Woo! Finally another day and a half off, with time to tracklay and maybe shoot a couple pics. Have a ridiculous fleet of engines I'd like to set up in a yard scene. I got the wrong MT coupler kits for my Overton cars but I'll fix that soon..... right now? I need foamboard and caulk! Home Despot is only a mile or two away and my hobby shop is running 20% off all month on trains! Life is good
Let's see: Day and 1/2 off Intense desire to show off locos Home Despot(sp?) only 2 miles away Hobby shop running 20% off sale Sounds like a formula for fun! Um, I do have to ask, was "Despot" a typo?
Well, that was a bust. I ended up getting sucked into helping someone move! They're not even my own friend! Despite that, I made a pass by my favorite LHS and picked up a few goodies (SP&S, CB&Q Trainman boxcars and an Athearn NP die-cast gondola!). Then today, I got a box full of what I can only describe as sheer awesome. Intermountain's fantastically detailed and rather silky-smooth running FT's, an ABBA set (road numbers 428 and 6700). I prefer the funky sideboard-numbered 428's but it's all good in my book! Here's my new motive power towing my new toys: THEN, I spent a good hour @work last night playing with a new iPod Touch app that lets you play with focal length on photos, aka "tilt-shift"- still getting the hang of it! : )
Spent the afternoon disassembling the D&D RR (drab & disappointing). Working on the new plan now; OK, so there's an outer, wider-radius (read: passenger car friendly) outer loop. The inner loop will be the focus of the raised-level cityscene, inlaid in the street paving. The outer wider-radius loop will allow me to run anything but 4-6-6-4's haha.... and it'll look nice wrapping around a rock wall below the urban scene. Sharp curves for the upper deck, yes, but it's for 40' boxcars and SW9's. I'm thinking reefer service in the inner loop, perhaps an RDC could have the outer loop for passenger service.... maybe a little park scene & a street-level passenger platform. Alo, those inner turnouts are (model power?) old-school tight-radius switches, perfect for shunting small cars with small locos. Lower/outer level: The passenger depot at the left end allows me to cut my train up if necessary, to let all my little passengers on, then recouple and off we go! Not too set on having the bottom two facing-point spurs attached to the passenger depot; I may use a smaller depot and have the spurs pull up to a loco refuel/coal facility. As far as those turnouts above the passenger facility- I may need to fabricate some curved meduim-length turnouts, or I may just use two atlas code 80's and use flextrack bent to about an 8" radius. One slow tight turn won't kill me if my track is smooth and precise. 2' by 4' does not allow for much in the way of long straights so I decided to cut the layout into two distinct scenes and then divide the urban scene into two decks. That should help it feel bigger. The right side's mountainside scene will be about 6-8" vertical from basin to peaks, and ideally focus on the trestle over dry scenery. 12" scenery divider will be installed and backdropped. The water is probably not going to be there, more likely a gully or dry riverbed. (remember- this is an exercise in trying new things, using long-ago purchased code 80 and cheap buildings. I'm set on the size, everything else is up for discussion!). TL;DR: What are your thoughts on it?
Here's one I was tinkering with as a test layout before building my larger pike. It's a 2x3 but could easily be expanded for more trackage.
I dig it! Could fit quite a lot more spur trackage in that extra foot. I think I've moved past messing with a mountainside right now, as looking @ my inventory I'd be better off doing some rolling hills and an over/under twice-around. Your plan looks like a lot of fun to shunt with a little ten-wheeler or similar steamer... those switches making s-curves would make my passenger trains look funny snaking through 'em, though!
Yeah, this was definitely made with freight operations in mind. The inspiration for this came from a layout in an old copy of RMC from about 20 years ago that my son pointed out to me. Originally, it had a divider across half of the middle to provide a little more separation, but I chose to use the mountain itself to do the same. Just enough trackage and sidings to perform some actual railroading operational space. My son has tested this out in Xtrack Cad (in which it was drawn) since you can actually "run" trains on your track plans with it. Makes it much easier to find and fix potential operational problems while having a little fun at the same time. Let me know if you'd like a copy of the Xtrack source file and I'll send it via PM. -Matt
OK, I tinkered with the starter pike to make it a little more passenger-friendly, as well as to bring it up to full 2x4 size. I took off the scenery and structures to help make it easier to incorporate your own ideas (like adding a nice curved trestle on the lower left side). Let me know what you think. Test operations with an A-B set of F units and some passenger cars was fun.
I know most people would not want to do this, but I'm planning 2x4 coal minning scene, based on a mine down the road from my house.
PW that's a sweet piece of software! Bet they don't have it for a Mac though. Well, how about some tweaks? Green lines are new rails; -The right switch @ top becomes a crossover, making facing point/trailing point and runaround switching moves necessary -The double trackage across the front makes my passenger station more feasable -Add the runaround @ right, with tighter radius inside (for freight, mostly 40' and 50' cars) I'd likely use a scenic divider across the center, against the back of the depot. What can you do with all that? : )
First, like jdetray said, it works on Mac OSX. In fact, I'm using it on an Ubuntu Linux machine and it works great! So, here's another version. Had to kill the right passing track to allow for the station. Kept the wider radius curve on the left side so had to push the switch a little further in. I figure it's a small layout so you'll have to run small passenger trains anyway.
I have also built this one per the plan though, also added an 8" X 56" Yard off the right side of the upper level of this plan. Trains are running already. Currently set to run two cab control, But planning / construction of an 80" X 28" addition to the left is in the works.. Love the track plan!!
If you do go with this one, I strongly suggest a runaround on the industry side: Since that's where you'll be doing any switching anyway, and you don't want to go all the way around the layout for every move. And then you could have only one passenger train: with the runaround on the industry side, you could have two passenger trains (one each direction) & one freight on layout.
Another idea: if you curve & connect the left-hand inner sidings, and hide with buildings, it can still be industry on the top, passenger car service on the bottom: Kind of a hidden staging, so one train isn't always out on the tracks. It will be a tighter radius, but it'll be hidden by removable buildings.
Here. Had to get rid of one track on the top-right siding (too close to shove it in there) but this has some potential. This gives it hidden staging (with structures, scenery or whatever), passing tracks, and crossovers for easy runaround switching. I'm digging it. Oh, and the inner radius is still only 9 3/4" so it'll handle freight just fine.
And THAT is how you do it!! I am in love!! May add another interchange track off one corner, but that's a heck of a plan and I'm gonna start laying track posthaste! Of course, the outer radii will be flextrack, with minor superelevation just because. Also, I tried a new code 80 weathering technique yesterday; Rust-Oleum sells a "rust" colored textured spraypaint; it lays on like rusty brown 400 grit sandpaper!! I sprayed it from a 15-degree side angle to get the rails more than the ties. Gives that rusted, used look to the rails, and a more "wood" color to the ties; the rails look fantastic and cleaned up on the railheads with a quick wipe of 200 grit! Then I did some weathering on the ties, and it came out absolutely 1000% better than stock black&nickel code 80. Pics coming as soon as I find my digital camera!!
