Hello everyone, Here's the space demonstrating what i have to work with now. I would like some help designing the track plan. For your minds to jog with, I want a single track mian line running around the space. I created it so i can have a minimum 22" radius so please have fun with it. i don't want it overly crowded. a few simple industy tracks (NO SWITCHBACKS PLEASE) and a pasing siding somewere in there. Please feel free to ask for any other info. The area in the red box is the Layout space, everything eles is space for me to mve about. bottom is 4'x3' straight: 3'x7' Straight(horizontal): 3'x5' right bottom:4'x3'
What time period? Steam,diesel, or both? I assume it's going to be DRGW. You definitely live in the right place for it. I sometimes think I should have done DRGW instead of midwest roads.
I have a very similar sized layout in our spare room. Mine connects to the garage, so you will need a loop on either end of yours, but you can get a good idea of what I've done and what it looks like. Btw if you can weasel a bit more width on the ends, it's worth every penny to have the larger radius. I ran 28" radius's on my mainline everywhere and pushed it right out to the egde of the layout if I had to. You can always add a piece of clear plastic to the edge if you worry about trains falling off. The trains look so much better, when in turns the snowplow isn't 1/3rd of the way off the outside of the track like in a tight radius. You can run longer trains and everything seems to go much smoother(4th layout for me). 28" is also a good radius for most loco's and rolling stock except maybe big steam. Modeling DRG&W you are going to want some elevation changes. A general rule of thumb I like to use is always have the scenery rise up and away from view. Wrapping your end loops back around so that the tracks are next to each other(almost like a reversing loop) maximizes realism IMO especially if you cover part of the loop with a mountain and tunnel. Running the main/passing siding/yard etc along the back of the layout also offers maximum length for track and trains, and then you can infill the front of the layout with various spurs and industries. I have a yardstick with holes in it for swinging radius's. I screw one end down, insert a pencil in the desired raduis and swing. You'll want to purchase all your turnouts, and layout your track plan before you even start benchwork. I use plywood and 1x4/1x6 construction , and jigsaw around the track locations I want to elevate. Then I space crossbraces under the track at 12" increments. I then shim them up to elevate the "roadbed". You'll want to use no more than 3/8"(about 3%) per foot, I use 1/4" (ABOUT 2%) per foot of rise. when transitioning from flat to a rise-decline you'll want to cut the spacer down to 1/8". So from A flat surface you'd have 1/8" spacer, then +1/4" for each 12". Then at a "peak" you'll want the same thing, that spacer will be only 1/8" taller than the last one. Hope that will get you on the right track- I learned alot of my lessons the hard way.... Check out my pics here: http://www.trainboard.com/grapevine/showthread.php?t=100350
