Need Some Help Please

[tim3766]

Hell to All  and thank you for having me , i need some help please to design a model layout , i am a complete novice and feel way out of my depth , the space i have available is  74 inches  long  by 28 inch wide        that is  all the free space i have, what i would like to have on the board is  some sort of switching goods yard , something that can give a good bit of enjoyment without getting bored , sort of shelf layout  END to END  { if i am making sense }    is it possible for someone to do me a Track plan please  as i have tried but keep messing it up , i will be modelling early to late 70,s era  , All in OO Scale and with DCC   , I know this is a big ask  but would be very very grateful  if anybody  could come up with something      Many Thanks   Tim

[Andy Hayter]

It sounds as if you might be inspired by the Inglenook shunting puzzle and siding layout.

 

https://wymann.info/ShuntingPuzzles/Inglenook/inglenook-rules.html

 

You might be able to expand a bit on this, but it is a good starting point.

[ITG]

Hi

At only 28” wide, there is insufficient width to accommodate a 180 degree turn, so you are limited to a shunting or depot type plan. Unless you can add a removable plank to house a fiddle yard.

As it’s your first attempt, whatever you do, I’d recommend treating it as a short term experiment that allows you to make mistakes and learn as you go. Very few people get it right first time, so just accept it maybe short term , and that versions 2, 3, 4 etc are only around the corner.

Ian

[tim3766]

Hi Andy & ITG       Yes a shunting or depot type plan.    but  need something that wont be boring     im trawling the net  to see what i can find , the board will be MDF   what advice  can you give me on what sort of track to use  ?   Thanks Tim

[RobinofLoxley]

Welcome Tim.

 

Mdf isnt a recommended material for making baseboards, most here will vote for good quality plywood, minimum 9mm thick. 

 

It will help anyone suggesting a plan, if you could possibly find a location that interests you to make it the basis of a model. 

 

When you talk about messing up, what track planning software if any have you tried?

 

Era is basically 'Blue Diesel' , is that correct? 

 

With the restricted space did you consider a smaller scale, do you already have OO stock? 

[YT-1300]

17 minutes ago, RobinofLoxley said:

Welcome Tim.

 

Mdf isnt a recommended material for making baseboards, most here will vote for good quality plywood, minimum 9mm thick. 

 

It will help anyone suggesting a plan, if you could possibly find a location that interests you to make it the basis of a model. 

 

When you talk about messing up, what track planning software if any have you tried?

 

Era is basically 'Blue Diesel' , is that correct? 

 

With the restricted space did you consider a smaller scale, do you already have OO stock? 

I agree re the MDF, but 6mm ply is very suitable, and lightweight if the layout is to be moved around

 

@tim3766 as stated further up thread, an inglenook type shunting layout might suit you, you can use any track you wish, most people plump for Peco. 

 

My layout, in the link below, is an Inglenook and a bit, I use Peco code 75 with Electrofrog points, although my points have been modified in appearance and electrically, it's DCC controlled.

 

You are welcome to copy the track plan if you can fit it into your space.

[tim3766]

Hello again to all      and that you all for your input ,  ok i have found some track plans      and i am wondering if i can fit one  onto my board  74 inch x 28 inch     Attached are the plans 

Again i want to do it in DCC        freight yard 

 

Any help greatly appreciated 

 

 

many thanks 

Tim

Edited March 29 by tim3766

[Flying Pig]

There's a good shunting layout on this thread.  It's built in 2mm finescale, but could easily be replicated with ready to use points and flexi track, or even sectional track.  

 

 

[The Johnster]

4 hours ago, tim3766 said:

Hello again to all      and that you all for your input ,  ok i have found some track plans      and i am wondering if i can fit one  onto my board  74 inch x 28 inch     Attached are the plans 

Again i want to do it in DCC        freight yard 

 

Any help greatly appreciated 

 

 

many thanks 

Tim

 

 

Not sure what is going on with the top plan, but I'm assuming a narrow-gauge section in the foreground.  What does the blue line represent?  The middle plan is for a main-line terminus, and needs to be fed from a fiddle yard; it would be very difficult to fit this into your space, and you need to have something self-contained within the 74x28".  The bottom plan works well enough, being self-contained (the fiddle area is behind the wall; I'd suggest lift-out cassettes and you might have room to extend it a bit and put in a few extra sidings.  As a goods yard it doesn't look right, but as industrial sidings serving different industries works well.  What sort of period are you considering?

