Continuous Run

[CullingworthGNR]

Hello guys,

 

I’ve recently planned a new layout on the basis of a reasonably standard terminus to fiddle yard arrangement – but find that without at least one layout with a continuous run, I’m left wanting. I’ve got loads of great locos and stock to run, but with no layout on which to let them run it’s not really worth having them! I think I’ll build a small roundy-roundy again, so at least I can watch the trains go by, but they are very space intensive.

 

Does anyone else have the same reaction? A finely modelled end to end layout on which to photograph things would be nice – but no way would it beat the Hornby catalogue layout, as there’s just something magical about a really well done ‘Train Set’.

 

Cheers – I hope I can find some like-minded sympathisers!

[Guest 838rapid]

We are having a discussion relating to this concept at the Club i go to.

 

Its quite amazing the variety of views and reasons in the for and against camps.

 

There is no politics and it is a healthy disscussion.

 

Have decided now that my lodger has given me notice that i am going to satisy my layout needs in my soon to be spare room,i am planning on building a 2 level figure of 8 folded almost on top of its self.

 

Myself i think a good roundy roundy that is detailed to a good standard is as good as a end to end.

 

That said i have got an end to end exbo layout and am just finishing another layout that is basicly the same concept.

[pirouets]

I have come to the conclusion that I love both camps. Luckily modelling in N has allowed me to have my branchline to shunt on, and then switch sides to the roundy-roundy.

 

I did originally design the 2 parts as being linked but I find I do operate them independantly, so I am just starting to look at physically splitting them in 2 seperate layouts. This may lead to the roundy being torn up and started on again, but I may wait until peco release the 3 way points in N so I can do a better fiddle yard.

[johnteal]

Normally due to space I have been building short modular layouts but I to have missed just having a train running, to be fair I do have a roundy roundy garden railway that I can happily sit and watch but the weather just isn't reliable, so about a month ago I bought some modern image N gauge and am now enjoying watching it pass on its folded dogbone round the shed as I happily add grass and trees. Sounds sad but it adds a bit more excitement if you have to pause trackside work for a passing train !

 

Pictures on my blog thats linked in the signature

 

John

RJR

[amdaley]

I love both as well. There are some beautiful end to end layouts but I see no reason why a roundy shouldn't be as interesting especially if it has nice scenics. Of course not everyone has the room for a large continuous layout. Maybe thats the reason why there are so many plank type layouts.

[gordon s]

I have to agree Tony, having seen some beautiful end to end layouts and some really special continuous layouts. Continuous layouts on the exhibition circuit are often broken in two, with a fiddle yard taking up one half, so not strictly roundy roundy as such.

 

Personally my own layout decision was dictated by my own skills. I'm OK with carpentry, track and electrics but weak on scenic modelling. My passion is decent length trains passing by and that came from my youth seeing A4's thunder through Wood Green in the '60's. So I went with a continuous run rather than a sleepy branch line.....

 

Both are great in their own way. Just go with what you like. Either is perfectly OK...

[Oldddudders]

Roundy-rounds are just fine, and have many advantages. How else do you gently but quickly lap-in that new loco or vehicle? With DCC you can have several trains all chasing each other round a single-track roundy, challenging you to match their speeds to avoid the tail-ender! Layout designs such as the folded dog-bone mentioned earlier enable scenic attraction and avoid the trainset look, while retaining the facility. End-to-end apes the prototype, but requires far more supervision - unless you are gifted and rich enough to automate! For my money, an end-to-end with disguised roundy facility beats all other designs in the versatility and gratification stakes.

[10800]

I'm planning such a layout in 00 to go alongside my P4 projects - just a two track secondary line, no station, no points, no signals, just a river crossing somewhere north of Dartmoor. Mixture of Southern steam and diesel-hydraulics.

 

There is a blog which elaborates on the ideas http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php/blog/34-tawbridge-00-roundy-roundy/ (which I must update) but it has been expanded in size to about 20ft long since then to accommodate 9 or 10 coach trains in the fiddle yard behind. It won't now fit in the kitchen (it was always going to be tight) so it will just go up on the occasional DRAG night in the community hall, or hopefully in exhibitions.

[Dave777]

Yup, fully agree with this 'issue', I like the operational interest of the end-to-end but there's nothing like sitting back and watching the trains go by. I call it a 'run through' layout, where the trains just run through from one side to the other without them (or me) doing anything.

I have plans for just such a layout with two loops. The inner one has a runround loop with two sidings running off it, the outer one is just a loop. So a train circulates on the outer while I can also circulate another on the inner or do some minor pottering with the sidings should I wish (with the outer one continuing to circulate). So not the full-on, 'pure' run through layout admittedly, but one with just a smidgen of added operational interest.

