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Track Plans for North American Layouts


trisonic
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Over Christmas I had to do a lot of sitting around holding a sleeping baby so I drew a trackplan to the UK Freemo specs.

 

It is based on Lawrence MA, but with the new station to the east of the original station cut off and one of the spurs converted to a siding (which I think it had been years ago)

Contrary to most plans here, its not about the industries, there is only one, B & D Advanced Warehousing, who actually have a pic of a boxcar in their warehouse on their website!

The two links off the mainline are in reality short spurs to single industries, but are the remains of lines to other towns, however Freemo allows themto go whereever you want!

The station platform is accessed by a subway from the road underbridge, it is served by MBTA trains and the Downeaster also passes through.

I got bored before I added all the buildings, hence the bare areas at the southern end.

I don't see myself building this, but I think its an interesting counterpoint to most US designed US layouts and UK designed US layouts.

 

Like that Tim

 

I could see that working with a main line train setting off cars using the siding, and a shortline or local using that as a base for working the warehouse and an industry or two up the branches?

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I copied this across from the LDSIG group as I thought that some of our section members might be interested. I think this may be the best section for it to fit in

 

"A number of folks on this YahooGroup have indicated over the years that they

would join the Layout Design SIG (LDSIG) if only they could see what the Layout

Design Journal (LDJ) is like (without buying one, of course).

 

The LDSIG has now placed "samplers" of the last four issues online for free

download as Adobe Acrobat (.pdf) files. Each of these includes the cover and an

additional 6-10 pages of content from the issue to show the range of topics

covered.

 

Each file is under 1Meg in size, so the download should be pretty quick for most

users. In order to achieve this, the resolution of images and graphics is

slightly lower than the actual printed versions, which are very sharp.

 

To find these download links, visit the Layout Design Journal page:

<http://www.ldsig.org/publications/journal>

… and then scroll down to the _bottom_ for the latest issues.

 

Or, for the current issue, one may visit this page:

<http://www.ldsig.org/publications>

 

To join the LDSIG and receive the quarterly printed Layout Design Journal,

visit:

<http://www.ldsig.org/membership>

 

To order back issues, visit:

<http://www.ldsig.org/publications_order>

 

Byron Henderson

Editor, Layout Design Journal "

 

The bolded section may be of greatest interest. Byron is also a well respected designer of US layouts

Jack

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  • 2 weeks later...

Well ok...

 

Here's my space available

 

post-751-0-45710400-1329423793.jpg

 

The 6.5', 28' and 11.5' sides are walls; the other lenghts are open. The whole room is 28 x 20 but I'm not using the full width. The 28' and the 11.5' walls have windows that I plan to leave exposed for ventilation - they're about 40 inches off the floor.

 

My initial ideas involved a U shaped layout running from loop to loop with one loop tucked in the narrow corner, the second a peninsula on the 21' side. Staging down below is absolutely a possibility with long ramps up to the deck; I find a helix to be a space eater. I'd like provision for continuous running, eg, moving scenery but to have a good amount of switching as well. The continuous part is for engine break in and the occasional dose of mindlessness :)

 

Railroad - I've been smitten with the New York, Ontario & Western and its F unit fleet and shortish trains...also considering heavily a late PRR steam layout.

 

Need more info? Or have at it?

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My word, that's an intimidatingly large space!

 

Where are your entry points/stairs etc? I'm assuming no duck unders, wide aisles, narrow benchwork? Against the walls or free standing?

 

NYOW would be light weight track say ME code 70, PRR would be heavy track (peco code 83).

 

One through yard and through staging? Terminal yard to staging?

 

My SP Coast Line would fit into this space superbly well :D

Edited by Dr Gerbil-Fritters
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A very basic 'Barrow' dogbone peninsula scheme. Gives the maximum length of continuous run on a single level with reasonable aisles. Personally, I'm not keen on the big blob on the end of the peninsula as its such an eyesore...

 

post-238-0-27800000-1329473757.jpg

 

Gives an idea of what's possible, and helps identify things like choke points, minimum radii and so on.

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I'm going to kick off by cheating... ;)

 

One of the things that strikes me with Dr GF's sketch is that if you do that with a reasonable min radius then quickly that blob in the room makes everything else smaller, if it was (for example) a 3' radius curve then that's 6'2" to clear across the track, add 6" on the outside for scenery and that's 7'2" across the blob, you've two aisles so if you allow 2' each that's 11'2", so you now have 4" for baseboards between the two outer legs of it!

 

So this throws something out there, is your 11'6" a fixed point or is it flexible, this sketch pushes outside your boundary line where it needs more space for the 'blob', but then is well inside for the rest of the room - usable room space is probably about the same as before but you don't need to cram or compromise so much where the blob is...?

 

post-6762-0-80380600-1329480051.jpg

 

I've also thrown something else out there, this is also a continuous run with staging looped underneath.

 

Good points:

Fits in the room, not too 'tight' a fit if you can relax the width restriction in the right place.