[tim3766]

Hi   British rail  late 70,s to Early 80,s 

[RobinofLoxley]

6 hours ago, tim3766 said:

Hello again to all      and that you all for your input ,  ok i have found some track plans      and i am wondering if i can fit one  onto my board  74 inch x 28 inch     Attached are the plans 

Again i want to do it in DCC        freight yard 

 

Any help greatly appreciated 

 

 

many thanks 

Tim

Starting from the top, we have a layout with Streamline turnouts. They look like the smallest, code 91 or 92, about 8 inches long, making the scale squares 1 foot or 300mm which is a typical size. So its 8 feet long.

The second is with Setrack items (wider angles), making the layout 6' long.

The third is scaled in metres so it would be about 12 feet long.

The lower is more or less a copy of the first one, differently scales and cropped.

If I'm right about the scales, they are all one foot wide, apart from No 2. So really all are the wrong size, as too narrow. But shunting plank layouts are quite typical.

Edited March 29 by RobinofLoxley

[RobinofLoxley]

One more thing Tim, although you say that the given dimensions are the larget that you can use, presumably you have some operating space in front, for example? I'm asking because in any layout trains have to come and go from 'Somewhere' and in this case, the answer might be to feed them on and off from the front side by using what is normally called a cassette - a length of rail on a plank or in a box that can be hooked on to the front to run a train on or off. So what do you have in that respect?

[F-UnitMad]

On 27/03/2024 at 19:43, tim3766 said:

Yes a shunting or depot type plan.    but  need something that wont be boring 

Don't make the mistake of equating simple trackplans with boring operations.

Depot layouts might have quite complex track plans but just running locos on and off shed can get very repetitive and boring, in my view.

A set of freight sidings depends on industries, 'destinations' or "car spots" (to borrow an American term) for wagons to make operations interesting, not complex trackwork. This works better - or closer to the prototype - for American railroads than British goods yards, which were in serious decline in the 70/80s, but it can still be done.

If 74 inches is the absolute total length available though, that is going to be quite a challenge.

[davknigh]

Tim, you may find this useful; http://www.wymann.info/ShuntingPuzzles/Timesaver/timesaver-trackplan.html The original was an American design but can be done for British outline with the advantage that it will require less space than the US version. It can be built using set track.

 

And if the Timesaver does not create excitement for you then there are more possibilities on offer if you go back to the home page: http://www.wymann.info/ShuntingPuzzles/index.html

 

Cheers,

 

David

Edited April 1 by davknigh
Adding a link

[The Johnster]

The balance between interesting shunting/operation and boring is a fine one, and a bit personal; I'm sure some people would find my layout too restrictive to shunt, a BLT loop with sidings kicking back off both ends and a colliery branch, and others might find it too complex, but I find the level just right for my purposes.  I operate in real time to a timetable and try to run at realistic speeds, and allow time for processes like examining trains, ground staff moving about at walking speed, and so on.  The challenge is to run the timetable to time, and if I find it getting dull I have wild cards/spaniards in the works I can liven things up with (hotboxes, van in the way because the mileage customer hasn't unloaded it yet, urgent despatch requiring special working or tail traffic on a passenger train. no auto loco available so stock must be run around, &c).  Other people like to watch the trains going around, and regard goods faclilities as scenic background, which is fine but not for me.  Or run shunting puzzles like Inglenooks and Timesavers which are logic challenges in the form of a model railway but do not actually replicate railway operation; again, fine, but not for me...

 

That said and my stall set out, the principle of a loop, either passing or BLT runaround, with siding emanating from both ends in both directions, is IMHO a good one.  Thought must be put into the makeup of the trains to faclilitate shunting and, at a terminus, run around movements made to access both sets of sidngs.  A single siding may provide more shunting fun than separate roads, unintuitive but you may have to move wagons out of the way to access cranage, undercover facilities/secure storage, or end loading dock for incoming traffic, or to dig out urgent outgoing.  And your pickup goods will probably have traffic on it that you don't shunt, collected at or to be delivered to other stations on its run, and positioned in the train accordingly.  This is realistic and railway-like, a representation of the day-to-day challenges and issues of running a general merchandise common carrier goods service on a traditional railway.  And it is very  satisfying!