Moving on from the track plan and designing scenery

[seasider]

This may be the most ridiculous question ever asked but I'm really struggling to picture how to develop a layout from a track plan and incorporate scenery into the layout and I was wondering how the more experienced of you out there go about developing a track plan into some of the wonderful layouts I've seen on here.

 

Do you fully design the layout with Any-rail or some other planning software to make sure everything fits or is there a lot of trial and error involved, to get things looking somewhat realistic.77

 

Do you use full scale mock ups or something totally different I have not thought of.

 

I am only looking at a small shelf layout 6ft by 18" in OO and I know I want it to be set in a small rural market town mostly running DMU's from a range of eras so it should be easy to bring together but I seem to have a mental block on how to move forwards any hints and advice would be appreciated

 

[jon_1066]

Scarm is great for planning in advance. On the most extreme end you could design it all on the computer including scenery and buildings, print it out 1:1 and follow it. At the other end you can grab a few points, some flexitrack and point print outs and have at it diectly on the board.

 

Neither approach is right or wrong just what works for you. If you like fiddling around with computers then i suggest using Scarm. Otherwise download the Peco track geometry, print it out and muck around with you base board

[maunsel]

On small layouts it's mainly a case of framing the layout. For example hiding fiddle yard entrances, disguising ends and corners. It's probably best to avoid big or tall things in the centre as this tends to dominate and divide the layout.

 

Varying heights of trees and buildings, as in real life, is generally more convincing. As is the use of differing levels where possible, rather that having just a uniform flat surface.

 

I guess the best advice is to look at the scenery around the places that you want to model and see how varying heights and ground levels compliment the real thing. Don't forget each geographic area has it's own nuances. Like pantiled roofs in Yorkshire or Lincolnshire, of weatherboarding or flints in the South East.

 

 

Eric.

[Torr Giffard LSWR 1951-71]

....why not imagine a dramatic landscape that you would enjoy squeezing into a tight/small space...then work on how the railway engineers would have driven the railway into it.

 

Escaping from the 'hackneyed' flat plank/shelf into such terrain will almost automatically generate a range of ideas.

 

Even if your available space is small, height or depth can add dimensions that transform such layouts.

 

Dave

[HLT 0109]

6' x 18" in 00 does not give a lot of scope, although there are/have been many delightful layouts with such a specification.  You will probably want an off-scene fiddle yard - would that be within the 6' or in addition to it?  I think you need to develop your requirements a little further than already stated, "something in a small rural market town" before you start designing the track layout: .  Since you mention DMUs it looks as if you want to run passenger trains rather than operate, say, a goods yard or a cattle market.  Small market towns have always been tourist attractions so you might want a good scenic backdrop and your buildings, in addition to a small station, could be a gift shop, café, pub, church, school, car repair garage,  Even if only running DMUs, you could have sidings containing static wagons for coal or other merchandise, or to a rail-served creamery.  Would this be a single track or double track line?  If double, then you probably need points to enable the train to return on the other line (unless there is a fiddle yard at each end) - and give the lines gentle curves rather than being dead straight.

 

I would suggest sketching out a few ideas with pencil and paper before trying computer software or mock-ups.  Once you have a reasonably clear idea of what you want to achieve, I think then would be the time to use SCARM or Anyrail.  When designing your buildings, don't be too pedantic about size; scale is important but err on the small size - certainly laterally.

 

Just a few thoughts - others may disagree.

 

Harold.

[Sir Madog]

Quite often, too much attention is given to the track plan and too little focus on scenery when designing a layout. Scenery is for me the most important part, as I can live with a rather simple track arrangement, providing it fits my operations needs.

 

When I design a layout, I keep the scenic features in my mind. I use an old version of WinRail to draw the layout, employing the draw function of the software to lay out the scenery.

 

I am right now in the process to design my On30 layout, which is just a little more than a shunting plank with a lot of "value added" through the scenery I envision.

 

[seasider]

Thanks for taking the time to respond everyone, I'm just back from a weekend away so have only just caught up with the replies. Certainly some food for thought there. 

 

The fiddle yard will be off scene, and something I have been considering is just to model a section of track with no station/goods yard just trains passing through scenery, not the most exiting track plan but with a board of 6ft operation will be limited anyway, plus the enjoyment of building something appeals more to me than the operation. 

 

As I am finding with this hobby there are more questions than answers at the moment.

[Brian D]

Please do not dismiss the joys of operation.  Once you have built the layout you might still get bored running dmus in and out.  My current layout is only 7ft by 14 inches with a fiddle yard added on the end taking it up to about 11 feet long - track plan attached below.

Basically, I laid the track, added the platforms, buildings, etc. and added a few "humps and bumps" of landscaping afterwards - follow the link below to see the final effect.

Hope this helps.

Regards,