The thing is, with this sort of layout the scenics can be incredibly simple. Either a grass embankment or, if you fancy a more urban scene, a retaining wall, and when you see stuff like the retaining walls from International Models (http://www.internationalmodels.net/acatalog/Main_Catalogue_Index_Retaining_Walls_40.html) it starts bringing the construction of just such a layout within the realms of a ‘build it in a weekend’ job.

 

 

[Guest stuartp]

I enjoy operating my current BLT, (or I did when it was working before I started refurbishing it) but I miss a continuous run too. Apart from the practicalities of being able to run in new locos by just letting them trundle round, it's nice sometimes to just sit and watch. Current plans are for the refurbished Portwilliam to be a BLT on the inside of a continuous run (all round the garage) with hidden sidings behind it, giving the best of both worlds. The junction itself will be hidden between a couple of scenic breaks, viz:

 

[malcolmy]

My youngest son (10) and I are just starting to build what I am considering is a pretty good balance for an exhibition layout. It is in N gauge on 3 levels! With a bottom level double track mainline, a mid-level branch line, and a top level 'Inglenook' shunting puzzle. The mainline will include station stop modules, and the mid-level branch will have an auto-shuttle. So the operator just plays on the shunting puzzle, and changes trains on the branch and mainlines as the mood takes.

[RedgateModels]

I'm OK with carpentry, track and electrics but weak on scenic modelling.

 

Silliest thing I've seen written on here for a long time. Your carpentry would impress Chippendale and if you are weak on scenery from what we have seen so far you've been getting someone in on the quiet

 

Personally I like both, I have a trainset type roundy roundy at home and Summat Colliery for shows, although the home layout might take a knock when I use one of the boards for my O gauge project .....

[Guest dilbert]

Current plans are for the refurbished Portwilliam to be a BLT on the inside of a continuous run (all round the garage) with hidden sidings behind it, giving the best of both worlds. The junction itself will be hidden between a couple of scenic breaks, viz:

 

 

That is a concept I have been thinking of (at least in 4mm scale) - inserting a plank type layout within a roundy-roundy, or appending the plank onto the roundy-roundy. Once the kids have flown the nest I will have space to play trains with...dilbert

[Stubby47]

I've got space for a large roundy-roundy in the loft, but what I hope to do is add all my small layouts as branch stations, connected by a single track, un-sceniced loop, so I can either run trains from place to place, or play with one 'layout' whilst a train trundles around.

 

At least, that's the theory...

 

Stu

[Trevellan]

</br>I'm planning such a layout in 00 to go alongside my P4 projects...

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I'm fascinated by this declaration. I dabbled briefly with P4/S4 in the 1970s but all recent activity has been in 00. However, there's a little gremlin whispering in my ear that I ought to try P4 again, or perhaps EM, while retaining some 00 tail-chasing activity. My concern is that I'd become dissatisfied with 00 while playing with EM etc. Having said that, there are many on here who make 00 look like EM by the quality of their work! On the OP itself I agree with others - both tail-chasers and end-to-end have their place. Whatever floats your boat etc.

[thirty2a]

As has been mentioned there are great layouts in both Roundy Roundy and end to end, I like both but only have room for ene to end, that said when the wife, kids and dog are out........ there is an opertunity to get the Eurostar train set out and run what ever takes my fancy for an hour or so.

[sulzer27jd]

I don't think continuous run and and good modelling are mutually exclusive. Obviously a larger area will take more effort to fill but for an individual modeller there are ways to reduce the workload. Reducing the number of buildings (I'm down to none) reduces the amount of time taken to scenic an area. Open countryside has its attractions. Using theatrical tricks can also help, as can using impressions rather than detail.

 

I think most of us admire the highly detailed layouts we see but being realistic about the time we can commit, means that in most cases to achieve that level of detail, the total area of a layout gets reduced. Hence the attraction of the branch line terminus or minimum space layout. The downside of that is we can end up with a beautifully modelled scene that would in all probability be operated by a couple of trains a day!

 

Our hobby is about striking a balance. Money, space and time are three key factors but what we produce must give satisfaction. We can spend too much time tormenting ourselves over layout planning (often to suit current trends or meet expectations) rather than building something we will enjoy.

 

It was suggested to me a long time ago that writing down your thoughts in columns of, essential, nice and bonus helps focus on what it is that you really want from a project. In some cases it might be that you cannot achieve all that you want and a split is necessary. So in terms of the OP, a detailed layout and a roundy-roundy might just be what you wanted all along!

