New garden shed layout

[Budgie]

I have ordered a new garden shed, and now I am in the process of designing a layout to fit in it. This is going to involve a double scissors crossover as the central attraction, and, as this connects four double tracks, the tracks radiating from this will be four reverse loops, two representing London and two representing the country. Apart from the main London loop, these will be three-tracked and used as staging rather than fiddle-yards.

 

Train operation will be DCC. To make wiring easier I am having no connections whatever between up and down lines, which means that with insulated-frog diamond crossings I will not need to use a reversing unit. It also means I can operate an intensive service, without have to worry about such old-fashioned things as shunting, or terminating trains.

 

Of course, things will not be that simple, as I don't want to use insulated-frog diamond crossings. So, I will need to fit some reversing units: eight of them, in fact (i.e. one for each diamond crossing). Fitting them should be simple (famous last words)

• Where two same-direction tracks cross the reversing unit is connected to the V-crossings and the K-crossings are connected direct to the track bus.
• Where two opposite-direction tracks cross, the reversing unit is connected to the K-crossings and the V-crossings are connected direct to the track bus.

I haven't drawn out the plan yet, because I obviously haven't thought of all the things that are going to go wrong. First of all, though, the shed is 30' x 10', which you will all say is obviously too small for what I want to do.

 

All comments will be appreciated.

[Stubby47]

If you are not shunting over the diamonds and probably intend to run at speed, why not use insulated ones ? 

 

Edit: Probably because this is the central piece and you want it to look good...

[Budgie]

There will be a station immediately following the scissors, so trains will be starting up and going slowly over the diamonds. Also, I have had bad experiences of short-circuits on dead frogs, that have necessitated lengthening them to avoid the problem.

[mightbe]

Why not add in a few trailing crossovers (around the station) just in case you'd want to motor them up later? It's also more realistic if you include them (even provisionally).

[Budgie]

The prototype this is based on doesn't have any.

[mightbe]

Ah, that makes sense then. What's the prototype and era?

[Budgie]

Lewisham, 1955-1970

[ukpepsi]

 

 

I obviously haven't thought of all the things that are going to go wrong. First of all, though, the shed is 30' x 10', which you will all say is obviously too small for what I want to do.

 

On a practical note, don't forget to factor in a security aspect to your shed layout.

It is a sad fact that in today's world, if you have something nice, some miscreant will try and steal it from you.

 

A 30ft x 10ft shed is an excellent size, it's always our dreams that are compromised by the reality of what is really achievable.

Remember to leave yourself space for a workbench and a stereo.

 

Pepsi

[Budgie]

There will be a station immediately following the scissors, so trains will be starting up and going slowly over the diamonds. Also, I have had bad experiences of short-circuits on dead frogs, that have necessitated lengthening them to avoid the problem.

I have obtained a couple of diamond crossings, one long and one short. I tested them by running one of the new Bachmann 64xx across them, powered by a Gaugemaster Combi controller. It needed the speed control to be 25% or greater to stop stalling on the dead frogs. As far as I am concerned this is not good enough, so, as I said earlier, I shall be using live frogs.

[Budgie]

On a practical note, don't forget to factor in a security aspect to your shed layout.

It is a sad fact that in today's world, if you have something nice, some miscreant will try and steal it from you.

You're right. Security is something I'm thinking of.

 

A 30ft x 10ft shed is an excellent size, it's always our dreams that are compromised by the reality of what is really achievable.

Remember to leave yourself space for a workbench and a stereo.

Yes, I've got that catered for, together with an easy chair, a beer fridge, ....

[gismorail]

On the question of security I would recommend a locking bar that locks to both sides of the door (see pic) you can obtain these from ebay of which there are several to choose from. When you fit the door hinges make sure you fix the hinges with coach bolts and not screws this will mean that the door can not be removed by removal of the hinges.

If you can, don't have any windows as well as security this will stop the track getting dirty with no daylight , A simple alarm system and auto lighting will just add that extra safety.

Best of luck with your project.

 

 

[jamest]

Hi,

 

Can I ask where you have ordered your shed from? I'm in Devon so I appreciate your supplier might not be available to me, but I'm on the lookout for a shed and I like to compare whats on offer.

 

My requirements are a little smaller at 12'x8'!

 

Can I ask if there was anything in particular that you looked for? For example a certain thickness of cladding, non-felt roof, etc?

 

......and good luck with the project.

 

Regards,

James

[Budgie]

I ordered it from Elbec Garden Buildings, who are based in Nottingham. The shed is made by Shire, who are based in Wisbech, but they will deliver all round the mainland. Each shed is built individually for the customer, and you can specify whatever features you like, mostly from a list of options but you can also phone them up and discuss things that aren't on the list.

 

The main thing I was looking for was the size: it is the largest I could find that doesn't need planning permission or certification that it satisfies the building regulations. If I had been prepared to go through the building regulations palaver I could have ordered a bigger one.

[Joseph_Pestell]

30' x 10' is a great space but I can see that you may feel a bit limited when modelling such a large station (in terms of land footprint) as Lewisham. Presumably you are only copying the trackplan rather than modelling Lewisham itself because no obvious scenic breaks before reaching the complications of Parks Bridge Junction, St John's flyover, etc.

 

Will it even be Southern if you are testing it with a 64xx?

 

Edit to add: Are you really sure that there were no crossovers at Lewisham?

[Budgie]

You are right, it will be the trackplan, and the incline up to the old Greenwich Park branch.

 

Yes, it will be Southern. The 64xx hasn't been DCC-chipped yet, and has a short wheelbase so it was a handy locomotive to use for testing. I'm hoping to run EMUs, with a few steam locos and the odd Crompton.

 

Yes, I am really sure. As we speak I am looking at the 40-foot to the inch station plans. There was a facing crossover going up the incline when the single-track connection to the Charing Cross lines was installed, but now that has been doubled the crossover has been removed and it's back to no crossover at Lewisham.

[Mike Storey]

Sounds like a very interesting and ambitious project. I look forward to its gestation. What minimum radius are you aiming for? That will determine whether your double reversing loops will fit with sufficient room left for the station and junctions.

 

I have 23 ft x 11ft available and I am struggling not to compromise too much with just a single line at min 4ft6ins radii (Queenborough to Sheerness being modelled, with each on one side and a semi-hidden fiddle yard behind Sheerness). Still lining out the roof so not much progress on the layout yet, apart from a few test boards from an old layout.

[Budgie]

I will be using radii 2, 3 and 4 curves for the reversing loops at the end of the four "arms" of the double scissors. With radius 4, a complete circle will fit in a 4 ft square. So two of those with a 2 ft wide board in between will fill up the ten-foot wdith.

[APOLLO]

I had a lovely, new, empty garden shed once.

 

Now filled with freezers, bikes, tumble dryer, boxes and boxes of family tat - and above all that is the Chicago Rock Island & Pacific railroad in the rocky mountains, along with the Colorado & Southern narrow gauge - and all in O scale !!!.

 

http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/52775-rock-island-in-the-rockies/

 

Space - the final frontier !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Take care with your planning, not just track layout. Plan in access for construction & maintenance, take care with gradients and tunnels etc.

 

Good luck with your layout Budgie.

 

Brit15