New Layout - 10ft x 7ft

[zep75]

Hi Guys

 

 

 

I moved house last year and have now a brand spanking new outbuilding - fully insulated Electrics etc measuring 10 x 7 ft - smaller than i would like but life is a compromise

 

 

Planning is to start - I like most of us have lots of stock - too many engines and am thinking a Shed Layout with a Station part or all off scene perhaps

 

Scale will be OO - Tried n but just too small for the eyes !!

 

 

But My first question relates to the thorny subject gradients/space betweeen layers etc

 

Within this size do i have room to have a lower layer with a stock storage area ?

 

Obviously a return loop would have to be incprporated or at the very least loco releas on this lower layer

 

 

It could be on a pull out shelf to enable easier acess

 

 

 

All thoughts would be would be greatly appreciated

 

 

 

Cheers

 

zep75

[Katier]

I'd say you would have room yes. At a rough guess a gradient length of 9-10 feet would be needed which given you would have at least, in the order of 20 ft room would be doable. ( working on an estimate of the inside of the baseboards being all 2 ft deep off the wall )

 

10ft x 7ft is a decent enough size and I'd say you could fit a MPD, station and maybe even a goods yard of some sort in if you wished. Were you thinking continuous run and if so would you have part of the loop as a fiddle yard?

 

 

[zep75]

Yes - The Idea is to have the fiddle yard on the lower level

[Kris]

To get a drop of 4 inches you would need a run of 13.5 feet (at 1 in 40 which is quite steep). Problem with this is that you will only have very limited clearance on the fiddle yard. I would be tempted to run round the room at least twice on a narrow shelf to gain and loose height getting to and from the fiddle yard. This would give you the clearance you need to swap stock and clean tracks with reasonable ease.

[amdaley]

Another way to get the 4" which I agree is very low clearance is to drop one track by 2" while at the same time raising the other track by 2". This would cut the distance required by half.

[Kenton]

To get a drop of 4 inches you would need a run of 13.5 feet (at 1 in 40 which is quite steep). Problem with this is that you will only have very limited clearance on the fiddle yard. I would be tempted to run round the room at least twice on a narrow shelf to gain and loose height getting to and from the fiddle yard. This would give you the clearance you need to swap stock and clean tracks with reasonable ease.

4 inches clearance is not enough for OO, especially if there is any depth in the board. Any derailments - and no matter how good your track laying there will be some - reaching under one board to recover anything will be very difficult.

 

On top of that problem a 1:40 is not a suitable gradient to aim for. You should be looking for a 1:100 or a 1:50 only if you are certain any train will negotiate it. Also it is not just the gradient that matters - you need a lead in and out of the gradient - and everything is much worse on curves - especially tight ones.

[Grovenor]

On top of that problem a 1:40 is not a suitable gradient to aim for. You should be looking for a 1:100 or a 1:50 only if you are certain any train will negotiate it.

This is where the idealistic viewpoint becomes the enemy of practicality. Quite clearly 1:100 or even 1:50 is not practical in a 10x7 room, so you are really saying that he cannot use a split level. I don't know if you speak from experience but I do and have been happily operating on grades between 1:25 and 1:30 for years. Current Diesels can handle trains on these grades of 6 - 8 coaches or the equivalent in wagons with ease. and you can't sensibly have trains any longer on a layout of that size, but when you do for the odd special you can always double head or bank.

To the OP, do some experiments to determine the minimum headroom you need in your storage roads to be able to deal with the odd derailment, then scheme out the grades to suit, if the tracks on the opposite side from the double deck area are at half the elevation for the junction it will work out, do mock ups and try out then make your own mind up. The experimenting is fun in its own right.

See Grovenor sidings for some illustrations of the sort of gradients I use.

Regards

Keith

[Donw]

A lot depends on what you are doing in the stock storage/fy. If you need to crane shunt locos to the other end you probably need a minimum of 6ins clearance to endable something to be lifted over another train and even that is tight. However if you have a return loop and a set of storage loops where trains do not need to be re-arranged 3ins should be adequate allow for the base of the track over say around 4ins at 1:48 that is 16ft at 1:36 12ft. A loop with 3 ft curves at the ends would be around 26ft so half a loop wouls allow for a 1:36 gradient. Provided your stock is lightweight plastic vehicles which are free running it should be ok. Some locos may need extra weight.

Don

[Katier]

Personally I think I'd have the storage roads on the level in fairly traditional form then use the split level for a low level goods facility, mpd, branch or dockline.