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VERY tiny layout


cornamuse

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Hi there folks - here is an idea for you to roll around

 

I have a spare area of about 3ft x 1ft (could stretch to 4ft...) plus fiddle yard

 

also have some 7mm stock I want to allow to run up and down a little - all short 4 wheel stock

 

the idea is for it to form part of a small transport museum showcasing vintage stock

 

is this going to be in any way possible? it doesn't need to have a massive operating potential, just run up and back a little - maybe one loco and 2 short wagons at a time

 

for anyone who is feeling really cocky, I have 16.5 and 32 mm gauge stock to show, and was thinking of building some broad gauge...

 

I know that, ideally, I need several rooms and a larger budget, or a much smaller scale, but can anyone think of any clever ideas?

 

cheers

 

Andy

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I haven't got any ideas that aren't explored in the links from maunsel but I'd certainly encourage you to give it a go.

 

I've started building etched 7mm locos and stock but, wthout a layout, I'm confined to running them up and down a yard of regauged 00 Peco Streamline nailed to a plank. As a result I can confirm that, with a small 0-4-0 or similar, you've got room for a couple of SWB wagons or, possibly, one four wheeled coach and still have enough clear space for the loco to revolve its wheels several times.

 

Forget pointwork though; it just absorbs too much length. Given that you've got 3' plus a fiddleyard, if you want multiple tracks visible (you've room for two but not really three if you want to get anything else onto the board), make the fiddleyard a traverser or cassettes (not a fan myself but I've never used them so what do I know? :)) and transfer trains from one track to t'other offstage.

 

On such tiny layouts it always seems a shame to hide ~50% of the available space so you might want to look at how you might achieve a plausible "open air" fiddleyard. There are a few ways of doing this, such as a fully scenicked traverser, or building two layouts end to end, using ech as the FY for the other. The late Carl Arendt's site has suggestions and there is at least one layout on RMweb with the scenic traverser idea superbly executed.

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Andy

A layout that size is quite possible in O, but you will be limited to 4 wheel stock & short locos (or diesels) to avoid problems on any curve or points.  Mine was 8ft long, 4 scenic, 3 ft three track turntable & 1 ft connection between the two.  Required a 3 ft deep space due to the turntable, which you could eliminate by a sector plate.  A number of the layouts in the Gauge O Guild small layouts book could help.

http://www.gauge0guild.com/Small-layouts.asp

My layout was almost a direct copy of Colin French's Ouse Valley & I was able to run trains of 2 x 4 wheel coaches or 4 wagons with an 0-4-4 loco.  Built Marcway 4ft points & a Y point built as an asymmetrical Y.  Make the track a bit wiggly (but flat & correct gauge) along the front & it looks worn & museumish.  Add duel gauge for broad gauge & it would be a challenge !   It's your layout, have what you want.

Duncan

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  • 2 weeks later...

Helpfully there was a 90cm x 30cm mirror propped against the wall next to our computer so I've spent a happy half hour shuffling 0 gauge wagons around on it.

 

It's a bit cluttered but my initial plan was this

 

post-8493-0-64842200-1390735627.jpg

 

but if you can cope with tight curves and a shorter loop you could probably fit one of these

 

post-8493-0-87072000-1390735768.jpg

 

post-8493-0-35276200-1390735802.jpg

 

I don't know how hard the 2'6" radius 3 way point would be to build but it would save turning the sector plate for each move, alternatively either the bay or the loco release could stay on the sector plate and the other one be a normal point from the platform road.

 

The 3 way could look great as mixed gauge :angel:

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