Hi, First post here. After ages of wanting a model railroad (the last one I had was in the 80's!), I've finally committed to building one. But alas, space is very limited. Layout will be located in an awkward area of my very small loft. After designing a great looking one with over a mile mainline and 13 industries, I realized it was just a bit too big for my loft, would require to much furniture re-arrangement and likely would be somewhat on the "too complicated" and "too expensive" side to build for a first layout. So I simplified a few things. New layout will be built on a 30 inch wide by 6 foot long utility table. A 1'x2' extension is located on one end of the table, and another 1'x1' extension is located on another end of the table. Grand total square footage is 30 feet. Both extension will be removable, so I can easily turn the main layout to lay track, do scenery and access my water heater/air filter area. Despite its puny size, I still thought it was important to have some sort of purpose and theme for the railroad. The prior trackplan was freelanced and based in SW Wisconsin and connected two towns as it followed a river and wrapped around a lake. The smaller size of this plan, however, dictated making things simpler. Instead, the purpose of the layout now is to essentially simulate a very small short-line that switches out industries out between three distinct areas. The theme is still SW Wisconsin, although with much smaller terrain. With limited space, I made the decision to nuke the towns while keeping a lake, campground, orchard and small dairy farm. A residential buildings will dot the country side, but there's no official town. The "main line," such as it is, is just a simple oval with a passing siding and a few industry spurs. A branch line goes off the main line and heads down to the interchange area (where the engine/caboose tracks also are). A second branch line branches off the first and meanders around the layout to the third industrial area, which contains a grain elevator and two yet to be known industries. One advantage of this layout - the switching can be done entirely off the main line oval. So 1 train can run around endlessly while I switch out stuff somewhere else. One thing that worries me - the rather complicated looking set of bridges that cross the first branch line and a road. Ultimately, the goal of this railroad is to wade back into the hobby and learn a few things. Experiment with new things - without spending much in the way of money or being overwhelmed by doing something "too big." Since most first layouts are often "chain saw" layouts, I probably won't glue things down too heavily. Use silicone caulk so track comes up fairly easily if/when the layout is dismantled. And hills will be very small so as to avoid buying too much foam. Track will be Atlas Code 55. Sectional track likely will be used to lay things out, with some sections then converted over to flex track before securing everything down. Mainline minimum radius is 11.25. Branch line 1 is 10 inch radius. Branch line 2 is 11.25 radius. Max grade on branch line 1 is like 3.75%. Comments, critiques, suggestions anyone?
Yeah, I tried to avoid that but obviously failed. However, most of the switches along the wall are easily accessible as they are near the little 1x1 extension. The main problem is that switch that's located almost directly beneath the bridge. I can see that being an issue at times.
I also see one facing point turnout for an industry (compared to all the rest) but I don't see any run-around track. Your engine crew will need a way to get around a freight car so they can spot it there.
Thanks...that's a good find. Not sure how I missed that. I was able to squish a run-around on branch line #2. There's already a passing siding on the main line. But I can't see a way to put a round-around track on branch #1, around the interchange area. Think these two passing sidings are enough? Updated plan in next post.
Well, here's an updated plan. The troubling turnout beneath the bridges was removed and the track that served that industry was brought to the front of the table. The complicated bridges also were replaced by a simpler to model (for a beginner) tunnel. I appreciate the comments, so keep them coming! I also widened the layout by an additional two inches, about all I can afford to do, space wise. Allows for more space on the lower level branch line area. Minimum radius remains as stated in first post. Grade from top level down to bottom level via branch lines is still just a touch below 4%. Layout will be DCC.
