Hiya - Returning to hobby

Hi all. I had an HO layout as a kid and loved it but as I got old enough to actually do a good job and care about the details I was also too busy to do anything and then off to school. My folks tore it apart when they moved and I eventually got the rolling stock and it has sat in a box until recently. I decided I wanted to actually get back into the hobby and tried to figure out a layout design that would work with the available space. After running into the realities of HO scale locomotive and car lengths I decided that N scale made more sense. The "local" hobby shop gave me a fair price for my old stuff toward n scale gear and away I went. Ok, so that didn't get me very far, but it helped.

Where I'm at now?
NCE Powercab
Bachmann SD9 UP w/dcc. Actually not a bad little machine. Seems a bit noisy at low speed but not bad. My old ones had the same motor hum at low speed too. For the money I'm pleased but plan to go with one or two more locos and will probably get Kato and/or Atlas.
2 flat cars, two covered hoppers, one box car. Each set being a different brand so I could check out some of the differences.
Small oval plus a turnout of Kato Unitrack. I'm planning to use 13.75" as my small radius and 15" as my normal. I can afford enough space for turning around with that, it's having enough total length for HO that was the issue. Even with 15" radius turns I'd run into the silliness of having half the train going one way while the other half was already going the other direction. Add that to the limitations on rolling stock...
I'm still debating track plans. Right now I'm torn between a point to point layout that would eventually be an L shape with a yard and an extended oval with delivery sidings and run arounds on the inside. Even if I could make that decision I'd probably change my plan a few dozen more times, but that's fine, it keeps me busy planning and learning rather than spending money and finding out I should have bought something else six months from now.

 

Hi remyrw, welcome. I second what Ken (BoxcabE50) said, though I've been in N-Scale for only 35 years. The N-Scale forum has the largest participation of our scale forums. I'd say that every subject is covered by someone, if not a whole bunch, so ask away. In the meantime, just wander through the N-Scale forum. Remember, ignorance is only bad if you don't ask the question.

 

Thanks for the welcome, guys.
I'm definitely finding equipment interesting. I specifically decided to go with "modern" era since I wasn't impressed with the steam options, particularly not the ones I was willing to pay for. It seems like there's a decent selection of locos and cars for the 50's on, even if sometimes the options are limited in a particular category. One things that I'm finding annoying regarding equipment has nothing to do with the scale and everything to do with the prototype. The darn locos and cars have gotten longer and longer while my available length shrank.
Right now I think my primary industries will be the oil/propane wholesale (bulk storage and distribution but no production facilities) and / or intermodal shipping transfer and loading yard. Both are busy rail served industries that don't actually require a LOT of rail length. There are prototypes everywhere from one or two cars at a time through hundreds. I'm a freelancer and basing it "somewhere in Texas" just because I want something other than the pervasive green that seems to happen in many layouts. I figure that gives me decent flexibility on equipment too. If I see something in non local paint that I just have to have I can justify it as a recent purchase from the other RR.

 

remyrw, welcome aboard. Sounds like you have pretty solid plans. Please keep us informed of your progress.

 

I wish the plans were solid. I have a few solid ideas I want to use, but I haven't even settled on whether this is a HCD setup, modular, L shaped, shelf style, or maybe a U...
I have a roughly 8'x8' area but that is inclusive of walking space around two sides and it would be MUCH better to not really use all of that anyway. If for no other reason than practical time and money constraints.
I'm also not interested in something where I build one module at a time toward some larger plan, but can't really run any trains until I've gotten three or four modules done. If I go modular it would still be done as a set and just designed to be more portable or easily altered if I decided to tear out a section. I'm still messing around with SCARM and Anyrail while I think through layout ideas and decide how much I want to take on, but realistically I'll probably do a two or three section L shape that fits in 7x7 but is only about 2.5' deep. If I decide I want a functional loop I'll make one side 3.5' deep and create the outer loop on that area alone and the other section would be part of a switching yard or something.

My design criteria are pretty simple, but make my life tough. If I do a loop I want to be able to set one decent length train (not a loco and four cars, but I don't expect to run twenty cars either, not in the space I have unless I did a U shape) and just let that run while I do switching chores and other operational tasks. Maybe I take control of the looper now and then to have it do something operational, but I shouldn't have to interfere with the main line to operate the second train effectively. It may need to travel on the main line to get to another area but will not foul the main while I drop off or pick up cars and such. I also am not a fan of sidings that just end. That's fine for a service line or maybe one delivery area, but I prefer to have at least a run around on something like that so the loco can drop off a car and get back to the main without issue. It's a pet peeve of mine but it does add complexity that is tough to accommodate on a small layout.
When it comes to the area, I say Texas, but it could be anywhere in the south western US during any time in the diesel era. Heck, if I see a steam loco and cars I like I will just say it's a historical group or something. I'm not sweating whether all the dates line up. Let's face it, if you look out the window you can see cars, trucks, trains, planes and buildings that date from almost any time in the last 100 years. All of them are in use today. The building I'm sitting in right now was built almost 80 years ago as a diaper factory. Today, after various additions and renovations it's a combination office, warehouse and shipping facility for a compressed gas and propane company.

*shrug* At some point I'll just say "ENOUGH" and whatever plan I'm most happy with will become the Home Depot shopping list for table/shelving and foam. I'm leaning toward the L shaped point to point because it gives me the most active operations and track space with minimal cost and space used in the room. It does mean no relaxing while the train circles though. I'm one of those who enjoys both scenarios.