No duckunders

Lots of space for staging underneath

Continuous run

Flows nicely

 

Bad points

Blobs do use up that real estate - I think the one in the corner is worst and shows up just how much you lose

Nearly all of it is curved - but that might be okay with your chosen prototypes?

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My word, that's an intimidatingly large space!

 

Where are your entry points/stairs etc? I'm assuming no duck unders, wide aisles, narrow benchwork? Against the walls or free standing?

 

NYOW would be light weight track say ME code 70, PRR would be heavy track (peco code 83).

 

One through yard and through staging? Terminal yard to staging?

 

My SP Coast Line would fit into this space superbly well :D

 

The space is completely free and clear for layout - no doors, no stairs involved. In fact, the 'notch' is to allow access to the HVAC equipment and our home's crawl space .

 

I'm very much preferring no duckunders. Against the walls seems logical but it needs to be supported on legs, not by the wall structure. Through staging sounds good - would allow for continuous running - to either a terminal yard or a through yard.

 

Martyn, I like your idea a lot...staging could go under the side where it crossed the 21' length and be worked from the outside, keeping the body out of the aisle.

 

And I'm still all ears and eyes, gents!

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If the notch isn't walls then that isn't quite so bad, as the scenery can extend further round the blob in the corner, it just felt like you were losing a lot of real estate which effectively had to be hidden in that corner...

 

If the bit in the 6' 5" area is reversed ...i.e. went under the layout to staging after going along the full 28' it would give a greater area for a yard etc ....on the back wall...?

 

 

Regards Trevor ... :sungum:

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Hi Trevor, I did it that way as there wasn't an easy way to access the bit in the corner (well, you'd have to duck under) - so the 'grey' area in the original drawing was 'hidden track' - as the alcove isn't bounded by walls you should be able to pull the scenery around onto the end. Personally unless you can access the other side of that then it would be a bit of a pain scenicing the whole straight length?

 

@Martyn, I went all Barrow, you've gone all Fugate :D

 

Haha! Actually the 'front' part of that as i've drawn would also work as one of his 'mushrooms' which would give you another 20'-30' or so of run on the same footprint... ;)

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You could, but you either end up with a bit you need to access to work, in which case you'll be blocking your main line frequently to cross in and out (if what you've got there is the manual switch to let you in and out of your yard then if you bring up a freight to the switch from staging you might not be able to open the trapdoor to go let it in if the train is long!) - or it will be a bit you rarely need to work, in which case why take the scenery away from you, and scenic the bit along your fascia and leave the bit behind 'hidden) - you don't gain any length overall by scenicing the straight rather than the S shaped version, but you might have to curve your yard leads that end?

 

One of these personal things that will either make sense to an individual or not I guess - YMMV and all the rest. ;)

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Craig - three qwickies - I'm assuming we are going for HO? - what minimum radius can you accept? - what minimum space aisles do you need?

 

Craig, can I move into your house so I can build my SP Coast Line? Pleeeeeeze!

 

@Martyn, I went all Barrow, you've gone all Fugate :D

 

Well, my neighbour's house is for sale :) It's an American split-level so you could have a very large space indeed...and I wouldn't mind a modeler for a neighbour!

 

"Can I borrow a couple of Kadees please?"

 

Craig - three qwickies - I'm assuming we are going for HO? - what minimum radius can you accept? - what minimum space aisles do you need?

 

*smacks own forehead*

 

Yes, HO. Min radius 24" on secondary trackage...that's about as low as the BLI 2-10-0 PRR Decapods like. Aisles - 30".

 

And if I can ever come with a way to keep half the people in the room from ending up in the narrowest spot on the railroad...I'd be rich.

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Craig said "Can I borrow a couple of Kadees please?" - or even "... a coupler kadees, please?"

 

 

 

But back to the subject in hand _ this is a basic will it fit/rough basic idea/flow movement one done yesterday before I had your dimensions - red is track - brown/black is fascia - green is double sided scenic dividers Curves were drawn as 36" (approx) radius but can now be shrunk. The two peninsulas would have storage cupboards underneath. As drawn there is only one turnback loop to avoid a duckunder ar the Left. There is a cut off track drawn at the back of the top peninsula but a turnback loop will fit in there - with the smaller radius the aisles can be widened out. No development is shown - purely the Main trackage( drawn as single for simplicity- though it can be doubled. Space for yards top left right and bottom right. From what you said the lower area is open and track can be accessed/operated from either side. - If it isn't the sort of thing that you wanted there is no sense in developing it further. Ignore the circles on the plan - they were purely to see where/how 36" curves fitted in. We would need to fit in a lift-out/up to avoid "duck-under syndrome" - you get "out and back" and "roundy-roundy" capabilities

 

post-6688-0-40232200-1329558003.jpg

 

Edit at 1121 - It has just struck me that following the circle in the bottom left corner, from the right hand side to the bottom. and completing a link along that line,(dotted in below) gives you two opposite direction reversing loops for the price of one space

 

post-6688-0-36239000-1329564641.jpg

 

Further thought suggests that if a gradient is involved you'ld have two reverse loops stacked above each other, but that would do away with the "roundy-roundy" option

Edited by shortliner
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