 

john

[10800]

I'm planning such a layout in 00 to go alongside my P4 projects

 

I'm fascinated by this declaration. I dabbled briefly with P4/S4 in the 1970s but all recent activity has been in 00. However, there's a little gremlin whispering in my ear that I ought to try P4 again, or perhaps EM, while retaining some 00 tail-chasing activity. My concern is that I'd become dissatisfied with 00 while playing with EM etc.

 

Nothing drastic really - it started off when Hornby were first releasing M7, T9, Maunsell coaches etc, as a counterpoint to the P4 projects and something that would enable me to build a layout just for watching the trains go by in reasonable time and without too much effort. In the scenic section it is all plain track so no 00 pointwork to disturb the P4 side of my brain, and with a bit of care and detail the 00 track can be made to look quite acceptable. It's also a layout based in a part of the world where I now live, and not using much stock that I would otherwise need to convert for the Sussex-based P4 stuff.

 

Naturally of course this is still taking time to come to fruition, but that's life!

 

I've been spurred by this topic to do a holding update to the blog http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php/blog/34/entry-3602-planned-expansion/

[Steven B]

Buy a box or two of Kato Unitrack - available in N and HO/OO. It's much more robust than Peco/Hornby equivalent and is great for setting up basic circuits on the dinning room/kitchen table which need to be put away in time for meals and homework etc.

 

Its like re-living the Hornby tin-plate era for the 21st century.

 

 

Happy modeling,

 

Steven B.

 

 

[Jenny Emily]

Totally agree. Because of space constraints, my current layout is a small shunting yard with a traverser at one end. It might look very pretty, but I find operating it boring. I have been known to lay out an oval of track on the carpet of my office and let trains run round and round before now. I'd love enough space for a continuous run. I use original Hornby Dublo setrack from the 1960s for the purpose.

 

I have stock and locomotives that are too big for my current layout which scream out to be unleashed on a continuous run. Last time I counted, I had around forty Bachmann 16t minerals (I only need four to run 'Grove street yard') not to mention over thirty Mk I coaches in mostly blue/grey. Then there's the Hornby Q1 that I bought because it was such a nice model that hasn't been run on anything other than the carpet oval yet.

[chris_irl]

I think that if you have the space a combination of loops and complex sidings is the ideal. I think 100% of either will just eventually get boring.

 

If there is a lack of space it can still be possible to have a small loop with shunting patterns tucked inside, but maybe againt the loss of lineside details and so forth.

 

I imagine it can end up as quite a entrenched decision

[CullingworthGNR]

Thank you all for your understanding and encouragement!

 

Over the last few days I've been working through a few ideas, some taken from Cyril Freezer's track plans and some from one of Peter Marriot's old layouts, 'Ardlui' (in one of the first ever copies of Model Rail).

 

I've therefore decided on the following plan, using only 3 setrack points with a town in the middle. This will use a lot of the buildings that I have built up over the past year or two, and I'll still have space for a goods siding in the corner. Look out for progress in the next few weeks - it'll be reasonably detailed and most importantly with toned down colour (so not too trainset like) but still simple and easy to operate.

 

 

Cheers, thanks for all the replies!

[MikeTrice]

I think I’ll build a small roundy-roundy again, so at least I can watch the trains go by, but they are very space intensive.

 

When planning an N Gauge Swiss layout for the garage I settled on a roundy round (although only one side is visible) but had great difficulty fitting in anything like a scale station (even a small one). Given that I would probably get most satisfaction watching different trains moving through a Swiss landscape I decided to abandon a station altogether.

[Pacific231G]

I enjoy operating my current BLT, (or I did when it was working before I started refurbishing it) but I miss a continuous run too. Apart from the practicalities of being able to run in new locos by just letting them trundle round, it's nice sometimes to just sit and watch. Current plans are for the refurbished Portwilliam to be a BLT on the inside of a continuous run (all round the garage) with hidden sidings behind it, giving the best of both worlds. The junction itself will be hidden between a couple of scenic breaks, viz:

 

 

Another option is to make the link that turns it into a continuous run an industrial siding so that it has an operational purpose when you're operating as BLT- fiddle yard (amongst other things you can swap full and empty wagons) but gives you a continuous run when you just want to run trains around. Doing it that way means you don't have to hide the junction.

 

David

[gormo]

Hi People

Hopefully attached a copy of my layout Great Chesterford Junction. The layout is a complete fiction and is still being tweeked, however I feel it reaches a compromise between roundy roundy and end to end. If I just want to watch trains circulate, well I can and yet there is plenty of scope for shunting either the branch or the main station.

Regards Brian