Grow the railroad or lay all the track at once?

I've finalized my trackplan and am just about ready to order my track. I'm wondering if it's best to build the layout in stages, a la Lynn Westcott's "HO Railroad that Grows," or put down all the track at once and move on to other things. I'm thinking of just laying down the mainline and return loop first, and then cutting in spurs, sidings, branch lines, etc, down the road. This would allow me to spread out the cost for track over time instead of having to shell out a huge, one-time payment, and also I can then have trains up and running in fairly short order, as well as get into scenery, instead of having to wait until all the track-laying is finished. On the other hand, it means eventually having to tear up sections of scenicked track.

Any advice?

 

There's pros and cons, as with everything. Finishing a section then moving on certainly breaks the monotony that doing one thing for so long incurs. Personal preference too...

I am personally laying my main line, sidings, and certain industries only. My layout plans currently call for ~20 more turnouts than I currently have and Atlas code 55 is a little hard to come by right now. I am putting the cork roadbed down though. Lay as much track as I can then work on getting the scenic elevation on the layout correct via lots of foam and spackling. I think about the only painting I may do is painting the track until I am able to order the rest of the track.

 

There's nothing wrong with laying the track in sections........except from time to time you'll get a nasty surprise when something doesn't fit the way it's supposed to. What I did was as I laid the roadbed, I moved my track. So I'd lay track, then tack the last few sections in place and then pick up everything except those sections and then lay track again.....repeat. That way I knew everything would fit properly (I was using my own track plan). After I got all the the roadbed done I went back to the beginning and actually started laying track as I could. If your plan has any "special" track like a double cross-over, I'd suggest having those on hand because the track around those is critical.

 

I am building from the outside in. My eventual layout will run around the walls on a shelf, some places 14 inches deep, some places 24 or a bit more. I want everything that will be somewhat toward the back to be built and tested before I build what goes in front of it. An open staging yard in a corner has been the first thing.

The layout background and staging is the first and outermost layer.
Inside that, port switching railroad trackage.
Inside that, Santa Fe trunkline tracks.

A rollaway duckunder "2 mile long" causeway section has been semi-built already for a couple years, but not in place, and the track and lift bridge not wired. (The train is actually static staged.)


I have barely started what will be the hidden staging, and a priority will be paying a continuous running loop line around the room, only a small part of which will be the eventual mainline.


It will have turnouts placed where spurs, branches, etc will diverge from that loop, AFTER the loop is running.
Next priority, all the spurs etc that are "behind" the loop track on the bottom part of the plan. Those will be spurs serving cranes and loaders at docks.

Next will come port tracks serving a grain elevator and cargo sheds on the upper right and top of the plan. The cargo sheds will hide the hidden staging- after I get it working reliably!

The Santa Fe line with freight yard and passenger terminal comes last, and innermost.

 

It's a fairly straightforward plan. The only unconventional element is a curved turnout. I think if the mainline fits together as it should (keeping my fingers crossed that AnyRail is accurate), then everything else should work since I'm using sectional track throughout. When it comes time to insert a turnout, I should be able to just remove a 6" straight section and slide the turnout into place.

 

And financial benefits as well. The cost of those darn turnouts adds up quickly :uhoh: Not having to buy them all at once would be a big plus.

 

Yup...been there done that !

The original THERR I laid all the mainlines and was running trains in no time. When it came time to put in THE Yard...sidings...industries ect. ect. It was a nightmare !! Things werent lining up. Frustration set in fast. I almost gave up. Fortunately or unfortunately...depending on how you look at it...a heavy snowstorm that caved the roof in on THE Trailer settled the matter.

When I was able to finally rebuild (accident settlement) I decided to get ALL the track laid right off. I havent regretted that decision. Scenicing 4 to 5 feet on the right of way at a time is interesting...as I cant run trains till its all dry and cleaned up. But thats ok. If I dont wanna scenic...I can run my trains through every inch of track...and smile.

So there is pros and cons for sure. It depends on money and your patience ;-)

 

I recommend that eash task be done over the whole layout. That way your skills are at their peak, and you save time on relearning. Also, I have seen many layouts that were done in pieces, and there is always a noticable demarcation between segments.

 

First and foremost, get some trains running as quickly as possible. That's what it's all about anyway, right? If that means having to re-do a few sections of track, it's no big deal, assuming you don't go overboard when you're putting down roadbed and track. If you're using caulk, you won't have any problems.

