wasn't allowed. I was like George, a rough track plan idea to fit the space, built the structure, refined the track plan to fit the structure, changing it as I went along. Then a final change when one of our members asked "Where's your passing siding?" OOPS.
Wow! Lots of variety! I’m not a believer that there’s any “right” way, but this sure helps ease my worries that there’s a wrong way
Drew out a plan and made some major changes along the way. The only thing that didn't change was the size of the layout and allowing a future rail expansion. Three sections 3' x 8' each tied in a "U" shape. Eventually one point will be able to tie into a future grid (est. 3'x10').
Please be careful. Having that much space, I have known folks who dove in and were simply overwhelmed after a while. Consider something built modular or in stages. Design versus "winging" it. I know those who have gone both ways. Most commonly there is a basic design which is fairly well adhered to as the empire grows.
Absolutely! I’m looking at shelves and islands, with elevation changes they give a sense of depth. Would also allow me to have something of a study in the room!
I'm a mapper, so can't imagine doing it without a map, aka track plan. Making progress! This is my learning layout before tackling the room. I'm really glad I did a practice run, learned a lot about what I wouldn't do again! I'm figuring on building the final in sections, so this can be attached and reattached as the final layout grows.
Very much a planner. I got over the 'winging it' when I was about 13 years old in HO. My layouts and modules have become monuments to complexity, no matter how small, particularly when I've insisted on making them either semi-portable or completely portable. Not that everything works out as intended. My big ATSF layout has had some track modifications, but the original 1983 design has held up pretty darn well operationally. My workmanship, more than my planning, requires regular revisions! Just a couple days ago I discovered a dip in a superelevated curve that's been there since about 1984 and suddenly decided to derail something.
I came up with a track plan and then fitted benchwork to hold it. The scenery was just winging it. I did what fit in the space.It was a great learnong experience. I will do some things differently next time, but overall I was pleased. Trey
I do a little of both. I think track work should be aesthetically pleasing to look at as well as functional. And there are a lot of places where fitting plastic structures requires some fiddling.
I use AutoCAD or Draftsight (a 2D AutoCAD clone) (free at Draftsight.com), block out my space, lay out track and structures, etc. then revise as needed when I find out what doesn't fit well or look the way I visualized it.
90% of my layout was built exactly according to the plan I drew up in Atlas' old Right Track software. But you have to be a bit flexible; I added a couple of industry sidings as I went along, and tried to respond to suggestions from my operating crew (before I got scenery down). For a 30' x 13' space, you can't really just wing it - you need a plan. John C.
Didn't know how to answer the poll. Designed to suit space constraints--is that plan first, or benchwork first? I used a jigsaw to make the final shape using the track as a guide, so I guess the track plan came first. But then, this was before all this neat track plan software available today. There were revisions and there was test fitting and cutting track to suit. It was built in stages, with the entire main line going down first. The switches were installed at that time, even though I didn't know exactly how the yard and sidings would work. I did not, however, have to relocate a single switch.
