Design help

[Ross74H]

I’m coming to you guys and gals for some help.

I have got a couple of shelves (one 4ft long and one 2ft 9” long, both 1ft wide) that I want to build layouts on.

 

However I am useless at track planning, I always end up trying to ram too much track in so it ends up a confusing unrealistic mess and I end up giving up before I’ve fixed any track down.

 

Is anyone good at designing layouts ?

 

i was thinking the bigger shelf would end up as part of an eventual much larger 5.5mm scale layout (using 16.5mm gauge track to represent 3ft)

and the smaller shelf (or more accurately shelves as I have two the same size) could be used for a 4mm layout inspired by the W&U but I’ve no idea where to start!

 

I’d want something with some “play” value to keep me amused as I get bored quite easily.

 

Any help would be much appreciated!

[The Johnster]

Good news is that narrow gauge/light railway prototypes lend themselves to tight curvature so setrack turnouts can be used, saving space.  The trick, as you've spotted, is not to try to cram too much track in, and again the prototypes play to this as they didn't have too much track anyway, and trains can be short and of short vehicles.  

 

If you divide your 4' shelf into 3rds, so that a third is used for hidden sidings and two thirds for the scenic area, that gives you 16" for the maximum train length.  When you know the length of your longest loco, this will give you the minimum length of clearance for the run around loop release turnout.  Try to draw out something with a run around loop with sidings off it in both directions so that you have to shunt them from both directions.  I'd suggest a basic goods shed, maybe no more than a lockup store, and a coal road, maybe a loco shed but that could be at the other end of the line. 

 

Your fiddle yard roads need to have space between them for you to handle the vehicles, and 4 are probably the best you'll manage in 12" width.  If you can sacrifice one, a siding can be laid in front of them, separated by a scenic break, usually the factory or whatever it is that the siding serves.  Go for more than the minimum lateral space needed between roads on the scenic section as well; it'll make for a more spacious feel and the layout will look less cramped; another visual trick is to gently curve the tracks towards the buffers stop end away from the viewers, which makes the layout look longer.

 

Your smaller shelves are going to have to be much more restricted, and a minimal space shunting problem or even a loco shed and workshop would probably be the way to go.  The rule of thirds is vicious here, 11" maximum train lengths.  

 

Keep in touch and let us know how you are getting on, Ross!

[Harlequin]

Hi Ross,

 

The spaces available are quite small. Can the shelves (is it two or three?) be arranged to join together to form one 6ft9 or 9ft6 long layout?

 

You could get up and running more quickly if you committed to one of the RTR gauges, either 4mm or 2mm. (Less chance of losing your "mojo", as they say...)

 

[DCB]

Even with a separate fiddle yard neither 4ft or 2ft 9" bards are really large enough for a practical  layout.  just about enough for a shunting puzzle or shunting plank You can make an excellent diorama in either 5.5mm or 4mm scale and put hundreds or hours into building it  but really you don't have the space for what I consider to be an interesting layout.  4X1 is really just enough for a minimum size N gauge station.   My BLT is 7ft plus FY in 00 gauge and takes 4 coaches and only tank engines.  an N gauge version would be 3ft 6" plus FY.   If you do go ahead I would suggest taking a dremel or hacksaw to RTR track to squeeze every possible bit of length from the track.  In 00 peco streamline Y points are the shortest I know of RTL and 2ft radius are no longer than a set track point unless you carve lumps off the set track (Might as well Live frog it while you are at it.    Using tight tight track spacing in 4mm std gauge helps, 44mm is good, I have gone closer, 40mm but just make sure trains don't actually touch when passing.

 

[Ross74H]

17 hours ago, Harlequin said:

Hi Ross,

 

The spaces available are quite small. Can the shelves (is it two or three?) be arranged to join together to form one 6ft9 or 9ft6 long layout?

 

You could get up and running more quickly if you committed to one of the RTR gauges, either 4mm or 2mm. (Less chance of losing your "mojo", as they say...)

 

 

The smaller shelves were actually intended to go together, I got them from a friend at my old railway club who was emigrating, he had a small 0n30 layout built on them so they could always be recombined into one unit (or I could cut them down to 1ft wide and four “units” long)

[jamespetts]

You may find it useful to use computer track planing software, and also study some plans of real locations to get an idea of how narrow gauge railways were laid out. The track planning software is very good at constraining you to what is possible with your chosen track geometry; just make sure to work out what your minimum curve radius needs to be (which may be different in your scenic section than your fiddle yard if you want realistic curves in your scenic section, although, as noted, these will be tighter in narrow gauge than the equivalent standard gauge) and set this minimum in your settings before starting.

[Ross74H]

So I found this on one of my other websites, it’s a design intended to use two shelves the same length as my smaller ones but only 12” not 24”, what do we think of it?

 

https://www.flickr.com/photos/150402106@N07/39335004261/in/photostream