Need layout looked over, please

Thanks guys.

Martyn, the 4x8 section has me conserned as well. Getting to the back is a bit of a get to even without anything on the benchwork so I know what you mean.

I was thinking about adding a curves on the left side of the layout. And I have planned the south end of the layout to be 4" to 5" higher then the Mill Camp area giving about a 4% grade. Also planned a loading area in the south end of the layout with a steam donkey.

Just didnt get it into the plans, been working on the mill area.

Hello Colonel, the right side need to be a 4% grade and its a short run as well not giving me much space to put much in. I wanted my (duck under, liftout, liftup) to be level at 4" to 5" higher than the Mill camp.

I think my space is just a little too small for HO. Might have to think about N scale which is ok with me, I only have a MDC Shay and 2 sets of disconnects right now.

Thanks you guys, I'll keep at it.

 

Yes I know Colonel Paul.hehe I have been a member of the fourms for awhile now and have been reading the N scale fourms the most. Seems to be more people posting on the N scale then any other scale. If I could get a Shay in N scale it wouldnt be a question. I have had your layout site bookmarked for a while now and the first layout that I did was N scale because of the amount of space I have in this small room. N scale would give much more trackage for sure.

Well off to try my hand at a N scale layout plan.

Raymond

 

Sorry to go against the grain Raymond, but I think for a detail orientated logging layout, HO has way more advantages than N scale, and I have seen good quality layouts in larger scales in less space than you have available.

Sorry guys, just the way I see it

Now if you wanted to do a main line with long trains & gentle curves in the same space, N has HO beaten hands down. But logging is all about sharp curves, and there are some really nice HO logging loco's out there now...

 

Narrow Gauge HO does not take much more space than Standarg Gauge N. And if you want super detailing - HO is the way to go.

As for the current plan - take the 4x8 loop and wrap it around the room - discard the second loop.

 

Very nice layout. Both look good. But the second does add to more railing. U did a unique plan for a small room with the dogbone ends under each other. Look forward to seeing more on your layout

 

Rob do you mean like this?

This is what I think will work best for me. Simple with room to put in the detail I want to learn to do.

Sawmill on the left side and Engine house and work shops one the right. Worker camp in the middle.

The long left side is a river run that feeds the Sawmill's log pond. I wanted the train to run the river's edge.

I have the loading area where the door to the room is. Might make it a liftout or liftup, still thinking about that. Track height is about 55" so even a duckunder is no problem. The layout is flat for the most part but will give me the space to get the detail I want.

I'm going to start making old growth trees in the range of 150' HO scale. Today I found in the wild flowers I planned for my family some baby breath I think it is called and they look like the Maple trees with no leaves like the one's in my yard now, so I plucked a bunch. hehe

Its funny how you start looking at things in your model scale.

I just want to thank everyone that has given me input on this project. Keep it coming

Raymond

 

Hey, Raymond! The plan is looking a lot better. I assume you want continuous running, but have you considered that those Shay's will take nearly an hour to traverse the whole layout? Just kidding. Personally, I would add another town or two (or three!), and an interchange. I don't know much about logging, but a railroad with a purpose will be more interesting than just switching cars around at random. You might want to think of an area high in the mountains where they pick up the freshly cut logs, then travel to the sawmill area (via a couple switchbacks), drop off the logs, then pick up the freshly cut boards, and take them into town (no trucking allowed!), and then interchange with the outside world. Adding a service facility in another town with water, coal, sand, repair shop, maybe a hotel, will give the Shays a place to go after a hard days work, and the workers a place to eat and sleep. The interchange could bring in coal, sand, mail, milk, people, whatever, with the Shays (or that 0-6-0 you've had your eye on ) doing all the work. For crying out loud, that world you've created NEEDS this railroad! Have fun! </font>

• P.S. There is a new book called "Climax!" (at least I think that's the title, someone else will know for sure) that you'll probably need add to your library!</font>

 

I like the new plan. It gives you a lot of space to put in a lot of details. Should be fairly quick to get started too.

