Need help designing N scale layout.

Hello,
Please I need help to design my N scale train layout. I have a room 10’-10” x 17’-0” available. Ithas a double French door 5 feet wide to enter the room.
I am attaching a PDF print of the room.

I like passenger trains, piggyback and containers, coal,logging, military and circus trains.
I would like to have passenger stations, a seaport, mining,logging, army base and winter quarters for the circus. A nice yard under the layout to store and to makeup units to move up to the layout would be great.
The era is transition to run steam and diesel.

I have blue print cabinets 54” wide x 42” deep to use asbases under the layout, I know they are too deep wise but perhaps they can beunder a peninsula.
A two level layout is Ok.
Modular construction is a must.
A suspended bridge at the door to provide longer running isOk.

I am a lone wolf. Iam not much into operations. I likerunning long trains but I do not want to get bored by looking at trains goingin circles so please do plan for some operations.
Not into DCC but would like to plan for the future.

Thank you in advance for your help/suggestions.

 

I would do a folded dogbone, turning back on each end at the door,with 2' shelves,then you have no duckunders,and should give you a long enough mainline to run some long freights and good sized passenger consists.by doing n scale you open up the possibility for wide curves.you can run staging along the backside,or down to a shelf below,that's what i'd do.if I were in nscale i'd have fun with this space.and you have space for some industries,you could even put a 18"wx6'peninsula out from the back wall for a passenger terminal or switching area,just my thought.

 

Alee,
Have you decided on what brand of track you are going to use?
Will it be DC or DCC?

There is a lot of potential in that space

 

Hi there. I have roughly the same size of room. What I was able to do in that space was to do a 2 level, along the walls with a peninsula in the middle. My tightest turns along the return loop at 13". If you are running modern, my SD90/43MAC's make the turn pulling 89' autoracks but my newly acquired FEF make the turn on a hit or miss basis. It appears that you and I are aligned with most of the things that you would like to do with your layout so in building my layout within a year, here are some things that you would like to consider:

1. Decide and design now if you want to have a layout built for operations or not. The answer to this question will dictate how you approach the rest of my observations.

2. If you decide to go for operations, plan your towns accordingly. Meaning try not to have to towns in close proximity of each other IF work in those towns involve switching. This concept is very important if you are planning a multi-deck layout. Try to stagger the towns so that one is not right over the top of another.

3. Make your aisles as wide as possible and your benchwork as narrow as the operations will allow it. I went with 18" benchwork but I realized that I could've went as little as 8" in areas especially in the "rural" areas.

4. I would recommend going DCC if you are going the operations route. With that it is a good idea to "block" your track plan so that it is MUCH easier to isolate electrical problems as well as prepping yourself for signaling capability. With that being said, make sure that your auto reversing section is LONGER that the LONGEST passenger train that you could possibly run! I am catching hell now by not realizing that all Kato passenger cars have electrical pickup and will short on the AR if it is longer than that section.

5. Try to come to an agreement with which era you are going for and which rolling stock and/or locomotives fit that era. Reason being is that you can get away with (performance wise) with tighter turns on 40' boxcars and four axle locomotives than you would with 89' autorack, articulated intermodal cars and SD70ACe's.

I hope this helps.

 

Thank you to everyone, I appreciate your replies.

I am looking for a "track plan".

A "U" shape along the 3 walls with a peninsula in the center and a Nolix to get to the upper level shelve. A staging yard below the main level with a ramp to get to above.

I am at a lost locating the towns, industries, stations, seaport, etc.
If you can sketch it I can draw it on CAD.

Again thanks.

 

I guess we need an idea of your experience level. You have been a member since 2006. What have you done in that time.
I remember my first thread here on Trainboasrd. I was full of excitement at the idea of filling my furnished attic space. Then I realized how little I knew.
I personally would encourage you to build your first layout in a modest way and get a feel for it.

 

I would agree with Grey One. Not to deflate your sails, but there is so much to all of this. Have you ever built any roundy roundy type layouts? Or perhaps some kind of switching plank.

Good luck.

 

No worries, I appreciate your advices.

Sorry, I should had explained my experience and were I am stuck which is mainly "operations".

I built my first layout back in the 1970s. It was the Summit Lines & Susquehanna Rwy. out of the Atlas book. On a 4x8 plywood sheet, cookie cutter construction.

Then came my children and my construction business, and trains took a back seat.

In the mid 2000s I built my second layout on part time basis, it took some time to complete. They were 4 modules of dog-bone design similar to N-track but not really N-track.

Around 2010 I build my third layout, a free lance design large layout that occupied a 2 car garage. A U shape with a peninsula in the center, walking aisles all around the inside and outside of the U and the peninsula, with a 16" high divider on the entire layout.

As you can see I like running trains, long trains,.... LOL. But I never have participated in operations or DCC.

My layouts ran good and scenic beautifully but were not built for operations.
I have to confess that after a while of just running trains I've been bored.
I have kept in the hobby because I like building kits, kit bashing, messing with the mechanism of the engines, etc.

