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New member with ambitious project


Capitan Cripple
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Hi Guys,

 

Been modelling since I was 6 years old and just finished the purchase of my house! This means its model railway time, but this time I will do it the way I wanted to when I was a child :D

 

Its about time I join RM Web.

 

I am currently building a large outbuilding for the project codenamed "Harolds Gate" I hope this to be finished by Feb.

 

I have been planning the layout for two years now and cant wait to get started, I already have a large collection of Locos and rolling stock!

 

Any suggestions of where I can post the project and keep everyone updated?

 

See attached track plan and let me know your thoughts!

 

Thanks

Ross

post-35755-0-66808000-1545228912_thumb.jpg

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Welcome aboard,

 

Several awkward looking features in the layout plan, that I feel will pall if built as drawn.

 

You want free movement for yourself when operating. A duck under or lifting bridge to get access to the storage yard will quickly outlive its welcome. I would suggest eliminating it by slinging that single flyover line round the rear of the storage yard. (You get your flyover over the purple and blue lines on the board on the other side from the station.)

 

Likewise the very narrow accesses at the other end. Why not have a broader central protrusion than that presently shown for the TMD, and have both carriage sidings and TMD side by side on it? (There can be a 'scenic break' spine wall between the two so you only see one at a time.) Then you have wider access from either side. Would probably also offer easier curvature into the carriage sidings, that curve on the yellow track looks very tight.

 

Good luck with it.

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Welcome aboard,

 

Several awkward looking features in the layout plan, that I feel will pall if built as drawn.

 

You want free movement for yourself when operating. A duck under or lifting bridge to get access to the storage yard will quickly outlive its welcome. I would suggest eliminating it by slinging that single flyover line round the rear of the storage yard. (You get your flyover over the purple and blue lines on the board on the other side from the station.)

 

Likewise the very narrow accesses at the other end. Why not have a broader central protrusion than that presently shown for the TMD, and have both carriage sidings and TMD side by side on it? (There can be a 'scenic break' spine wall between the two so you only see one at a time.) Then you have wider access from either side. Would probably also offer easier curvature into the carriage sidings, that curve on the yellow track looks very tight.

 

Good luck with it.

Thanks for the feedback!

 

I will take a look if I can change anything using advice.

 

Thanks Mate

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One piece of advice I would offer to anyone building a massive layout such as you are planning is to try and divide it up into several smaller projects that can be completed individually, trying to take on too much can become daunting when time passes and there is nothing completed that can be operated and enjoyed, also consider that a layout that size will need a lot of maintenance, track will need to be cleaned and that is a lot of track.  Ensure that every inch of track is easily accessible for that purpose and also to rescue derailed stock etc.  I can speak from experience as I once built a loft layout a mere 24ft x 12ft and frankly it was too big for one person and it was dismantled without ever being completed.

 

Jim 

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Welcome to the forum Ross, I guess you'd post your project in the layout topics sub section which is part of the Layout and Workbench section. You have a big old plan there and my only concern at the moment would be the length of time taken to build it. As jim said earlier break it down into smaller projects. Also in the plan the curves do look a bit sharp so you might want to look at them more closely. That said enjoy what your doing and keep asking the questions.

 

Steve.

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Hi Guys,

 

Been modelling since I was 6 years old and just finished the purchase of my house! This means its model railway time, but this time I will do it the way I wanted to when I was a child :D

 

Its about time I join RM Web.

 

I am currently building a large outbuilding for the project codenamed "Harolds Gate" I hope this to be finished by Feb.

 

I have been planning the layout for two years now and cant wait to get started, I already have a large collection of Locos and rolling stock!

 

Any suggestions of where I can post the project and keep everyone updated?

 

See attached track plan and let me know your thoughts!

 

Thanks

Ross

 

Hi Ross and welcome to the forum.

 

Could you let us know the scale of the plan - are the dimensions shown in centimetres?.

 

If you haven't already you might want to consider adding a high degree of insulation to the inner walls of the building and spacing the layout away from the walls a little bit to allow air to flow to minimise condensation spots.

