8x8 OO plan

[Nearholmer]

Indeed it is.

 

Some versions of it have a halt, with a single siding, on the lower side, which adds a bit of operational interest.

 

Once you've tidied it up, and adjusted point positions to maximise siding length in the FY, I think you'll begin to see to it gets a lot of interest into a small area.

 

Given your space, you could probably afford to add another road in the FY, which you would find useful.

 

K

[Nearholmer]

Another version, from another of CJF's books.

 

I hope that his son, who I guess is heir to copyright, will forgive me.

 

K

[barney121e]

Well this is the first plan adjusted to fit my baseboards.

 

[Nearholmer]

I think you'll find it works better, with the FY and station on your wider board, particularly if you can access both sides of that board ..... it's a near-ideal situation for this plan, because that avoids the need to make the scenic divider removable.

 

Exceedingly rough sketch below.

 

Are your baseboards already built and in-situ, or do you have the flexibility to design them to fit whatever final plan you settle on?

 

K

[barney121e]

I think you'll find it works better, with the FY and station on your wider board, particularly if you can access both sides of that board ..... it's a near-ideal situation for this plan, because that avoids the need to make the scenic divider removable.

 

Exceedingly rough sketch below.

 

Are your baseboards already built and in-situ, or do you have the flexibility to design them to fit whatever final plan you settle on?

 

K

 

They are already built and in place. The only reason I had put the FY at the back is it would give me more space for scenic on the front board. Was thinking I could have run another line up to the FY on the left hand side , maybe a little station before the FY. Can I ask your view on following plan, can you see anywhere for a storage track at all?

 

[Nearholmer]

That plan looks like the sort of thing that suits guys who slowly, and with astonishing skill, build all of their own locos an stock from scratch, so don't accumulate enough to need storage tracks. It doesn't have much operating potential. It's a 'builder's' layout.

 

It would be useful if you could let us know what your interests in railways are ...... modern/historical, which railway company, ready-to-run or building, that sort of thing, because members here will have suggestions that relate directly to whatever you are into.

 

K

[Zomboid]

What kind of access do you have to the outside of the wide board?

If you put the FY there​ you'll need to get to it quite often, and I personally would lose patience with having to crawl between that and the operating well for every train. Ideally you'll want access to the FY and any station/shunting areas from the same location.

[barney121e]

Have been trying to not be too area specific as at end of day want to run what I want but might help being more specific.

 

1. Era let's say diesel onwards.

2. Ready to run

3. Railway company something Scottish

4. Like to build stations and scenery so rural village or town.

5. I don't have any stock at moment, plan is to build up slowly. I have n gauge stock but wanted to see if oo could work.

 

Hope that helps a little. Board access, as per plans i can access bottom and left hand side from the outside and rest from the well in the middle.

[Nearholmer]

There's a lot you could do withscots diesel era theme. Have you seen Ian Futer's layouts?

 

If you followed the same basic plan as we've been discussing, the narrow side could give room for some nice rugged scenery, and maybe the terminus could be a small port, with ferries to the islands. The quality of modern RTT diesels in 00 is stunning, and if you went for Dcc with sound, you could add a good interesting dimension.

 

K

[barney121e]

So here is latest plan, which i really like. Thinking of a second station at top of plan possibly, can anyone think of something else that would work?

 

[DCB]

If you like watching trains in the countryside a looped 8 layout with hidden loops feeding a simple station would seem to fit the bill.  Much of Scotland features steepish gradients, nothing like the proper gradients down Devon way but long drags, but lots of single track and lots of twisting curves.   A significant amount of single track has a 100 mph speed limit.

As you already have a level baseboard perhaps a compromise with the "Hidden" loops screened behind a backscene.

With such a wide baseboard you could also angle the tracks so you get a 3/4 view of approaching trains instead of the inevitable side on view.

See my suggested sketch below. 

[barney121e]

Thanks David

 

I have redone the plan as follows:-

 

 

Think this matches your plan, let me know if I have missed something.

 

So seems I have two plans to choose from.

[Nearholmer]

And, there could be an almost infinite number more in the same space ........ this is where personal taste comes in.