The only thing I'd do is rearrange the town at the top so that the main runs through the middle of that section then not only can you have things on both sides of the track but you'll find those turnouts a lot easyer to maintain.

Other than that I'd probably try and make the main line loop around twice and add the extra town or two like pete suggested but that's just because thats what I like and probably doesn't suit your interests.

 

Hey Raymond, I like this one lots. I don't really think it needs anything at all. Tho I do think it would be nice to have an interchange to represent the ouside world. But otherwise great.

You said that this was mostly level. Can I make a suggestion? Make the scenery on the left drop dramatically. Put a dam on the river next to the mill, to create the pond, then let the river drop so it drops about 6 inches + from there to the lower left corner. This would put the track on this side on the side of a steep ravine, which is very prototypical. Then keep the hillside going up above the track too.

The logical thing is to consider it that the town is at one end, and the track runs counter clockwise to the loading area. If you were to put any staging tracks in, I'd stick them on the righhand wall, with their turnouts feeding into them in the town. You'd only really need one or two tracks, and that would give you a place to bring on and off boxcars to recieve the mill's lumber.

One last thing, add some buildings representing a lumber camp or fly-by-night town at the reload area. Think a couple of tents, some small cabins, and maybe one teeny storefront. Then you have an excuse to run a small passenger train, such as a gas electric car, doodlebug, etc....

 

Yes! Way better.

Does the passing siding near the door need to be three track? What's the plan there?

I'd say go for it. Once you get things going, you will find that you have a destination for the logs but no source. You will probably want to add a logging camp as some point - but I would get started with the main line and start working on that town - that will keep you busy for years....

 

Lookin' good, as has been mentioned, keep an eye on the depth of the "thick" section at the top, some of that trackage is getting on to the limit of an average person's reach...

The only other thing is that at the log loading area your potential movable section has a switch across the joint!

It's looking pretty good though.

[ 05. November 2002, 10:27: Message edited by: Martyn Read ]

 

Had an idea:

Move the three track loading area/passing siding to the right side then hide the curve in the upper right behind bulidings and trees so that a train appears to disappear - then you can run point to point from the town to the loading area when you feel like being serious - or when you just want to let 'er rip you still have the partially hidden loop.

 

Hello to my TrainBoard Friends,

Well I put the benchwork and sub roadbed up sence my last post, and now have been looking at scenery. But now I have a newbie question about what comes first.

It seems that I see alot of people laying track first then working on scenery, what is the reason for this and does it really matter?

Is thier a right or wrong step with Track and Scenery?

Is thier a problem with doing your scenery first before laying your track?

Other than noise and to help with the shape of the roadbed does cork roadbed serve?

I am doing a logging layout as most of you already know. Most real logging railroads just through the track on the ground without much if any roadbed ballast at all.

I ask because, I have more time then money right now and thier is alot of the rough scenery I can be doing now that doesnt cost alot of money. (mountians, river, waterfalls)

I am using the last plan I posted, it seem to work the best in my room. Do any of you feel your layouts evolves into something more then your paper layout plan? At this point in I have already made minor changes and adds to my layout that I didnt think about or didnt put on the paper layout. Does this happen with everyone?

Thank you for your time guys.
Raymond

P.S. Does anyone know where I might get any plans for a Sawmill?(any scale I can convert it) I would like to scatch build my buildings and I havent found any on the net.

 

The main reason for laying track before scenery is to give yourself time to test the track and the plan before the scenery is in place. It's easier to change the track around before putting in scenery. But if you are sure about the track plan, there is no reason not to start the scenery first.

 

Saktron,

I ended up having an area I could not simply reach over far enough to retrieve a derailed car without destroying some trees. There had never been a derailment over there, nor was there any reason to have one.

It was one of those over-sights as I was learning. I learned to NOT trust visitors no matter who they were, nor high an office they hold in some organization!

