HR_Line

Yes, that's correct. It's not a major issue for us and is a worthwhile sacrifice I think.

We have deliberated, cogitated and digested, and I think I've found a layout that suits our needs pretty well. Hopefully it strikes a good balance between having plenty of interest to the driver/signalman without cramming so much in that there is no room for scenery or industry. I've made the points off the loops trailing and will use the loop as the headshunt. I'm still undecided about stations; there could be a double sided platform inside the blue loop although it would be obscured by the double girder bridge, and I could also space the fan of sidings differently to create a terminus. Plan and pics attached for your perusal.

Wise words Chris. I'm going to take a step back for a day or two and figure out what we really want from the layout. As you suggest, it is easy to get mired in the possibilities and forget that often less is more. Thanks again particularly to you and Keith for your advice; I've learnt a lot over the last two pages and whatever we end up with your help will have been invaluable. I'll report back soon.

Epoxy would work but you'd probably need to drill a pilot hole into it otherwise it could split. If the item is big enough you could retap the resin, insert a helicoil and screw into that.

You are spot on with regards the joins Keith. There are 5 sections, all of different sizes. They can be seen more clearly on the pic below which was taken before I painted. The white patches that follow the joins are two-part filler that was used to get the levels spot on before the track was laid. The baseboards are joined with DCC Concepts baseboard dowels (3 per join) and the track is soldered onto brass screws although the bridges will be 'dropped in', as will one piece of track due to the angle across the join. So far so good.

Thanks again Chris - certainly food for thought. I had envisaged the turntable in area B as that will be mountains and I thought it would be fun to have some sheds built into the mountainside. It would also allow two tracks to use the turntable although I don't know if that would be of much benefit. Using area C for sidings would help with the access but I see the issue would be where to put the headshunt. I could swap the point on the green loop that feeds the two southern sidings around (see pic) but that would presumably affect the mainline direction? It would also require a 90 degree crossing over the track going to the turntable from the other direction and it looks like a dogs dinner but might that be the only way to provide a fan of sidings to area C? In my head had imagined two users, each with control of an area (A or C), with B (the turntable) being switchable to both. Whether this works electrically or functionally I know not!

Thanks again Chris. I have loosely laid some track and the turntable in the sort of configurations I had in mind, but as you will have gathered I am not well versed in the usability of various track configurations. I will definitely be taking the advice offered and wiring the tracks in different directions. The droppers are in place but I can use some tape to change the colours as necessary.

I hadn't fully appreciated that the original design had avoided 'wrong-line' running in this way - thank you for the explanantion and drawings. It's a shame that area A is quite small compared to B/C but there we are.

Thanks everybody for your inputs - very useful. Ah. I hadn't appreciated this and have installed the droppers assuming both mainlines would run in the same direction. I have updated the paper plan to show how I've installed them (the red wire is on the right hand rail and the black is on the left hand rail when facing in the direction of the arrows). I had the swap in polarity being provided by cuts in the orange tracks as shown. I can probably live with half the black droppers being +'ve but it's not ideal is it! Wow, that's amazing, thank you! I've actually mixed a few Streamline points and some flexible track in with the setrack and there was a lot of cutting to make it all fit together but you've interpreted the layout perfectly. The pic attached shows where we are today with the layout. Track is pinned and droppers installed but still working on where the electrical blocks should be and reading up on cab control. I had thought a vague understanding of electrics gained from working on building sites with domestic electricians might have been enough to muddle through, but this is another world altogether*. I'm now leaning towards getting the areas A, B and C completed rather than trialing different options. This would allow me to get all the wiring done (I'm going to motorise points and the turntable, and would people also recommend some sort of track detector to avoid collisions?) in one go and the scenic work to begin. Would trailing points be preferable? It's not something I'd considered tbh.

The gradients are ok. I've tested the track as it is and all our stock runs without difficulty. When you say a standard crossover do you mean a much shorter one? It would have been simpler I suppose but I think the longer meandering ones add a bit of interest, including a nice raised section that goes over a long bridge. The scarm pic attached shows the layout in relief (obviously mine is a bit longer due to the additional leg but you get the idea).

Good idea, thanks Keith. On the wiring I am not on top of it by any means! Are you sure I'd need reverse loop wiring though - both mainlines run continuously (they are effectively figure 8's)?

Hello to all. I’m looking for some advice regarding the OO gauge layout I’m currently building. I am aware that the style will not be to everybody’s taste and has little of the ‘real world’ about it, but the main user is 8 years old and, after long discussions and debate we have decided that this is well suited to his requirements. Keen-eyed readers will note a striking similarity between the layout and the famed Granite, Gorge & Northern created by John Armstrong for Atlas. I have added a ‘leg’ to make it ‘L’ shaped, included a passing loop for both mainlines and reduced the number of crossings from two to one but otherwise it is pretty close to the original in design and scale. Max gradient is 3% which will be ok with our stock and curves are minimum 2nd radius. It splits into 5 sections for moving/storage. The next step is to decide on what goes into the three zones marked A, B and C on the rather rudimentary Plan that I attach (I only have a paper version I’m afraid). The red and blue are the mainlines and the dashed orange are the auxiliary lines to allow moving from one mainline to the other. We have a turntable which I am inclined to put in area B (there is walk around space that allows some access to that corner), with perhaps an archetypal terminus in area C for one user and something similar or an inglenook set up in A fort the other user. I think a Minories or Ashburton would be a step too far but happy to entertain all possibilities at this stage. It would be good if area C had direct access to the turntable too. What do you think? As I said it’s mainly going to be used by my son who enjoys watching the trains go round and round, but I’m thinking that there should also be features that engage other users and will keep him interested as he gets older, whilst not being too cluttered with track (we’re hoping the hobby will extend to building scenery, buildings, electrics, etc). The baseboards have been made and the track has been laid as per the plan shown (ie: red, blue and orange track is in situ as are droppers to each section of track) so I’d be grateful if your suggestions could bear that in mind; I’m not minded to start again on a completely different layout at this stage! There is also a river running between the red and blue passing loops that isn't shown on the attached plan. Operation will be DC (cab control) and most of the track and points we have are Peco Setrack - again, I know there are alternatives that some favour but they are what we have and given the available space seem a practicable choice. Any advice will be much appreciated. Rob.