Track plan advice required for 0 gauge

[DevilsAdvocate]

Hi all,

 

I am in the process of stepping up from  4mm 00 gauge to  7mm 0 gauge, never done 0 gauge before so it’s all new and quite exciting for me anyway

 

I have a 12ft length available to me, with a width of 2ft, which could be extended to 3 ft if necessary 

I would like a depot scene, with room to move and shunt loco’s about, you know the usual stuff, fuel point, stabling etc.

Doesn’t have to be complicated, your ideas would be most welcome

 

Cheers

John

[Harlequin]

As you say, usual stuff.

Look for 4mm depot plans around 6ft 10ins long and scale up.

There must be hundreds.

[Nearholmer]

We can’t tempt into any less usual stuff, can we?

[GWR57xx]

Steam, diesel or electric? Which region?

[Mol_PMB]

...mainline, industrial, light railway?

 

If you're planning a fairly standard modern diesel MPD, then I'd recommend an underfloor wheel lathe building, because it gives you a reason for just about any locos or rolling stock to visit.

 

But there's plenty of other options for a depot scene: with older smaller locos, or industrial locos, you can fit a lot more in. 12 feet is a very useful length in O but it soon gets used up when you realise that modern large diesels are nearly 2 feet long, and even a fairly compact crossover is 3 feet long.

What's your personal preference for the theme?

[MarcD]

Only advice I would give is don't use peco o gauge set track. They are far to tight for anything other than small dead buffered stock and the check rails are in the wrong place and about a 1/3rd of the length they should be. I used them on my current micro and I'm wishing I hadn't.

Marc

[DevilsAdvocate]

Thank you all for your interest.

 

What i have in mind, is 70’s BR blue era, with a Scottish theme, which can be catered for with classes 03, 08, 24, 25, 26, 27 & 37 , as you say Mol, the smaller loco’s. These are easily obtainable from the manufactures and retailers, and i always said if i did take the plunge, this is what I’d go for.

Obviously i won’t overload the layout, i did this before in 00 and the layout was swamped within loco’s and looked ridiculous !

 

Railway laser lines do a fantastic 00 gauge depot building, i have one. Although they don’t do the exact same in 0, they do a very good alternative, which i want to make the focal point.

 

As for trackwork, i haven’t really given that part a great deal of thought at this stage of proceedings.

I have been to the York show this weekend and seen Peco medium unifrog points and set track pieces. I believe they do flexitrack pieces as well which i always used in 00. Are you telling me Marc not to use the set track then and which points do you recommend ?

 

This is all valuable information from you all which is invaluable as i venture into new territory !! 🤔😊

[DevilsAdvocate]

Just as a matter of interest, i have a Gaugemaster Prodigy 2 controller. For some reason, it has stopped letting me programme / reprogram decoders

I have contacted Gaugemaster, who state they do not do spares for the ‘ older’ Prodigy, but to send it back to let them have a look at it.

 

That’s the story :-

 

The question I’m asking, is if they can’t fix this, what controller do you recommend for 0 gauge

Digitrains were at the show and were very helpful

Ideally, I’d like a wireless controller. The connecting leads do my head in, but of course they are bit more expensive

they showed me the ideal unit, an Evolution xpress DCS210.

They would do. It costs £595 !

Again, any suggestions ?

 

I want to keep a few feet of 00 on the other side of the loft for 00 stuff I can’t bear to part with, so the controller would be controlling both

 

Cheers

[MarcD]

If you want to buy RTR track the streamline point's are ok. If you want to build your own then Greenwood pint kit are not bad. Rule of thumb for  0 gauge standard locos and stock 6ft radius points minimum radius. You can go down to 4ft but you're looking at industrial layout and short 4 wheel stock.

Marc

[Mol_PMB]

Agreed on the curve radii. I have some Marcway 4' radius points on my industrial layout, which work fine for shunting with smaller locos and stock and are significantly smaller than the streamline points. Notably they are designed with a straight frog which is more prototypical for most situations and avoids the buffer-locking problems on the very sharp reverse curves which are a consequence of using the Peco Setrack points.

 

There is also a range of flat-bottom O gauge track by Lenz, which may be worth a look.

 

I think a depot of Rats and McRats would look great in that space, more scope to fit in a believable track layout than for larger locos.

 

Try to avoid the temptation to fill every square inch of board with track - sometimes less is more. O gauge is a great scale for cameo scenic details so leave some room for them.

