Hi Everyone! For those that know me last year was, well just ugly. It is time to move on and get to having some fun again. I left off with my tables partially built and have everything to complete them, I hope to have them done by the end of the month. I was going through SCARM trying to remember what I had planned for what and where. With my different perspective I decided to make a few changes. For one I ditched all of my #4 UniTrack turn outs for #6 UniTrack turn outs everywhere including the yard. This of course resulted in a much smaller, less hectic, but probably more reliable yard and overall layout I am guessing. I do lose some realistic touches in the yard like a true self-contained runaround track, but it is functional for my needs. I still have capacity to serve 4 rail focused industries instead of 5 and I was able to add a reverse loop section. While not huge and will not hold the longest of trains, it will change direction making the layout more usable and fun overall. If I go with 1.5% "track to bridge clearance", my max grade is 1.92%. If I bump that to 1.75" my max grade is still only 2.25%, so I am leaning toward the higher clearance (thoughts?). Have a look see what you think - ALL opinions and suggestions ARE appreciated. For a recap, the top right 48" deep section will have a town over the upper right portion of track starting at the first turn out at the top and going all the way down to the curves on the right side (the town is about 28"x30")to about where the bump out in the layout starts, the tunnels will start just after those turns. The town will go in from the edge and in about 30" then start to slope down near the back side of the yard. I have access to the side where the "48" is so I will make that a removable panel for easy access. The top left side will be a mountain with a track cut into the hill ala DIY and Digital RR (THANKS Jimmy). The center section will be the scene of a large as of yet unknown industry. I am hoping for spectacular here, animation and all. The bottom section will host other industry and a.... shall we say "seedier" lower rent town. I am not after any particular era, but a 50's 60's 70's time frame lets me have a huge range of buildings. I will have steam and diesel. Once I perfect my road name changes, I will have several specific cars and engines. THANKS AGAIN! Rob
I have one of the slowest builds in history myself. As long as you're having fun, you're doing it right! Looking forward to seeing it take shape.
Nice layout and space! Can you indicate the outside edges for which you have walk-around access? Depending on where you have access, it might be helpful to draw a 30" radius arc centered on your inside corners, to show where a 30" reach extends into the corners. I like the sweeping throat lead and runaround track for your yard. Throw in a meandering ridge or creek to make the choice for that route appear natural. I also like the reversing track's wandering path, and the outer loop's path to meet it. Think about how natural terrain could have made these paths a logical choice. I like the way the tracks cross over each other while traversing from front to back in the bend of the layout. But you have room for a sweeping 28R, 90 degree curve in the upper right corner, that could continue sweeping and climbing around, towards the front as it crosses over the the lower track. In turn, that lower track could also use a sweeping 28R or 19R curve to pass underneath. Long trains on sweeping curves look awesome! I'm curious about the location of the double crossover at top. It is the only connection between the inner, upper loop for the yard, and the outer loop, I would consider replacing or augmenting it with a pair of opposite, single crossovers along the front edge, in front of the yard.
Looks like something I would like to build. Flip it over top to bottom. Where the cabinet is will be a door and the blank wall is a closet. Opposite the closet is a window and heat/air register so. it would have to be narrower. But much the same.
View attachment 272171 THANKS ALL! Here is a small update to allow a reverse loop for each direction. Your point about thinking about how natural terrain could have made these paths a logical choice is truly the make-or-break challenge. I think there is a lot of wow potential here, just have to dial it in. The is the downside of designing with software, takes a lot of imagination! The top far right section of the track will actually be inside of a raised area that will hold a town on top of it. As for the top left turn, I had it as a nice 28" sweeper but it drove it all the way into the corner out of reach, that is why I tightened it up and are going to make that entire corner a mountain with a railroad cut thorough running through it to semi hide that curve. The crossover in the front is a great idea, I had one there before but moved it when I had the elevations going the other way, then I forgot about it. I will add that back THANKS FOR THE FEEDBACK!! I appreciate it! Rob
Sorry- the red line is to show where I have access and can stand in front of. everything else is against the wall. Basically the 3 long outer edges are all against walls.
I think I see what you're up to with the "escape track" leading to the shortest track in the yard (also the top-most in the drawing) and I'm wondering whether a second connection to that track from before the set of turnouts (switches) would make for some additional flexibility as a longer yard lead. Also, I'm sure you've heard this already, but a 48 inch reach at the top right is pushing things a bit...
UMTRR I am not really reaching that far. The Red line shows open area so that is easily reachable. You are right if I could not reach it it would take a cherry picker
