Beginner N-scale Unitrack Work in Progress

Hello everyone. I was hoping to get some feedback on the attached work in progress. My layout space is roughly 10'2" by 2'10". The outer loop is 15" radius and the inner loop is 13.75". All turnouts are #6.

The grey rectangle on the left hand side is the drywall between my "toy" room and the garage - I plan on cutting holes to allow the trains to pass through. My thought was to use the garage space as hidden staging and to break up the ovals. I can extend this garage space if needed to about 2'6" x 2'10". I can also add a very long staging shelf along the top left of the layout (extending further into the garage along the wall). I was planning on adding an overpass to hide the tunnels.

Continuous running is an absolute must for me - I have two young boys that are very eager to see the trains run 'round and 'round. I am also fascinated by yards and engine service facilities which is why I have the start of my yard front and center.

The era I plan on freelancing is the mid-50's with mostly diesel engines. I'm also planning on running small 4-6 car streamlined passenger trains. I would like to have some interchange traffic along with local industry.

Operationally, I was thinking of running passenger trains on the outside loop counter clockwise. The far left stub would be the parking area for the "mini" super chief. The blue rectangle in the bottom middle is a passenger station (or platforms if a small station will not fit). I included a few stubs next to the station for sleeper/express cars but I am unsure how accessible they will be? I would love to have hidden staging for two separate passenger trains but I can't figure out how that would fit.

The inner loop is for freight (mostly 40' rolling stock) running clockwise. I've been reading up on yard design - but the learning curve in xtrkcad is steep and I am having a difficult time envisioning the more complicated designs that I have read about. I would also like to have a small engine service facility (no turntable - just a few servicing/parking tracks).

I would definitely like to include some industries along the back (top) of the layout. I plan on having a small city/town scene in the middle of the layout with tall buildings blocking the back (top) track.

Any advice or tips are greatly appreciated - I was happily trudging along when I started to doubt myself and question my work. This is my first layout in nearly 20 years and my first in N-scale.

- Mark

 

Mark - The plan initially looks good. I modified my plans 8-10 times prior to finalizing, and with Unitrack you have that option of operating for a while and making changes as needed. I would suggest doing just that and not attaching track to your base until you know you have what you finally want.

I would say you definitely will want some industry on the layout, and in a reachable location. I do like the use of the double crossovers. You may want to consider an interchange track. This provides an opportunity to introduce any kind of railcar to your layout, and provide the thought that the railroad continues on after hitting the edge. I really think double main lines on layouts of this size makes great sense. It provides the operator with the perception that there is much going on with the pike.

If you could lengthen the yard a little, that might be nice. Provide a place for engines to sit idle and maybe a caboose track. I'm not sure I like the way the station is fitting into the layout. Can it be moved to a "town" on the other side of the layout. Perhaps trains pass through the yard area of the layout on it's way to another station that is off-layout.

I've learned that creating a need for all the tracks is very important to its operation, and helps keep your long-term interest. I think you have a great base with which to work, with some adjustments as you see fit. Have fun.

 

Thank you for the feedback , Dave. I'm starting to get the hang of xtrkcad so this is getting a little easier.

Attached is version 2.0. I modified the yard and lengthened it. The bottom left track is going to be an interchange.

I would still like to add an engine service facility but am unsure where it should go (the green boxes are where I was thinking). The right green area would be easier to integrate but I am worried that the engines would be in a poor position to pickup freight cars (the cart is literally before the horse). I haven't figured out how to incorporate an engine service area in the left green area yet.

I added some industry along the back of the layout - all tentative until I determine exactly what industries are going there. The layout is going to be about 4' above the ground so I'm not too worried about the 34" reach.

I've been reading "Track Planning for Realistic Operation" so I'm sure I'll have some additional modifications to my layout soon.

Any additional thoughts or ideas would be greatly appreciated.

The good news is that I am really enjoying myself and I haven't even started construction yet



- Mark

 

Unfortunately, the "top" of the layout will be against the wall. I limited myself to a 34" reach and am trying to keep things simple on the top. This was also why I decided to put the left curves in the garage to help with access. There is a possibility of expansion along the bottom right corner of the layout but I didn't want to bite off more than I could chew in my first attempt.

I realize that 34" may be a bit of a stretch but I really would like to include the 15" curves to at least stand a chance of running some streamlined passenger cars. If I went with 13" outside curves I could bump the depth down to around 28"-30".

Hmmmm - maybe I could create a "bent" dogbone with the right side curve on the bottom right of an expanded layout. Let me see what I can draw up.

Edit: Attached is a rough mock-up of what I was thinking about. Question - I've heard that "S" curves are generally bad - am I asking for trouble with the "S" curves on this layout? The outside curves are still 15" and the insides are 13" - the "S" curves transition from 15"-13". The walls are along the North (top) and East (right) of the layout. The garage wall is marked in gray. I will have access to the bottom right curve from the west and south sides and the top left curve will be accessible via the garage on the west side of the layout. The middle section is now about 2' deep - easily accessible.

Thoughts?

Thanks for the comments.