As I am about to start my fourth layout I want to provide for operations, switching, and DCC. And that is where I lack the experience.
I have an idea of what I should do but I would like the input/help of others that have the knowledge.
If you were building this layout where would you place the towns, industries, etc. in relation to each other that would make sense for operations?

As far as the construction, I can handle it, I am a certified licensed general contractor with the knowledge and tools to build it.

Thanks and I look forward to your comments.

 

Also, you may be a lone wolf, but you'll need help running that thing.

Have you read any books on realistic model railroad design? They are handy, but artistic license always adds a nice visual touch; still research is good.

Are you literally asking the guys to draw your layout for you? I bet there are those on here who would do that. I've seen it happen enough times over the years. I am actually surprised no one has volunteered yet.

Also, is this a double track main or single track?
Coastal with that port, what about the great lakes? Or east coast or west coast, or not picky.
DO you want a sort of free form layout with coastal and mountainous areas?

Just pickin' your brain a bit.

 

Alee,
Have you decided on what brand of track you are going to use?

I use AnyRail to design layouts but would need to know what track system you plan on using and what your preferences are in turnouts.

 

As soon as you said nolix my ears perked up so to speak. When I started reading what you had, the first thing that went though my brain was a two level layout with a nolix.

The idea of a nolix is to provide more visible track than a helix and to move away from the 'big blob' syndrome that helix's can become.

Here is a pic of my nolix, might look hard to build but it wasn't. But one thing I can tell you don't build your first and second deck then bring in the nolix, then you will have headaches. Instead build your first deck, heading into the nolix, then out onto your second deck. The reason is it is easier to 'marry' the second deck to the height it should be to receive the nolix joining track.



You can see the nolix and how it provides a significant amount of main line running, on mine roughly 18 feet of track will be visible on two levels. Don't be fooled by the backdrop picture, you won't be able to see the back except for peek a boo once the mountain is in.

Here is my track plan which I have built pretty much to the diagram but I did eliminate the straight track jutting out at the end, and lengthened the reversing loop deck:



Here is a pic of the bottom reversing loop deck:



Basically you are building a loop to loop two deck layout which will give you lots of mainline running, roughly 8 minutes from bottom to top and you have lots of room for switching.

My layout will be mostly lone wolf with one other friend or son from time to time.

With the electronics stuff out there you can now have continuous running with loop to loop (hare and tortoise).

 

I forgot to add, with a ten foot wide room you have lots of room for a good sized nolix, lets say roughly four feet wide and a reversing area roughly 38 inches wide (17 inch curves). My nolix is roughly a 2.2 grade and due to the lengths of the straight track in back its easier for trains to transit the nolix than a helix which has a train in a continuous curve for the entire time.

The nolix will give you a very nice tall mountain scene taking advantage of the scenery to train size of N scale.

You have a good room for N scale and what I have described will give you lots of railroad.

 

Thanks Rick for the link to Michael Rose. You are right I'll work on the track plan first and then decide how to DCC.

 

I was looking for someone to draw it. There is one gentleman helping me. He and I welcome any and all input into the design.

Double track main line.
Not picky about ocean or lake port.
A free lance design with a port and mountain area for the coal mine and loggin.

Thanks for your help.

 

Hi Paul,
Atlas Code 80 flex-track. I prefer minimum No. 6 for a smooth transition.

Thanks.

 

Hi Rick,
Looks like what you have is what I am looking for.
I am sharing your mail with Martin who is helping me.
Thanks.

 

I cannot see the track in your track plan.
Thanks.

 

When I do a plan for friends and a long time ago, for folks here, I only do benchwork shape, the rough shape of the mainline and the philosophy of how that particular design works. In fact I just did one today for a friend.

Here is what I tell folks to do.

1) Once the mainline is decided on, break up the layout shape into areas, maybe even sub-areas and again roughly decide what is going to go there.

2) Some areas will almost dictate what the track work will be, like stub end small yard for auto cars or a yard feeding a granary.

3) other track work will be more complex. If you don't know how to do the complex track work, go through magazine layout plans and just find a micro area you like and copy that.

I use to do more work for others here and else where but there was too much tire kicking, not serious enough to work on the designs, or my design was more complex than they were looking for.

Too work out a track plan for some one is a lot of work, especially with no remuneration (I'm not looking to be paid). But anyone who has done a larger layout track design (and your room will hold a "large" layout in N scale terms, I refer you to Armstrong's book on what constitutes a large N scale layout).

I have had two friends build a layout professionally for a man with a disabled son; they poured out there hearts in the layout design and build. And if you have ever built a layout you know it is impossible to be compensated for the real work that goes into it. The same with these two designers and builders. After the layout was done, two years latter; the man told them to tear it out.

What designers hope will happen and what does happen is often not the same thing. In fact the layout that developed the concept of a nolix, The Athabasca Railroad designed by John Armstrong, never got built.

I don't recommend trying to find a completed track plan and try and bash it into your space. Instead break the big problem up, your macro design down into smaller micro design tasks, its much easier that way.

You might get lucky and have some one do a track plan for you, but I won't be surprised if no one steps up to the plate.