[DevilsAdvocate]

Thanks chaps,

 

Less is more…..I’ve heard that a few times this weekend but it obvious really.

So would the Peco medium radius unifrog points be ok for the loco’s I’d be going for ?

 

I wouldn’t be making my own. You have to know your limitations and mine doesn’t stretch to track building !

 

Cheers

 

[DCB]

2 hours ago, DevilsAdvocate said:

Thank you all for your interest.

 

Obviously i won’t overload the layout, i did this before in 00 and the layout was swamped within loco’s and looked ridiculous !

🤔😊

 

I suspect the same will happen with the 0 gauge, the locos cost maybe 1.5 times the 00 and take up 3 times the area. Six would be a crowd on this layout.  I would incorporate a loco lift so you can select the locos you want to display from one of several display cabinets or even better sets of low level storage sidings and have them delivered swiftly and safely to the display area.    

[GWR57xx]

3 hours ago, DevilsAdvocate said:

Ideally, I’d like a wireless controller. 

Sorry I don’t know the details because I don’t use it myself, but I believe there is an app that you can download onto a smart phone and/or tablet that allows you to use that as a controller. A few searches in the DCC section of RMWeb would probably turn up the details.

[Mol_PMB]

1 hour ago, DevilsAdvocate said:

Thanks chaps,

 

Less is more…..I’ve heard that a few times this weekend but it obvious really.

So would the Peco medium radius unifrog points be ok for the loco’s I’d be going for ?

 

I wouldn’t be making my own. You have to know your limitations and mine doesn’t stretch to track building !

 

Cheers

 

Yes, the Peco medium radius would be fine for your plans. I look forward to seeing your track plan ideas.

[F-UnitMad]

On 31/03/2024 at 21:39, DevilsAdvocate said:

Hi all,

 

I am in the process of stepping up from  4mm 00 gauge to  7mm 0 gauge, never done 0 gauge before so it’s all new and quite exciting for me anyway

 

I have a 12ft length available to me, with a width of 2ft, which could be extended to 3 ft if necessary 

I would like a depot scene, with room to move and shunt loco’s about, you know the usual stuff, fuel point, stabling etc.

Doesn’t have to be complicated, your ideas would be most welcome

 

Cheers

John

I'm thinking "Ian Futers" and some of his layouts. IIRC "Lochty Road" was one, a Scottish Region stabling point.

Edit: it was called "Lochty Lane". I saw it myself once, but can't recall where.

https://bickersgateblog.wordpress.com/tag/lochty-lane/

Edited April 1 by F-UnitMad

[DavidB-AU]

5 hours ago, F-UnitMad said:

I'm thinking "Ian Futers" and some of his layouts. IIRC "Lochty Road" was one, a Scottish Region stabling point.

 

I was just thinking "Ian Futers" while reading down the topic. The 7mm Lochside and Ullapool are roughly that size too. Not stabling points but Lochside in particular allows running all of the desired motive power.

[DavidB-AU]

11 hours ago, DevilsAdvocate said:

Ideally, I’d like a wireless controller. The connecting leads do my head in, but of course they are bit more expensive

they showed me the ideal unit, an Evolution xpress DCS210.

They would do. It costs £595 !

Again, any suggestions ?

 

You could look at something like an NCE PowerCab which is a little over £200. With a little extra hardware and some free software you can use your phone a wireless controller.

[The Johnster]

18 hours ago, GWR57xx said:

Sorry I don’t know the details because I don’t use it myself, but I believe there is an app that you can download onto a smart phone and/or tablet that allows you to use that as a controller. A few searches in the DCC section of RMWeb would probably turn up the details.

 

Have a look at the (Hornby) HM6000 system for DC and HM7000 system for DCC.  These has units which supply power to the track but are simple boxex with all the gubbins inside and work through a Bluetooth connection from your smartphone, to which you download a free app and use it as the actual control user interface by touchscreen button and slider controls.  Much less expensive than the solutions so far discussed. 

 

[F-UnitMad]

10 minutes ago, The Johnster said:

Have a look at the (Hornby) HM6000 system for DC and HM7000 system for DCC.

Depends if the HM7000 decoders have enough Amps for O Scale locos, especially bigger twin-motor jobs.

Personally I've never trusted Hornby controllers of any type ever since my mate had an R900 one in the 1970s.....

[Mol_PMB]

This layout in progress is 9 feet long (including the traverser) and about 2 feet wide, with a similar theme of a small Scottish stabling point in the 1980s. You'll have a bit more space than this, but it should give you a feel for what's possible: