Proposed N Scale Track Plan

yea Im going to start with the cork tomorrow...

Was talkin to dude at local shop about DCC, it was the first time it was explained to me that i have EVER understood it...

so theres another spanner in the woiks...

 

What thickness cork are you going to use? I'd love DCC but = tooooo many $$$$$$$$$$$$$

 

its actually at mums, its about 1-2-3mm not sure... its really thin..

Agree on the DCC costs...

... but remember you dont have to DCC all your locos at once.. dude in the shop has been doing 1 a mth for few yrs now.. hes gettin there slowly..
just not sure how you would go with multi consists..

you should consider wiring up your layout for both DC and DCC.... another spanner..

there is a great club down here with a all aussie layout, thats DCC saturday nights, and DC sundays

 

JBT, if your not gonna be running a lot of locos, but would like to upscale to a 'real' DCC system in the future, a Bachmann EZ-DCC system will get you started for under $100. Doesnt run many locos, and doesnt have about 90% of what the other systems have, but its also 90% cheaper!

I got cork from Hearns Hobbies in Melbourne before I left Aus. You can get it in either full HO width, or N scale. Its 3mm thick and 6' long (2 x 6' in N scale). I bought the N scale stuff, even though I intended doing HO, purely because its more flexible and can be bent to follow curves without cutting it into section like the 30mm wide stuff, and 2 pieces side by side is poifect for HO. Its cheap as chips... LEss than $1 a foot. I dont think you can get cork any cheaper than that in aus.

 

Thanks for the tips on DCC guys. I'll look into that at a later date. Must get this layout up and running first.

UP Phill has put me onto some foam underlay which I'll look at. 3mm sheet cork is what I've used in the past. I believe Clark Rubber also have some stuff for gaskets that some folks here are using.

Well, back to marking out the new layout board and getting ready for the first nervous cut.

 

good luck JBT

 

Thanks. BTW after drawing this all out on the ply and thinking hard about the clearances and cuts etc., I decided to go back to version 1 with the smaller upper loop and exposed track around the west side.

Reasons:

1. It was giving me a constant headache trying to figure out all the clearance problems - too many $ for Panadol;
2. I would need an extra sheet of ply ($$$);
3. I was only gaining just 1 (one) inch extra radius (14.5' to 15.5");
4. It was going to be an absolute biatch getting at all the track hidden under the loop for cleaning and maintenance; and
5 There was bound to be some other unforseen gotcha after the ply was cut.

I guess the guy who originally designed the track plan had thought this through

 

Please link to V1 - I'm confused with where you're at now

 

Look at the first post in this thread.

 

LMAO.... oooooookay.

 

No1 is still an excellent plan John. Start warming up that jigsaw

 

Thanks Phill. Work has started and jig saw tests OK. I'll post progress on the general board.

 

Hi JBT

Saw your plan just as I started to lay the foundation of my first layout. I have to say WOW! I was all grins about my plan until I saw yours . So for three days and nights I've stared at your version one and I have come to this conclusion, could I have a copy of your plan?? My original was going to be on 2 80"x36" doors end to end. I think I could widen the radius on the turns and move the yard to the second door and greatly expand the industry section. But overall for even just one door your plan is by far the best I've seen. The thought of telling the wife that I'm working on just one more version of "The Great Prolect" scares me! I might not be able to lay track with broken arms . Hey I give her credit though she hasn't killed me after working on my last plan for over 7 months (wow where have I been)? Any chance I could bum the XTrkCAD file of version 1 from you? Thanks!!

[ June 12, 2005, 11:59 AM: Message edited by: Mag lev ]

 

Welcome to trainboard Mag. You;ve popped in on probably the best layout design thread I've seen in a long time, not just based on the plan, but on the general feedback.

Feel free to post and ask anything you want bud

 

Mag Lev: email sent.

Colonel: Running mostly freight with only one passenger train which I may end up selling. Yes, I would have preferred a through yard but would not have been able to achieve the staged train lengths or numbers of trains I want in the space available - unless I sell the house and move to something like you have available (jealous me)

I'll lay out the yards and try it out for a few months. It will need tweaking or maybe a re-design of that area but I'll be able to assess that better after some use.

I'm very pleased with progress thus far.

 

JBT:

Judging by the pictures you've posted, your layout is up and running in record time.

Have fun.....


Stay cool and run steam....

 

Thanks Bob, will do.

John

 

Any more recent photos of this? Any changes you made, or are happy with it?

 

since I've copied this layout, wondering if theres any update??

UPPhil?