I have posted this topic on Dav'e request "This is a 15x13 foot N scale layout plan in its working stages. The blue tracks on the bottom is a four track staging yard, black tracks the main layout tracks, and the red tracks the coal branch line ending at the bottom of the pic to a coal mine. The coal mine area is to be elevated about 6 inches to hide the staging yard to make it hidden yet accessable. The actual track arrangements in the visible yard is still yet to be determined to make better use of it but I want it to hold at least 20 car trains and have an engine facility. The peninsula is a mountain range where the coal branchline comes off and starts the climb about half way through the curve and becomes separated from the mainline by a river. At bottom of the pic is also an industrial area(paper mill maybe) that will be in front of the coal tracks but "down the hill" from them as the coal tracks are elevated. I did this all on the bottom to maximize the mainline run from there to the visable yard/staging tracks, though I may move the industrial area to the left side of the layout to remove the "cluster" from the bottom. Any comments welcomed, even negatives, lol. Thanks"
Dave, Looking at your plan i do like the overall concept especially the through staging yard. I would possibly put a few more industries on the layout to keep your interest once it has been built. The peninsula area (right side) would be ideal for some type of lumber industry since the mountainous area would have a lot of trees therefor you could run a train between it and your proposed paper mill? It will be interesting to watch your progress on the layout. I look forward to seeing more updates
Dave, I replied to you privately in an email, but I echo what Paul suggests. The bottom of your layout is well done. The top could use some more action to make your layout feel larger, and provide another area for operations.
Colonel, thanks for posting this pic. The lumber industry seems like a good idea, maybe place it on top of the peninsula, right side where the right curve starts. I may also place another industry somewhere on the left side of the layout. One other thing I'm deciding whether or not to do is to make the track going into the right side of the peninsula double tracked all the way to the coal junction, and add a crossover there.
Dave, I would definately double track out of the yard to the coal junction and provide a crossover as you would be able to run a train out of the yard to the coal siding while running a second train around the layout.
Dave, In my email I wasn't very clear about what I meant. You could have posted the text portion of your message and left the graphic off and I would have got help. It occurred to me afterwards, since I didn't say that, you might have wondered what I was talking about. I'm glad you got help.
Thanks anyway. I figured I'd find someone here that does routeen(spelled wrong) posting of pics and ask them for posting it. What I should do is open up a small website for the model RR but don't know how to do it. I might look into Yahoo or MSN. I could be wrong but they seem to be "instant" websites meaning that they're easy to set up and get them going.
If that's what you want - I like the single track section here. It forces a train coming off the branch to have to wait for a mainline train to clear before proceeding into the yard.
You know Paul raises an interesting point. You have a large room, and you can have a great roomy layout without a duck under, which gets to be no fun real fast. If you use 16 inch to 18 inch minimum curves, you can still have lots of running room. I think I would be inclined to play with the design - bare bones, mainline and benchwork shape only until you get something you want, and you don't have a duck under. For one example, how about the letter G in the room. PS. Most N scalers would "kill" to have a 15 by 13 foot room to run N goodies. In N scale you would have what John Armstrong calls a "large" layout, which is the second largest layout you can have. The last large layouts are called "club" layouts. If you really want a long mainline and no duck under you might want to consider a double decker. Check out my Nolix references here and see if you could work one into your area. I have 120 foot mainline in a 7 by 13 foot area, double decked. [ 20. September 2002, 03:55: Message edited by: rsn48 ]
Rick, I'm curious to see your track plan and benchwork. Is it the G shaped? 120 feet of mainline especially in N scale is a lot of running. I figured that my plan is only about 60 to 70 feet. My guess is that the nolix uses alot of the track footage. Is yours a folded dogbone layout?
There is a duckunder near the bottom left of the layout. The benchwork (which is already built except the peninsula) is 55 inches high so ducking under isn't too big of a deal. The benchwork is open grid made out of 1.5x5 foot modules. I would like to do a doubledecker as that idea is still in the open but sometimes I think that there is a limit to everything. I hear stories about layouts that is never finished due to such a large size and track maintence headaches. If more than one person is operating/building a huge layout such as doubledeckers then it would be awesome to have one. As a solo operator/builder(I think I'm the only model RR'er in the 50 mile radious) , a decent sized single level layout is good for simplicity reasons.
Dave, Yes the nolix has about 80 feet of track, but remember over two thirds of the track is visible, so it isn't like my buddies double tracked helix with 150 feet of track, and the train disappearing for the entire time. Some thoughts on layout running with a friend. I am thinking once I get my layout to a certain stage I will have an open house for neighbours to drop in and see it. I suspect I can snag one operator at least that way. I don't pay attention to miles, and I suspect others don't as well. If you were fifty miles from me, but it was accessable by a reasonable highway, then in my head that is only an hour one way. Were I go on Friday nights in Vancouver, BC to run on an HO layout, certainly is much closer to my house than your fifty mile limit. But you know what; it takes me close to 45 minutes to get there. So not much difference in time between the one hour drive to your place, and the 45 minute drive I do. If its what you would really like build it. I have all the benchwork up except for the nolix area, and I have some of the benchwork constructed for it as well. When my son leaves (and I not only lose a son but an operator as well...lol), I will have this larger N scale layout that really cries out for at least one other operator; maybe two. I am just going on faith that some how I will cross that bridge when I come to it. If you are satisfied with what you have, then certainly go with it. But I would really really really recommend you struggle with it to do away with a duck under. And it shouldn't be that much of a struggle, you have lots of room. It took me six distinct different drawings, with completely different approaches to the room, before I settled on benchwork shape and a basic mainline run. I haven't yet drawn what I will be doing with the layout beyound the mainline. However I am starting on this as I just purchased 90 feet (one box) of Peco 55 track. So my trigger finger is getting itchy.
I have posted this for Dave The track coming from the right side of the layout is now double tracked all the way to the coal junction with a crossover, and added a few more industries. And I also changed the visible yard tracks. I plan on using Atlas code 55 flextrack and no. 7 turnouts with 18 inch min. radious curves. It is freelance set somewhere in western Pennsylvania with Conrail as the primary power. I'm thinking about adding one other staging track and have it appear on the left side of the layout from a tunnel coming from below the branchline connecting to the mains as an interchange for a shortline. Maybe I'll have it come out about half way up the left side. [ 20. September 2002, 07:15: Message edited by: Colonel ]
I could move that crossover that is currently at the top right to the coal junction, making a double crossover there, so that way the through trains can cross over to the primary main( the track furthest back towards the wall), making more room for a yard lead, doubled up as a passing track. I put in the top- right crossover initially so cars going to/from the cement facility(top right) could go into the yard more easily. I could just leave it there and just add the double crossover also. As for the engine facility area, I'll probably add another track coming from the engine track lead and connect it to the bottom yard ladder. I may also add a RIP track .
Dave, I think concentrating those crossovers in the same place to create a "control point" will make a nice feature and will make a focal point in that area as if you put in (dummy even) signals you can hold trains there while you cross others over.
