Temp Layout Thoughts and Musings

[Sails]

Folks,

 

While abroad I've set up a temp baseboard setup that will approximately cover the same area I will have to use in my attic when I return to the UK. The area shown is 4 m x 1.6 m, my real limiting factor is the width but that's all I have so I have to make it work. A couple of requisites for you to be aware,

 

This temp layout will use mix of setrack/flexi insulfrog, the final UK version will be streamline 75 electrofrog

Era will be mostly 80-90's but I will have early diesel (UK & Irish), no hard and fast rules at all when it comes to sticking to exact era prototypical malarky. 

 

I'm focusing on one area of the overall layout for now and that's the railway station. My initial plan was to have a station with three lines running through and platforms either side for DMU's/ parcels etc... I looked at some real life locations for inspiration and thought I had a good idea what I wanted. Once I had these boards up and I started to layout some rough track and take into consideration the length of trains I would be running (mostly short sets and multi DMU's ) I realised that all that those plans were a waste of time. Being pragmatic and not wanting to cram track in everywhere I have sidelined the three line station and I'm now mulling the current track layout as per the photos below.

 

Hopefully the pictures are OK for the purposes of seeing what the plan is, the two main platforms will have half their length on the curve (this was intentional to help disguise the curve radius that is 3rd radius at best). I wanted the third line to allow through freight if both main platforms were occupied, but as mentioned earlier thats canned for now. I have a bay with two platforms / three lines, for DMU / parcels if early diesel running and or whatever else I fancy. The three lines really close together ive seen photos of before in real location and I like the idea as it gives something of interest at the station.  How I then connect to these three lines back to the main lines is something I'm not sure of. 

 

EDIT: I should also point out that the final UK layout will have a well in the centre and not solid like this (I was hard enouht to try and get this made without describing separate boards sections...)

Photos to follow and hopefully the 1 to 1 scale of the design is easy to follow, looking forward to your feedback and input.

 

Mark

Edited March 30, 2020 by Sails

[DCB]

There doesn't seem to be much operating potential.  Ther seems to be nowhere to put the long trains out of the way to give the short ones a run.  If you want 3 tracks I would forget code 75 and mix and match code 100 streamline points, flexi and set track 3rd and 4th radius with Set Track curved points.  

You are going to end up with a scenic fiddle yard masquerading as a station and jammed with trains.  You have a good space here with a solid board plenty of width to put a divider down the middle and have two scenes, or a decent station one side with a fiddle yard the other.

Dig an operating well  in the middle and you don't have much space at all, Our operating well is over 3ft wide and that's a bit tight to squeeze past each other, that only leaves 600mm, 2ft for both sides, or 4 roads one side  (8") and 16" for the station, 8 roads max and that's streamline spacing not set track. 

 

[Sails]

Tinkering away with laying track down insitu with tacks just to see what it looks like. Ive already been through several iterations and it's been interesting figuring out what can and cannot be done. First up a diamond crossing ST-250, I used but now realise that a single slip SL-80 would be better to allow access to the down line. 

 

My first time handling flex track and.it was interesting, even when just trying to keep it in place temporarily while planning I see I need a better skill at connecting flexi track ends, anyone got some top tips on that?

 

Mark

[DCB]

SL and ST have different geometry, you need an SL point to match the angles of an SL Slip while keeping the main tracks parallel and then there will be a gap because ST gives a 60mm track spacing and SL a 52mm track spacing.   You can make Set Track points conform to Streamline geometry but its very advanced bodgery and not recommended for beginners, only for ancient impoverished folk like myself with broken points in our scrap boxes to experiment with.

I either cut away the end chair on flexi so the sleeper slides under the fishlate or leave off the last sleeper and thread a modified one under the fishlate, modified with a trough filed so the fishplate sits down snugly into the loose sleeper,

Keeping flexi in place?  I have been using it for 40 years and still haven't figured a good way.  It always tries to straighten out at the ends and make dog legs in curves. Anything less than 2ft radius I use set track curves.

Edited April 2, 2020 by DavidCBroad