Pembo Posted December 9, 2010 Share Posted December 9, 2010 Hi all, I've been lurking on this forum for a while now so I thought i'd register. I'm currently designing an N gauge layout based on a fictional area of the midlands. The layout needs to fit on a 3" by 4" board so there's not much room. However I hope to include a double track mainline that can be run as a double loop, a small heritage branch line to allow me to run steam locos and a small shunting yard. With all this in mind i've come up with the plan below. The pink/purple section will be raised to allow the light blue track to pass underneath it. Comment? Suggestions? Thanks Pembo I'm not sure if this is in the right section so if it needs to be moved then can it be moved to a more relevant part of the forum. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
witherbrow Posted December 9, 2010 Share Posted December 9, 2010 i quite like the look of it could see a lovely little town/industrial section in the middle of it Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pembo Posted December 9, 2010 Author Share Posted December 9, 2010 i quite like the look of it could see a lovely little town/industrial section in the middle of it Hey Yeah that's the general plan. I'm hoping to have a carriage shed and an engine shed with a few factories next door. I'm also planning on having a small town centre with a few shops and houses in the middle. The station is hopefully going to be at the bottom with 2 through platforms and 1 terminating platform, although the platforms may be a little short unless I can get hold of some curved ones. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SNCF stephen Posted December 9, 2010 Share Posted December 9, 2010 I like the look of the plan, it reminds me of my very first double tracked layout. We even had the preserved railway. I remember early in my layouts development we had a run around loop for the preserrved trains, but this was removed in time because it took up too much room and I just shuttled the GWR back and forth (with a brake van at the other end, it was before Dapol's autocoach!!!). Still I never got proper scenery done and I was never allowed bridged because it had to flat back away every night. So I am looking forward to seeing this one progress. Are you having a mainline station on the layout? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pembo Posted December 9, 2010 Author Share Posted December 9, 2010 Here's a very crude image showing a few platforms etc. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Kris Posted December 9, 2010 RMweb Premium Share Posted December 9, 2010 An interesting plan there but I see a problem. Your gradients are exceptionally steep (I assume the 8.5% is the gradient). This will cause you problems. What radius track have you planned on using? If you are using 1st radius track or settrack points you might find that some of the steam locos you want to run don't run. Many of the newer large steam locos has a stated minimum radius that is greater than 1st radius or set track points. Whilst some of these will go round I have heard of some that will not. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
George Hudson Posted December 9, 2010 Share Posted December 9, 2010 Hello Pembo Always good to see new layouts joining the forum. Now you have come out of the shadows, you'll have to get going. Actually, I was only kidding: go at your own pace and get plenty of good advice from the collective wisdom on the site; I certainly have. Look forward to developments. Regards Andrew Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Kris Posted December 9, 2010 RMweb Premium Share Posted December 9, 2010 It might be worth trying to take the branch line around the outside of the the main line then over the top. This will give you a longer run so helping with the gradient issues. You want to try and get the shallowest gradient possible. Doing this would mean that this line would only have one junction with the main line. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pembo Posted December 9, 2010 Author Share Posted December 9, 2010 An interesting plan there but I see a problem. Your gradients are exceptionally steep (I assume the 8.5% is the gradient). This will cause you problems. What radius track have you planned on using? If you are using 1st radius track or settrack points you might find that some of the steam locos you want to run don't run. Many of the newer large steam locos has a stated minimum radius that is greater than 1st radius or set track points. Whilst some of these will go round I have heard of some that will not. Hi Kris, When i made the plan I think I put the height in wrong. The pink track only needs to be high enough so trains can get under it, so prehaps it only needs to be an inch high or so. Hopefully this means the gradient won't be too steep. The mainline (purple and green) is made up of 3rd radius curves on the outer track and 2nd radius curves on the inner track. I'm planning on using flexitrack for the branch line (dark blue) and the only steam loco I currently own is a 0-6-0 tank engine so there shouldn't be any problems there. Thanks for the advice. Hopefully the gradients won't be too steep, i'm planning on running DMUs on the inside mainline and a HST on the outer line so hopefully the DMU won't struggle with the gradient. Pembo Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Kris Posted December 10, 2010 RMweb Premium Share Posted December 10, 2010 The hight you will need to allow for a bridge is a minimum of 33-35mm clearance. Onto this you need to add the width of your baseboard material that you are using to carry the upper track, this will likely be a minimum of 6mm. Your DMU will cope with this but you will find that some locos will struggle. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pembo Posted December 10, 2010 Author Share Posted December 10, 2010 The hight you will need to allow for a bridge is a minimum of 33-35mm clearance. Onto this you need to add the width of your baseboard material that you are using to carry the upper track, this will likely be a minimum of 6mm. Your DMU will cope with this but you will find that some locos will struggle. Theres a few more things to think about. I'll try to make the gradient as shallow as possible. I shouldn't be running too long trains anyway due to the size of the layout. Once I get home from uni i'll have to experiment with my gradients. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
class"66" Posted December 12, 2010 Share Posted December 12, 2010 plans look good!! wil be good layout.....when built... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pembo Posted December 13, 2010 Author Share Posted December 13, 2010 Hey, thanks for all the comments. Construction will begin this friday when I get home from uni for the holidays i'm using chipboard for the base, and covering it all with a layer of cork before I glue the track down. I still need to play about with the gradient on the inner mainline but hopefully this shouldn't take too long. In other news I managed to pick up a Midland Mainline HST so I actually have a few locos suited to the layout. Pembo Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Kris Posted December 13, 2010 RMweb Premium Share Posted December 13, 2010 Do you already have the chipboard? If you don't I would suggest that you use plywood instead, it's lighter and more stable. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pembo Posted December 13, 2010 Author Share Posted December 13, 2010 Do you already have the chipboard? If you don't I would suggest that you use plywood instead, it's lighter and more stable. Hey, yeah I already had the chipboard from a previous project. I'm going to store the layout under my bed when it's not being used, so hopefully the weight shouldn't be too much of an issue. I was looking at buying some plywood, but it seems quite expensive, especially when I already have wood I can use. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Kris Posted December 13, 2010 RMweb Premium Share Posted December 13, 2010 Have a look at these threads regarding baseboards, and the surface materials before you start laying the track. The baseboard is the foundation of a good layout, if you skimp on it you may well find that it lets the rest of the layout down. Link 1 link 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pembo Posted December 16, 2010 Author Share Posted December 16, 2010 Hey all. You can follow my progress on my forum. It's Midland Mainline in the blog section. http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php/blog/678-midland-mainline/ http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php/blog/678-midland-mainline/ http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php/blog/678-midland-mainline/ Cheers Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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