 

I would suggest having a good check on the width of baseboards as lower back damage might build up unnoticed - if needs be perhaps design a very sturdy portable structure with soft padding you can lean over and rest on.

 

A layout design might take into account how its going to be operated including if you would like to run trains while still building part of the layout.

 

Also some 3D model railway layout design software allows you to run virtual trains and move your position around so you can see if you or visitors get the right view of your trains. 

 

You seem to have at least one gradient in your plan - have you heard of DCC Concepts Powerbase?: a system primarily designed for allowing locos to haul better up gradients - however it has to be installed before the track is laid. I've installed it on a club layout's scenic gradient just in case.

 

If planning to use set track on the layout allow for lots of expansion gaps - on a big layout like this they may affect the fit of the track plan onto the layout. The club layout I mentioned seems to have suffered a bit due to the heat in our wooden club hut this summer.

 

Lastly there is a drastic option but it depends on the detail of your layout and timescale - make the layout not as one piece but like an exhibition layout with a series of baseboards. Then if you have to move house or the outbuilding roof develops a leak you don't wipe out your dream layout. Also having lots of connectors between boards makes electrical fault finding much easier. If the point motors are under the boards its much easier to separate a board, put it on a bench on its side and get good access to do a permanent adjustment.

 

Regards

 

Nick

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Hi Ross and welcome to the forum.

 

Could you let us know the scale of the plan - are the dimensions shown in centimetres?.

 

If you haven't already you might want to consider adding a high degree of insulation to the inner walls of the building and spacing the layout away from the walls a little bit to allow air to flow to minimise condensation spots.

 

I would suggest having a good check on the width of baseboards as lower back damage might build up unnoticed - if needs be perhaps design a very sturdy portable structure with soft padding you can lean over and rest on.

 

A layout design might take into account how its going to be operated including if you would like to run trains while still building part of the layout.

 

Also some 3D model railway layout design software allows you to run virtual trains and move your position around so you can see if you or visitors get the right view of your trains. 

 

You seem to have at least one gradient in your plan - have you heard of DCC Concepts Powerbase?: a system primarily designed for allowing locos to haul better up gradients - however it has to be installed before the track is laid. I've installed it on a club layout's scenic gradient just in case.

 

If planning to use set track on the layout allow for lots of expansion gaps - on a big layout like this they may affect the fit of the track plan onto the layout. The club layout I mentioned seems to have suffered a bit due to the heat in our wooden club hut this summer.

 

Lastly there is a drastic option but it depends on the detail of your layout and timescale - make the layout not as one piece but like an exhibition layout with a series of baseboards. Then if you have to move house or the outbuilding roof develops a leak you don't wipe out your dream layout. Also having lots of connectors between boards makes electrical fault finding much easier. If the point motors are under the boards its much easier to separate a board, put it on a bench on its side and get good access to do a permanent adjustment.

 

Regards

 

Nick

 

Hi there Nick,

 

Thanks for the pointers.

 

See attached image for more precise sizes. (Sorry finding it hard to explain and my dyslexia is running riot haha!)

 

Insulation will be very good that does not worry me. As for the running trains while building, this is a must for me and I plan on getting one loop finished track wise first.

 

No set track here will all be Streamline code 75/Bullhead.

 

The actual building is slightly bigger than the layout allowing access to the back of the layout. As for the sharper curves in the top left of the layout, I plan to have these covered with scenic interest to hider the tighter curves.

 

For the last point I am considering this but worry I dont have the know how as of yet. Looking into it.

post-35755-0-87891400-1545300970_thumb.jpg

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Hi Ross, welcome to the forum.

 

I notice you've also got this project going in the Layout Topics section which is perhaps the better section. Might be best to transfer the discussion there, maybe a Mod can help do this.

 

Brian

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Hi Ross, welcome to the forum.

 

I notice you've also got this project going in the Layout Topics section which is perhaps the better section. Might be best to transfer the discussion there, maybe a Mod can help do this.

 

Brian

Hi Brian,

 

Yes mate, sorry my fault.

 

Here is the link to that for people to jump over:

 

http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/140515-harolds-gate/&do=findComment&comment=3403933

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