I just got back from a week long trip to Yellow Stone National Park (very nice trip BTW) and saw TONS of trains near Salt Lake City. One thing I notices all the way from Utah to California is that when there were tracks running parllel to the high way, they were more than a qaurter mile out there. For those of you who have seen a lot of the country you know that a lot of it is just rolling hills or flat plains. I was thinking, on every layout I have seen, the track is always very close to the edge at all or most points. I would really like to see a layout that at one part is say 4 feet wide and the tracks are toward the back, with nothing but a feild and some grain silos (maybe) in between. I think most of us get a custom to commen layout design. When designing your next layout, why not make it wide enough you have some scenery between yourself and the trains, and not just a little but a LOT of scenery. Think about this guys, and other ways to make layouts more realistic. One day I will build a large layout, and I will try to get away from the spagetti track design and have large open areas with long trains stretched out. Example proto image by Jerry Sharp
Good idea Craig, it shows the advantage in scenery/track ratio of N. The downside is it could be a little difficult getting to a problem located 3 foot back from the edge... unless you have very long arms! Gary.
I like the idea of a lot of scenery Craig, but most of us do not have that sort of space to play with! Some of you Americans with a basement at your disposal may be able to get somewhere near the ideal, but not many of us Brits have the space needed. My layout space is very cramped, so the tracks predominate to get the operation I desire, but it would be nice to have a section on which the scenery is the dominant thing. Particularly in the US, the scenery frequently dwarfs the trains
Not a bad concept Craig if you can afford the space. I suppose I'm guilty of doing the opposite always trying to fit maximum trackage in limited spaces but as they say "different strokes" As you can see from this picture I have tried to maximise the amount of track to enable operations to suite my needs. Your concept is good I'd be interested to see if anybody had modelled similar concepts. [ 14 August 2001: Message edited by: Colonel ]</p>
Craig One N trackplan concept that focuses on a single mainline (allowing for more scenery) is oneTrak See this webpage: http://www.nvntrak.org/nb/onetrak_concept.php Another good resource is the Layout Design SIG primer found here: http://www.vetmed.auburn.edu/~smithbf/BFSpages/LDSIGprimer/TOC.html And perhaps the best book (IMHO) on layout design, "Trackplanning for Realistic Operation, 3rd Ed." by John Armstrong (Kalmbach softcover Book number 12148 MSRP $18.95 at most hobby shops). eNjoy Don B
