Therealnips

Im good with computers and ok will electronics. Ive had a look at JMRI and looks interesting. I have a couple of PCs knocking around somewhere, so might jump in

Hi Paul,

I like your idea, I never thought of having two tracks on one side and four the other. It captures the look of a busy mainline outside the depot, but also creates a countryside scene well.

I do use the flexitrack trick in SCARM as much as possible to help, I was having to use three files, but got it down to two which is easier to photoshop into one file!

The layout will definitely be digital, although I haven't got a controller yet! I tried bidding on a digitrax set that came up on ebay a few weeks ago, but didn't win it. I may just buy the Hornby cheap small controller until another digitrax becomes up. Digital is the way forwards I feel and as a bit of a computer nerd, I like the idea of progressing up to automation (like McKinley railway) but not as large or complicated!

Tom

18 hours ago, Jaggzuk said:

Interesting plan Will and a great space in the attic.  It is always nice to see a new layout emerging and watching it grow.

 

Have you got a paid up version of SCARM, or running the free version?  I found it perfect for planning my layout which was done before it became a limited free version.

 

Here is a link to a useful Topics on using SCARM.

On pg 10 there is help on creating transition curves

 

I agree with the comments from others, your curves did look too tight and the addition of triangle in the corners will help.  With 4 tracks, you inner curve should not be tighter than 2nd radius.  Be careful on rolling stock overhand on curves and clashes with the adjacent curves.

 

I know it is a very early days plan, but try to add in sweeping curves on the straight sides, it will look much better and more lifelike.  The other useful trick is to keep the track level constant but to raise and lower the baseboard (ground level) to help create cutting and embankments.  That way you can easily add over and under rail structures like bridges etc.  This will help to setting the scene and crate the illusion that the railway was constructed through the landscape.

 

With your 4 tracks, which lines are Up and Down and which would be the Slows and Fasts?  This may help with point arrangements.

 

Are you planning a storage road fiddle yard in the tunnel section?

 

One fundamental tip, do not get overly complicated, unless you have a lot of free time to plan and build!! 

 

I think this layout will end up having a lovely feel of watching trains go by?

Hi,

I use the free version, so I build the plan 50 items at a time, save it and then do the next section. I then photoshop all the files together to make one image of the full plan. Thanks for the link, I will check it out!

Yes, I'm glad someone pointed the curves out and hopefully they will be ok. I have four MK4 coaches (recently purchased on ebay) to test the clearances when I start track laying.

No plans for a fiddle yard in the tunnel, but I will park the trains in there when not using the layout. At this time, I only have one train. I can't see myself buying loads of rolling stock before we move house in the future, so I have decided to fore-go a fiddle yard and use sidings and the station to store stock if I suddenly start getting a large collection.

The green lines are the fast lines, blue the slow, red is the depot and yellow are station sidings/loops (I don't know the technical phrase...!)

I can't really play around with the height of the baseboards as they are a "shelf" above the access to the storage in the eves of the roof and I only have about 10" before the pitch of the roof. As a bungalow, the footprint of the loft is large, but the height in low. In the dead centre of the loft, I can just stand up straight although I can't have too long hair! As the house is our first ever purchase, we won't be here forever (although longer than we thought due to this pandemic now!) so I wanted a layout that was reasonably simple to build i.e straight flat baseboards and simple to remove when we move in a few years time and as its my first time building a layout, I didn't want to make it overly difficult for myself. I'm going to make mistakes and bad decisions, but I see it as training for when I build the layout I want in a house I will be in for many years to come. This is a learning stop-gap if you will...

My next step, other than fine-tuning the layout design, is to get the loft wired and lit and start building the baseboards. I have a two week holiday coming up, as we cant go anywhere I might just start with some baseboard construction!

23 hours ago, Pete the Elaner said:

The corners are very, very tight. Even with 40cm boards, getting 4 tracks around each corner will be very difficult. You certainly won't get away with Peco streamline spacing between each line because you will have stock fouling each other. Peco settrack spacing does not look very good & will look far too spread out on the straights.

When I first saw your dimentions, I read through the text thinking "I hope this plan is for N gauge because it is way too tight for OO".

 

Be very wary of superelevation. I tried it on a club layout once but found that the transition from straight (flat) to curved (canted) needs to be very gradual or else derailments will occur. The problem was as trains went from canted to flat & the track had continued to turn away, leaving the train to derail by carrying on in a straight line. Your tight curves will be a big issue for this.

I know Richard has used this on Everard Jcn, but he has learned a huge amount from his previous Everard Jcn. On this layout, straights transition into curves very gradually which makes superelevation possible.

Ok, thanks for the heads-up! How would you go about smoothing out the curves? Would putting a triangle piece of baseboard in the corner help?

22 hours ago, WillCav said:

If you think about when the real railways were built, the points were gathered together in a small area for the railway policeman (now signaller) or 'Bobby' to operate.  When signal boxes came in, the points were operated mechanically - the further the point, the more effort to swing it.

 

There aren't these restrictions on modern signalling but if the points were put there in 18?? then unless there's a good reason, replacement points will go in the same place.

 

So short answer - yes, nearer the station is usual.  It also helps with capacity as a train waiting for a platform can be closer to the station as the signal can be closer (especially in 4 aspect signalling areas).

 

Will

I will have a look at moving the point work into the station area more, it make total sense really. This is why I wanted a blog some that more experienced people could weigh in!

Hi Will,

Thanks for the input. The track plan is a work in progress and I was hoping for some advice, so I have thought about making these changes: 

• The straights I was planning on changing them to slight "s-Bends" with super elevation, to make it look better.
• The turns at each corner are not minimum radius, but until I get the boards built and temporarily lay some track with a tracksetta, I don't know what they will be. I want them as gentle as possible in the space available to avoid issues.
•  My SCARM skills are not the best so the plan is more of a rough guide rather than 100% accurate, same with the spacing between the tracks. I was going to go with a wider areas down the centre between both pairs of tracks.
• I didn't think about the length of the headshunt, so I'm glad you pointed that out. Ill plan for it to be longer. Makes perfect sense!
• As its my first attempt at a layout, I didn't want to over complicate it with pointwork (therefore motors, point controllers, signals etc), so I was going to treat the station more as a through station such as Haywards Heath or Three Bridges. Also at £40 a point, I was trying to keep the cost down a little. The plan is the bare minimum in point work to allow access to and from all areas, but after what you said, I am thinking of moving some of the crossovers into the station area rather than where they are now? Would that look more realistic?

I am more than happy for people to weigh-in with positive criticism, its how we learn and im pretty thick skinned.

Thanks!