- Mark

 

Mark,

This is a much better design.:thumbs_up: Your "S" curves will not give you as much trouble as you have read about in John Armstrong's book. The real issue is with the look of a train doing the wiggle dance on such a design; especially a passenger train. I would consider easing the situation by replacing the "S" curve sections with a straight piece and adjust the track on the front of the layout to line up.

Have fun experimenting and playing trains with your boys.:tb-biggrin:

Jerry

 

Hi, Mark;
I'm also using Unitrack for my layout. It's on a hollow core door using Kato 12 3/8" radius curves and I'm planning on running my Kato California Zephyr. You might be able to use a smaller width if you use that radius. It doesn't look bad with my Kato equipment.

 

Thank you again for the advice.

I've attached my latest revision. The "S" curves now have a 7" straight transition. I still need to add some double crossovers to get trains from one track to another.

Passenger trains run around the outer loop clockwise and I have added a siding/staging area at the top so the trains have somewhere to go "offstage". Eventually I can add a narrow hidden staging yard in the garage.

Freight trains run counter clockwise on the inside loop. I've added several industry spurs at various locations. I know that my yard lead is a little short.

The olive green rectangle will be a highway overpass to help disguise the wall. The horizontal green line will be a city facade to partially hide the rear track (but not too tall to hinder my reach).

Aside from the missing crossovers to move trains from one track to the other are there any other glaring issues?

Thanks again!!

- Mark

 

Greatly improved track plan Mark!:thumbs_up:

You are correct that the yard lead is a bit short (should be as long as your longest yard track). This simply means that you will not be able to take as long a cut of cars at one time. In many cases (made up or blocked trains) you can just back the entire freight train into a vacant yard track(s) and eliminate the need for switcher operations.

I see nothing mechanically wrong with this track plan. Add a double crossover and you are set to go. Enjoy.:tb-biggrin:

Jerry

 

Over all I like the design. My concern is:
That is a long reach to the back turnout where derailments might occur. I have a 3'x8'(with an 2'x8' "L" off the left end). Track level is about 3'3"s from the floor. It is quite a reach to the back. Then again I am only 5'8" tall.

 

Looking good! I have a 15' by 30+' all Kato Uni-track layout. I started with a plan similar to yours and have expanded 15 times - no REALLY! That's the beauty of uni-track, once you get the track down, you find that you can change it easily and that in itself becomes an addiction "what would happen if I just added another 4x4 area" ... and thats how I ended up filling an upstairs room!

 

Update

I've been busy measuring and re-evaluating my plans and have an updated track plan to share. My initial plan did not account for a 4-inch wide by two foot long bulge on the right wall. Measure twice, cut once

I really like this modified plan since I was able to incorporate an overpass and a tunnel which I think the kids will love. The dashed track on the far right is the tunnel which is also a downgrade running clockwise to the bridge. The dashed track along the top of the layout is "below ground" and I plan on having a city scape on top with lift-out modules for maintenance/derailments. The track will come back up to street level around the far left loop.

The shelf on the bottom left is a future staging or engine service facility.

A few questions on this new design:

1) Will this new layout work functionally? Any glaring errors that I made? I still need to add the crossovers.

2) Do the grades look ok? I know nothing about grades aside from what I have read in books and online.

3) The sidings in the middle of the lower right loop are a future small mine - are the sidings functional for this industry?

4) I would really like to have a small passenger station and some platforms on the outside loop. I'm not sure where I could place them. My initial thought was front and center on the layout but I am trying to maintain a 26" maximum depth. Any other ideas on where I could place this?

5) I would also really like to include an icing platform. I can't quite figure out the best place for this either. Any thoughts?

Thank you again for your help - I have been following several threads here at TrainBoard and have learned a great deal already.

- Mark

 

After my post I had a "Eureka" moment. By dropping the short and not too useful outside siding that is front and center on he layout I suddenly had room for a nice passenger station/platform. I added some crossovers as well.

How does this look? Are the crossovers in the best location to provide the most functionality? Ideally I would like to be able to move from outside track to inside yard and back with minimal fuss.

- Mark

 

I started using XTrkCAD to do some designing for my layout. I heard it was hard to get a handle on and they were right. I'm hoping my plans turn out as good as yours has.

 

There is a bit of a learning curve with XTrkCAD but it isn't too bad. Don't get discouraged it is a wonderful program. Two tricks that I have learned: 1) use the unitrack templates to lay track (even if you aren't using unitrack it makes things very easy) and 2) You can change the orientation of a piece of track by holding Shift and left-clicking on it. It took me awhile to figure this out but once I did it made life so easy.

Rick - I attempted to calculate my grades using my rusty math and it looks like I am right around 2%. I removed the rear (top) siding since it will be on that 2% grade and I read that this is a bad thing. I'll also have to modify the outside siding on the lower loop.

The lower right loop is a continuous grade - is this a bad thing?

Reality check - am asking for too much trouble with the up and over for my first layout? Considering it is unitrack I can always go with a flat layout and change it after I get some experience under my belt.

- Mark

 

Is this your first layout?
Just a thought. You mentioned you did not want to "bite off more than you could chew". The current configuration is a huge step from your 3x10.
Beyond that, I like the plan.