 

The one I've been advocating will suit if you want to represent, perhaps by running a timetable/sequence, the operation of a real railway going from A to C, via B. Good fun, if you like that sort of thing, but it will only sensibly accommodate three or four trains, even if you add another road to the FY.

 

THe one DCB suggests is more a "trains passing through the landscape" essay, with a good 'magazine' space for more trains. The prime operational interest will be passing the Up and Down trains at the station.

 

Different styles, and only one person can say which is likely to suit you better .......

 

K

[Crewlisle]

 

Two threads that might get you started are:

 

http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/101522-how-much-oo-gauge-can-i-fit-into-12x8/

 

http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/105163-rmw-layout-track-design-worked/

 

 

Barney,

 

Be a little more adventurous!  Do you want to run 52 locos, 65 parcel/passenger coaches, over 100 wagons, on three interconnected levels in this space, steam shed, turntable, diesel shed goods yard, double track mainline continuous run representing the WCML with OLE, reversing loop & terminus for six coach expresses with maximum entertainment value & no fiddle yard?  Then look at Page 1, Comment 11 of the first reference & Page 7, Comment 163 of the second reference.

 

'Crewlisle' is not the most detailed or prototypical layout but it entertains all age groups, has a Thomas the Tank Engine, children are allowed to operate a loco (with operators having a finger over the emergency stop!) & can operate the turntable.  That is why it has appeared at the NEC five times & twice at Alexandra Palace.

 

Peter

[barney121e]

What a great layout 'Crewlisle' is, but it is just to busy for what i want, and the 3 level design is definitely beyond my carpentry skills. I am pretty sure which way i will go, but got some moving around etc to do.

[Nearholmer]

Sketch as promised.

 

3ft (medium) radius or larger on scenic areas, coming down to 2ft (small) radius in fiddle yard.

 

If I was setting out to build this, I would want to twiddle about a bit to get the lay of the two curved RH points at the station throats right, and to sort out exactly which turnouts i'd use at A and B, and the run of the track between them.

 

As you can see, using 3ft radius uses up space much more than the Freezer plans, but I think it could be made to look spacious/bleak in a Scottish kind of way.

 

L is a lighthouse, which will distract from the circularity of the layout, and the sidings serve whatever industry you fancy.

 

Hope useful, Kevin

[Nearholmer]

PS: have you found the free point template downloads on the Peco website? If not, they are well worth getting, because using paper templates, and suitable width masking tape as plain track, you can lay everything out on your boards very simply and cheaply, to check the sort of details I've mentioned above.

[barney121e]

Thanks that is an interesting plan, not sure about water but definitely a thought.

 

Just got some track, points and a class 105 in the post. Changes your view on what you want. Think I could just watch trains go round and round now. 

[Nearholmer]

Water can be good.

 

Sometimes.

 

(Image repeated from another thread; I think it is Fort William)

[barney121e]

Have done a slight adjustment on one of the plans to create a double line as think i have realised that trains running thru scenery is way to go. Any glaring errors, for instance should the good shed are be other away around, so train goes into head shunt and then reverses into goods shed?

 

[barney121e]

Would i be right in thinking that with two lines, the goods area should be around the other way as the inner line will run anticlockwise?

 

Of course with two lines it isn't prototypical of Scottish railways but will still try and make it scenic with a hint of Scotland.

[barney121e]

So this is plan drawn in anyrail. 

 

[Nearholmer]

I've never used software for this job, being a paper and pencil man, but I suspect that you've got a few kinks and tight spots in there, because you've got so many centres for radii (by hand, I only used three, but then I sketched bits freehand).

 

Biggest issue looks like a very tight curve on lower RH corner.

 

Also, I notice you've used tangent turnouts at the station throat, where I used curved. What you've done seems to work, but it doesn't flow so nicely.

 

Finally, train length. You need to check that your run round loop and fiddle tracks are compatible ....... I'd say the fiddle roads could do with being longer, right to the edge of the board.

 

K

[barney121e]

I can adjust the curve bottom right now problem. Where do you mean by station throat? Is that the two points before the station or in the station? Should be able to extend fiddle yards too.

[barney121e]

Ok, slight adjustment, let me know what you think.