Layout help required

[DCB]

Has the space available now increased to 20ft and 20" (1ft 8") wide, originally 13" wide, as that makes a big difference to what is possible. 

Also do you now have to dodge the roof supports?   My loft layout track plan was seriously compromised by having to dodge roof supports, it never has been finished but serves as a test track because I laid the bottom level first so as to get something running.

Edited February 11, 2020 by DavidCBroad

[Spaced69]

A balance of both is what im hoping for

Lots of trains running ..some automated...others operable...tunnels...bridges etc and of course scernery adds to the final aestheticsl...all i can say is a hige thanks to joseph for his help so far...just wish he dam well lived next door....lol

Often in the loft scratching my head with how to proceed...lol

 

[Dungrange]

On 11/02/2020 at 08:46, Joseph_Pestell said:

We often forget here that there is a big population out there of people who want to recreate their childhood train set rather than build a model railway. I have encountered quite a few over the last few years and it is difficult, as a modeller, to adjust to their expectations.

 

I think you're right and I suspect that the reason may lie in how and why people get involved with the hobby.  For some people it seems to start, often at a young age, with an interest in the real railway, with time being spent at the local station or sneaking into the local engine shed.  For some, that even leads into working in the rail industry.  For those for whom an interest in the prototype comes first, I think the move into model railways, particularly as an adult, is often driven by a desire to recreate the atmosphere of a particular place at a particular point in time, whether that is reminiscent of the time they spent at the line-side as a lad, or at some other time during their working life, whether that was on the railway or not.  I think there is quite a few people like that on here.

 

However, a great many of us came to this hobby, including myself, courtesy of a train set under the Christmas Tree from Santa Claus.  To a child unfamiliar with the working practises of the real railway, ignorance is truly bliss.  If you don't know very much about the real railway, then you can quite happily run trains from different periods in history and different geographies side by side.  It's very much Rule 1 and you can run what you like on whichever track you like.  Trains don't need to be driven in a prototypical manner and you don't need to worry about the use of trap points or whether signals convey the correct meaning to the driver.  You don't need to worry whether the locomotive and rolling stock have compatible braking systems or the train is marshalled correctly.   The focus is simply on having fun playing with model trains.  Children are often very good at using their imagination and can easily ignore the fact that the real Flying Scotsman was more than a two coach train and they can pretend that although their two coach train has passed under the same bridge 27 times, it has actually gone under every bridge between London and Edinburgh.

 

Obviously we all grow up, but I can understand why many adults want to try and recreate the fun that they had when they were younger.  The principal difference being that they often have more money now than they did as young boy.  Whether that leads them to want a scenic model railway or a large train set probably depends on whether their initial train set led to an interest in the real railway or not.  In my case, looking through my first Hornby catalogue prompted me to seek to learn more about the different periods in history from the early railways, through grouping to nationalisation and from stream power to diesel and electric traction.   Whilst some people have a very loco centred interest, I tend to find details of prototype operation the most interesting, in particular timetabling and signalling, but also the loading and marshalling of freight trains.  Unlike those for whom an interest in the prototype came first, I'm much less interested in recreating a particular place at a point in time, but I want a railway that, whilst fictional, can be operated in a prototypical manner and looks like it might plausibly have existed.

 

However, had I not developed an interest in the working practises of the real railway (even although I don't work in the industry), then I can see how the desire simply for the dream train set that I thought about as a kid could remain.  The problem is that since we are all different and want different things for different reasons, it can be hard to design someone else's dream model railway.  Well done for taking this challenge on.

[Joseph_Pestell]

On 11/02/2020 at 11:52, DavidCBroad said:

Has the space available now increased to 20ft and 20" (1ft 8") wide, originally 13" wide, as that makes a big difference to what is possible. 

Also do you now have to dodge the roof supports?   My loft layout track plan was seriously compromised by having to dodge roof supports, it never has been finished but serves as a test track because I laid the bottom level first so as to get something running.

 

Yes, we have generated a bit more width by raising the trackbed a bit  (3" for the lower level, 6" for the upper level) and also working round the roof supports to provide a bit of space for scenic work (embankments).

[The Johnster]

On 13/02/2020 at 22:31, Dungrange said:

We often forget here that there is a big population out there of people who want to recreate their childhood train set rather than build a model railway

A variation of this is those who want to build the dream layout of their childhood, which they never actually had because of space or resource restrictions but always promised themselves one day.  This is more to do with nostalgia than 'proper' modelling (whatever that is when it's at home) and the realisation of a childhood dream, and there is nothing wrong with that, but such a project will cheerfully ignore all the 'proper' modelling received wisdom.  Nothing wrong with train sets so long as they don't claim to be anything other than train sets!

[Joseph_Pestell]

I will be setting off shortly for another few hours of construction. Will be taking some more offcuts of CLS and Kingspan. If we can get both levels in place today and start shaping the landscape a bit, it will feel like we are making progress. Need to make a decision about how to operate the points for the double junction (probably servos) so that I can lay that out on the board before fitting the board to the layout.

 

Having this long straight section is helpful. It makes it possible to get part of the layout to a reasonably finished appearance quite quickly and experiment with various scenic techniques. I think that will help inform the choices about what to do with the rest of the area.

[Joseph_Pestell]

1 hour ago, Joseph_Pestell said:

I will be setting off shortly for another few hours of construction. Will be taking some more offcuts of CLS and Kingspan. If we can get both levels in place today and start shaping the landscape a bit, it will feel like we are making progress. Need to make a decision about how to operate the points for the double junction (probably servos) so that I can lay that out on the board before fitting the board to the layout.

 

Having this long straight section is helpful. It makes it possible to get part of the layout to a reasonably finished appearance quite quickly and experiment with various scenic techniques. I think that will help inform the choices about what to do with the rest of the area.

 

Cancel that! Storm Dennis has left a lot of our local roads flooded to a depth which makes driving just too dangerous, especially as I would be coming back in the dark.

 

Quite strong currents of water flowing off fields across the roads and into peoples' houses. Spoke to some of them who are remarkably calm about it. Terrible mess to clear up as the water is full of sticky red mud. 

[Spaced69]

Yes...dam storm dennis

Gitted no visit from joseph today...ws hopin for some progress and some insight...idle hands are a terrible thing and keen to see something beyond the baseboards ive fitted so far....also gutted as this week would have been perfect as home alone all week.