jhock

I have been doing a little more revision to my plan: The bottom spur would be for transloading and car storage. I think I will loose the building in the top right and that would become a lumber yard so I can use all my center beam flats. Just another idea to add to the pot. Remember I am not having staging, so everything is staged on the layout.

I have made some revision to the plan, I seem to be settling more on a city theme:

Thanks guys, I had a quick play around in SCARM to see what i could come up with: on Flickr Although it is a copy of the track plan (to a point as I don't have room for the L shaped part) of the LA Junction I would hope I could achieve a different feel with the scenery. Along the back are a couple of generic modern buildings, not sure what they would be yet, but something that uses box cars, I like Jack Hills idea of a cardboard manufacturer, as that has box cars in and out. I don't have room for staging so the cars would be staged on the left hand lead in track, there is room for 4-5 50' box cars and small engine. Each of the rear buildings have car spots for 3 cars, so plenty of switching. The bottom right spur will be a lumber yard, I have few center beam flat cars that need a home and many hours spent wrapping the loads for them! In the front will be a few non rail served bits, I want to put a in a firewood dealer as I have some logging trucks I spent a while building that need a home.

I am going to start this post by saying that I know it is my model and I can do I what I want, that said I would like to try and produce something that is responsibly prototypical of a modern switching railroad. I am a bit of fan of Lance Mindheim and his style of modelling, producing very simple models, but are still absorbing to operate, that said I am not so keen on his chosen subject matter of LA / Miami and this is where my question comes in. Does the premise of short trains and lots of switching (shunting) apply to other parts of the US or is it quite unique to his chosen subject matter? I have a space of 10 feet by 18 inches to play with to make my model, I terms of area I would like to represent it would more New England, Vermont, Maine or somewhere similar, so does the principals that applied to Lances models translate to these areas? If not I am happy to represent another area of the US, I just need a bit of information of where is going to allow for a railroad that operates a similar services. Any help would be appreciated.

Indeed, everyday normal vehicles can sometimes be a little difficult to achieve and car parks on layouts can sometimes look like show rooms! I don't want to detract from your layout thread, the layout creates a very real industrial atmosphere, I hope I get to see at an exhibition one day.

Just wanted to say I really like the look of this layout. I particularly like the effort to ensure all the road vehicles are appropriate to the period And just the general feel of the layout.

I had a quick go on SCARM, to see what I could come up with:

After a discussion with SWMBO, I think the layout is going to be 13' by 3' narrowing to 20" along its length, I will loop each end and have a fiddle yard underneath with 3 or so tracks. Quite a challenge to my woeful wood work skills, but i it is the best use of the space.

Thanks Paul, Love the plan, I would need to adapt it a little, as what I don't have is width, I need to keep it all quite narrow and in and L shape. The hobby room is a shared space with my partner, so need to keep on side of the room or she will give me a kicking! I suspect there will be a line down the middle with words 'You shall not pass!'

I hope no one minds me reviving this thread, but 2 years after I made the initial post I have taken the plunge and bought myself a starter set from Bemo and intend to produce a layout in HOm. A few things have changed that make this a easier, mainly I have moved house and a lot more space to play with, I now have 13' by 7' in an L shape in which to make a layout. The maximum width I can go to is 28inches which is just enough to accommodate the set track curves that come in the set. He main part of the layout will be 18" to 20" wide. The plan (which is only in my head at present) is to have a continuous run with the L part being used a fiddle yard that comes off the main run. I think, having read the thread again I am not going to pick an actual location but model something that captures the essence of what I want and fits the space. It is going to be a small station, no doubt 3 track with a siding or 2, 1 for timber and 1 maybe for container transfer, I know that is probably overkill for a small station but it is what I want. I want plenty of space just for the trains to run, so some of the layout will just be single track running through the mountains. There will also be a hidden track that runs up the back of the lay out to return the train. As the curves are sharp I might hide them behind scenery. Thanks for all the advise in this thread.

It's Wikipedia, you could update and change it...

Thank you for the reply. I suspected the answer to my question might well be no in terms of the branch lines. What period would I need to go back to in order to have thee mixed freight and passenger trains still running? I am looking at HOm as the scale, so the stock would be Bemo. I will have a look at the yahoo group, thanks for the link.

I wonder if some one could answer a few questions for me as I am interested in modeling Swiss Meter Gauge but don't really now where to start. I only have a very small space, are there are any small branch line terminus stations on the RhB network? Would sidings be electrified or would they use a tractor? I really only want to model a small station with a timber siding and goods shed, do such things still exist? Any help is most welcome.

Hi Andy, does the 20 X 11 area include the any items required to make the diorama perform? I think about controller, transformer for lighting that sort of thing?