1) I have limited room. 2)I understand realistically that the turns maybe to sharp for passenger rolling stock. 3)I do want to run my 6 different Passenger trains, PPR, Amtrak, Sante Fe, Union Pacific, 2 Daylights, One Steam and the other F-7 A&B or maybe show them off because all are Vintage 1950's to 1980's in a switch yard. please help.:munhappy:
Most HO equipment is made to run on an 18" radius curve. 18"x2=36", add 3 inches of buffer room on each side, and you are at 42". You would be tight in N Scale with an 2'x8' layout to get continous running.
Welcome to TrainBoard! Whew! Do they make 9 inch curves in HO? I model in N scale and would only consider a point to point layout given 2 X 8 foot of real estate. On a positive note 2 X 8 foot would make a fairly nice display area for your 6 passenger trains including back drop station / terminal buidling(s) with a suitable background. Jerry
I agree, with a 2' depth, return loops are out of the question in HO. But you don't need a loop to have continuous running. There are electronics available that allow automatic forward and reverse operation on a shelf type switching layout, but that gets boring pretty fast in my opinion.
Ive try using a 3ft flex track to make the curves and there some derailment, inaddition it doesnt look real. since the passenger cars are 60ft., especially since my union pacific passenger cars are going to be pulled by the DDX40. So I was thinking of running 2 axle Loco with 40ft cars. what do u think?
so if running DC, because all I have old stuff (1950's-1980's) athearns,revell, life-like, tyco, Rivarossi, Cox, Bachmann, Mantua, Alco (Mint in Box); what type of switch layout would you suggest to show and run.
I hate to say it, but in that little of space, with large equipment. You're possibilities are little more than a display shelf. Some thing you might be able to do is a split down the center, diorama to give you two distinct scenes. On the right 2x4 side, you could have an urban station/city scene, and on the left, you could have a rural depot with some scenery. Operating wouldn't be much fun as you would not even be able to back up or move forward a full train length. But for display, it would certainly be enough to entertain guests and allow you a proud display shelf. What I would recommend is you check with your local hobby shop and ask around to see if any MRR clubs are in your area. Your 2x8 space is very limited for solo, at home, space. But when you connect that to 12 other modeler's 8' module, all the sudden you have a grand layout! This way, you'd have an excellent display shelf for at home, and an operational module when at the club.
Mmmm - you could perhaps do something along these lines (based on a British track plan called "Attersee" from Carl Arendt's Micro Layouts site : http://www.carendt.com/microplans/pages/real/narrow/index.html) : And then, for display running, have one (or perhaps two, alternating) of the trains automatically shuttle back and forth between the removable extension cassette and one of the station tracks. Won't be a very long run, and the trains will be very short, even with a 4-foot removable extension cassette for running. But it would allow you to display 2-3 engines and maybe 6-10 coaches, with some automated movement when the extension cassette is put up. Smile, Stein