First the solution,
(then the sad reason it happened!)

The problem was solved by getting one of those 3 step folding kitchen ladder stools. I could then step up high enough that I could brace one hand on the layout, and reach the cars just 4" away from the wall across a 4 foot wide bench.

To have a strong place to brace my hand, I made a 6" square parking lot (empty) and in another a large sorta smooth flat rock. Both were placed 24" from the wall. Under these, I had two cleats that had a leg to the floor.

The parking lot was a piece of 3/4" plywood glued to the two cleats like an "L" with the leg bolted inside. I used the original piece of black construction paper, glued onto the plywood, since it was wrinkled, but still had the "white lines" marked for parking on it.

The "rock" was another plywood that was gouged into shape, then varnished and stained to look natural, with bits of foam foalige to blend in and mounted the same way.

Now, for what caused all this:

When the layout got bumped by a visitor, the cars fell off onto their sides over there out of reach.

The visitor started to lean over the layout to pick up the cars, by bracing his hand on a section of unsupported foam scenery, but I shouted at him to stop before he broke all the way through!

He was offended that I had shouted at him!

He never apologized, nor offered to help or pay to repair the damage. He just made a "Humph no damage done" and left! He has never been back, nor will he be invited. And if he reads this, it knows it could be dangerous for him to try to return.

He was another of those obnoxious people who walk in and and without so much as a "May I," "kiss my butt", or nothing, imediately picks up your new BRASS engine and doesn't even look to see if it might be coupled to some cars! Usually that is typical of kids, but I hope you wont run across the grown up kind. They always have something better than yours!

The nerve of these people infuriates me no end! They seem to take the attitude that since you built it in the first place, you can easily replace or repair it, so it is of no consequence, no big loss.

But it takes time away from enjoying my layout, because of their stupidity and lack of training to keep their hands off someone else's stuff!

Then he takes the "Oh well" attitude that makes you want to dismember him and dump the remaining garbage in an abandoned bottle well out on the prairie somewhere!

While planning his untimely demise, I got the idea while trying to figure out how to repair the deep sink hole broken in my scenery.

When I tried to push the broken pieces back up into place with a spare table leg, I got the idea about making myself a handy place that I COULD safely lean on.

I used a steak knife to slice around the edges of a piece of black construction paper that had been a parking lot by the building. There was no cross brace directly below.

That is how the two "lean on" supports came to be, one a repair in anger, the other an insurance measure.

Over the last 50 years, there have been a bunch of totally unexpected kinds of damage, some I did, most from other people.

"If it CAN happen, sooner or later, it WILL happen!" That is a true saying! So prepare for the unexpected!

 

Nice choice for a layout. May i make a suggestion. Make your passing sidings longer, start before and after the curve. My first layout i ended up having to extend my passing sidings. Raymond what era are u modeling? Hey Watash, sometimes u have to worry about the smaller animals too The ones with fur MY gravel pit use to get tore up by one of our cats. Sure i used kitty litter, but it was painted, go figure.

 

Hello my Trainboard.com friends,

Rob I hear what you saying about testing the track plan. I have my sub-board all in right now. I have already had do make come small changes with my track and river paths to make the scenery,track and river work togather and look better. Nothing big just bring the track closer to the edge and move the river path a little. I added a waterfall in the lower left cornner where the river starts. Something I didnt think about at the time of the paper planning. The waterfall area and most of the left side is ready for hard shell tonite.

Watash your right about some people, they are just plane rude. I play some online games and run into them all the time. I have the kitchen stools in my room now. Have been using it to get to the back side of my layout. With the stool I can get to every inch of my layout without any trouble. I like the your hand spots.

Railery I am modeling around the 1900' to about 1930' maybe. It is a logging layout only. The siding on the right side is my log loading area, but I was thing about taking the inter track and extend past the just past the curve.

Thank you all for your input, I need it.

Raymond