I'm building a multi-HCD layout, adding a door each year. That means I've been making changes as the layout progresses, and it's been easy to pull up a piece of flex and put down a turnout, or pull out a 180-degree turn made of flex and install tangents. In most cases, I don't put down ballast on sections I know I'm going to be re-arranging in a year or two. The important thing is that a lot of scenery CAN get done, and I have trains running.

You don't want to get into a long slog where you're doing nothing but trackwork for an extended period of time. When I did my first HCD, the first thing I did was put in a loop and the turnouts on the main ... with mostly no track coming off those turnouts. But it was a lot of fun to just get a train going around the loop ... and I'm a guy primarily interested in operations.

Jim

 

My layout isn't all that big, its a 90 degree corner layout with both "wings" being about 3-4' long and 3' deep. I decided to lay track all at once. I believe my layout called for something like 12-15 turnouts, and even for code 80 that's pricey. I started laying track a year ago, and got trains running, but there were a ton of hiccups and I sort of lost interest when the weather turned warm. I started back up on the layout in October, and I (hopefully) just fixed the last kink in my rails this week. As MVW mentioned getting trains running is a huge step as it keeps you motivated. Seriously, even after a frustrating building session when nothing seems to be going right, taking a break to run trains is relaxing and re-inspiring. It sort of keeps you reminded on why the heck you torture yourself with all the work in the first place.

I have also broken up the trackwork with side projects; kitbashing, detailing, etc. Another beautiful thing about this hobby is there are so many aspects of it.

So my opinion kind of echoes what others have said. There isn't really a solid answer, it all hinges on what your budget is, what your goals are, and how quickly you plan on completing your layout.

 

MLR Dave has it right, IMO. Lay the track, then fill in. It avoid nasty and unnecessary surprises later on.

 

I'll add my two cents here. I recommend that you start with a plan of what you want to do and run it by others for their comments both pro and con. Also plan how you will do the work. How much time can you devote to the layout each work session? How many work sessions each week? Once that is done and you are satisfied, then you can commence building. I always recommend building a layout in a modular manner so that it is easily disassembled if the need arises. It also facilitates maintenance. The modules should be no larger than 2 feet wide by 6 feet long to facilitate transport. You never know when the room that houses the layout might be needed for some higher priority [this is usually determined by the spouse]. The modules also give the added feature of defining your work area, plus and if need be, you can work on the modules elsewhere and then add them to the layout. You will find that there are tasks that you will like to do and those you don't. Make it a habit that at every work session you do the ones you don't like first then go on to the ones you like. A good example is ballasting. Judging from the photos I have seen and the layouts I have visited ballasting is one of those tasks that most people do not like to do. It is also the activity that is usually done last after all the other scenery is done. So at each work session you might start by ballasting one module before working on others. The idea is to keep it going and break down the work into stages and have modules in various stages of completion. While doing all of this make it a practice to run some trains with what track you have down even if it is only back and forth over a small stretch. This will serve as a test of your work and will also encourage you onward. Don't be discouraged if you have to adjust some part of your plans [both track as well as work plans]. Be flexible and above all, have fun.

 

Chris,
One thing I might suggest is to lay the main and as much yard as you can right away then work in sections on the rest of the layout. I would locate any turnouts off the main and put those in place for the industries, sidings and interchanges and such but simply not lay track or finish those areas until you are ready to do so. This should let you get up and running with a ballasted main and then work on each industry or section as you have time and money. With the exception of the turnouts on the main, it will also make it easier to adjust and fiddle with the tracks going to the industries while you are building the structures. There will be parts of your layout that are finished and some not, but isn't that the case with every layout?

 

i build a little at a time as money alows. im currently getting ready to expand from a 3 foot oval to an 8 foot round d round. when i expand, the main line will go in, then the sidings with all the tons of switches will go in later down the line. switches arent cheap, and i may try my luck building them myself.

 

There's a recent thread in which I discussed my plan with others, but rather than linking to it, here's what I've got (which incorporates some significant changes from the last upload):

View attachment 51459

As you can see, I haven't gotten around yet to filling in most of the details like structure location, but I have a fairly good idea in my head and have been sketching things out by hand. But as far as track goes, that's pretty much it. So if I go with the build-in-stages approach, I would do the double-track mainline and reverse loop first, then the interchange tracks, then the industrial spurs, then the mine branch, and finally the yard.