House has been purchased I will have to build a L shape shelf layout in the garage approx 6 metres (20 feet) by 3 metres (10 feet). I'd like lots of switching with the ability for trains to run through on mainline operations but with end to end operations. I do like the cat mountain layout but will do more research before i get serious.
Have found this design Portland & Pacific Railroad by Yardgoat layout designs. I may base my design on this and have emailed M.C. Fujiwara who is a member of this forum to discuss using / modifying his designHere is the design
Have made some progress this week on the new layout. Off to the new house tomorrow to take some photos of the wall area, will post some pics tomorrow
This plan appears to be 10' by 10' legs. Are you going to have the 18x18 originally mentioned? If so, it will be some very good fun to see how those additional eight feet on each leg are expanded. If MC is involved, it will be quite interesting to see what his imagination puts forth.
not as long it will be around 18 feet by 13 feet, will post some photos of the area soon and yes I am collaborating with MC
Today I went to the display home (my future home) and took some photos of the garage walls i will be using. i also took parts of the original layout i'd like to reuse
Yes the house is leased as a display home for another 12 months. I have just posted a thread on whether or not now im almost turning 50 should i consider modelling HO?
You may have read on other parts of the board I am switching to HO for the new layout. Have just ordered the following books to read [FONT=verdana,arial,helvetica][SIZE=-1]"How To Design A Small Switching Layout" Mindheim, Lance [/SIZE][/FONT] [FONT=verdana,arial,helvetica][SIZE=-1][FONT=verdana,arial,helvetica][SIZE=-1]"How To Build A Switching Layout" Mindheim, Lance [/SIZE][/FONT][/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=verdana,arial,helvetica][SIZE=-1]"How To Operate A Modern Era Switching Layout" Mindheim, Lance [/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=verdana,arial,helvetica][SIZE=-1]"8 Realistic Track Plans For Small Switching Layouts" Mindheim, Lance[/SIZE][/FONT]
Although I don't have a bone to pick with Lance Mindheim, I do think thtat buying books from only one author may cause you to end up building a copy of his layout. There is a lot of info on the web. The best way to find stuff is to type in something like Ho scale Switching layout, and then hit the images tab and search for things by the pictures associated with the site.
I am almost 50 as well, and decided to stay with N scale. So much more I can do in the allotted space I have. However, I can appreciate the size difference to HO as my eyes are not near as good as they were 10 years ago. But, there is still just something about N scale.... Dean
Thanks guys for your comments and keep them coming. What it really comes down to for me is this. I have 80 N scale locomotives and 300 pieces of cars etc which I rarely use. I want switching with Dcc and sound. By selling off most of my N scale collection I can fun the new layout the locomotives with Dcc and sound pre installed. I do not have the time or effort to retrofit encoders in my N collection. I also love detailing locomotives and will find it easier I'm HO. Don't get me wrong I love N scale I have had numerous articles published in N scale magazine and will hold onto my pride custom locomotives. In the end my modelling requirements have changed and Ho suits those requirements better
Now back to layout design I really do like Dave Burrows south plains industrial switching layout, this would be the starting point of any future layout design
Hi Paul. I've always loved David Barrow's modeling adventures. However in a lot of his plans he relies heavily on many switchbacks; I am not sure about the need of having two yards either. Anyway David's plan will be great headstart for your design-efforts. Paul
