A question has come up in another thread about the size of folks' layouts. If you have an HO layout, or are working on one (you guys in other scales start your own poll), please post and let us all know how big it is. I'll start.
My layout (currently under construction) is a (more or less) two foot wide around-the-walls shelf that will measure 8X12 feet when finished. The total layout size (area of the benchwork) is 64 Sq Ft.
I will take it upon myself to tabulate the returns and put the results up here after posting to the thread tails off. Thanks.
Rusty
4x8
I have access to a fairly large basement, but chose the smaller size.
1. I'll be moving out in a couple years, and would like to "finish" it before then.
2. I'd rather have it in a nicer environment (my bedroom) rather than a cold murky basement.
3. I'm a detail person. Its easier to make a very detailed layout (working crossbucks, and a signal system are planned, as well as street lights, interiors, and wired telephone/power lines) when you don't have to purchase as much.
4. I'm on a teen budget. I get money from custom painting, and a bit of allowance, but other than that its a pretty nonexistent income
5. Refer to the above. For operations I need a dozen pieces of freight equipment, 2 or 3 coaches, a caboose, and 2-3 locomotives. This is much easier to accomplish on a small budget. I wouldn't even get to scenery if I had to buy 2 dozen locomotives to operate my railroad. Micro Engineering Track, Scenic Express stuff, and structures/scratchbuilding materials all add up. 32 square feet is more manageable than say... 160 square feet.
64 sq ft. code 83 atlas, Everything including solenoid type switches, DCC controlled. NCE Power Cab. 6 diesel, 6 steamers. Can operate in 2 different era's.
8X8 table in basement. DCC,e-z track.
4x8 in bedroom, DCC
Rick
My layout is 8' x 12 with a duck under to the centre control area.
The layout incorporates two rail lines, one a mine and logging operation and the other my mainline serving two towns.
Engines for the mining/logging line are a shay and a heisler. For the mainline I usually have a 4-6-0 working the passenger train and a 2-8-0 for the freight and another 4-6-0 working the main yard.
Engine power does vary at times though as I sometimes alternate with 4-4-0's and an
0-8-0 also works the main yard.
I use DCC for the mainline and a DC power unit for the mine/logging line.
6 by 9 with 3 levels, a large locomotive facility extension, and two 1 by 8 yard extensions out the north and south sides. Makes for lots of running length in a relatively small space.
In our finished basement, I have 3 ovals connected by switches: 42' (22" curves), 39' (22" curves) & 36' (18" curves). I use DCC with either EZ Command or Digitrax Zephyr. The outer track has my UP SD40-2 train (for where I live now), the middle my GN F7A-B passenger train, & the inner my GN Heavy Mikado freight train (the latter 2 for where I used to live). On sidings, I have a DM&IR 2-10-2 with ore cars & a 4-8-4 with Milwaukee Road mixed passenger & freight. I also have 2 SD45s.
my current layout project, just getting started, is going to be 4 1/2x 4, with a 2 x 6 extension for a total of 30 sqft. this is only phase one, and extensions are eventually planned that will add maybe another 15 sqft.
previous layout, which i have to find a place to store, is approximately 130 sqft. it was originally built by my grandfather over 50 years ago. i was well underway with restoring it when divorce and catastrophic injury got in the way.
My layout, currently being "rebuilt" from a previous version, is a double deck, around the walls affair with a penisula down the center of the room.
The following stats are based on the planed layout when completed:
Sq ft of bench work - aprox 500 sq ft
actual length of mainline run - 485' - double track continuous
size of room - 22 x 40
minimum radius - 36"
maximum grade - 1.8%
min mainline turnout - #6
main stagging yard - 12 tracks - 20' long
main freight yard - 7 tracks - 25' long
control system - DC Aristo Craft wireless throttles
turnout controls - mainline - slow motion machines with local and dispatcher panel control - all others homemade ground throws
other features - detection and signaling
No sound
Branch line - single track mainline loop w/stagging - 180' run
other freatures - 4 track thru passenger terminal, engine terminal w/turntable, industrial trackage
The rebuild currently under way is to improve access, and make the railroad into "moveable" sections for the future. A recent decission by my wife and I means that may be sooner than originally planed. Our search is under way for our retirement home. It may actually have more layout room than I have now. Our current home is a 110 year old Queen Anne Victorian, its basement is totally unusable for model trains. My current layout is above my detached garage/workshop. While our retirement home will be smaller than the current house, it is likely to have a basement larger than my current layout space.
Sheldon
I've got a 4x8 that I plan to eventually grow to much bigger but need to buy a house first (currently renting) so it will be 4x8 for a while so i can keep it mobile for when I move it next. Currently powered by EZ-Command DCC (though I eventually plan to switch to computer control in the future).
I think I am going to have one of PD's headaches. I did some measuring and ended up with 353 square feet of layout in two rooms that total 376 square feet.
The reason for the 94% fill factor is simply that it is a multi level layout. Some places have two levels. Some places have hidden yards under them. And a few places have a hidden yard under two levels of layout. If you flattened everything out and put things side by side, the layout would take up well over 400 square feet because of the trackage in helices. I counted the helices only once, even though one them is two separate lines with different start and end points and one of those lines is double tracked, and another helix is a twin or double helix with the rail line doing a figure 8 and 1-1/2 ovals between them. Yeah, I know, model railroading gone wild. Wilder still is that there is a small branch line threaded through that double helix and a hidden yard under it. That nightmare took the better part of two years to design and build, which helps explain why my twenty-five year old layout is still under construction. Incidentally, it was originally designed as a 4' x 10' when I first started on it in 1984. It just kept on growing.
Jim
Jim, your layout is like WVa. If you flattened it out, it'd be bigger than Texas.
Rusty
Rusty,
Thanks for taking this on. You beat me to the punch.
I did some measuring to make sure. Benchwork surface area is 120 feet, around the walls layout in a 21'X24' garage. Total trackage is about 325 feet.
Jim,
BTW, I thoroughly enjoyed your club website. Do post current stuff on your personal layout anywhere? looks like everything on the club site is from 2001, or maybe I wasn't paying attention. Would love to see some contruction pics.
WGL,
can't get an idea of your layout from your post. Can you give benchwork area or room size?
Regards,
Jonathan
Quote from: rustyrails on June 19, 2009, 06:19:02 PM
Jim, your layout is like WVa. If you flattened it out, it'd be bigger than Texas.
Rusty
and probably alot more beautiful than texas, as well....lol
My Layout is about 8x5 and is still DC (teen budget).
8' x 10' with duckunder access. Only finished building the benchwork last week, laid 2 large ovals just straight on the wood so my son and I can have fun just running trains until I manage to get something a little more lanscaped done. It's on wheels in an unfinished basement. The wheels are so when I finally get around to finishing the basement (I know it's somewhere on the honey do list) I don't have to take it appart to move it around.
Dan
Approximately 100 sf. Benchwork is complete, and the track work has been completed. We have basically two interlocking loops that we can run our trains on. Total track length is around 140 feet with a max grade of 2%.
60"x144" oval, two main lines, ~36" and inner 24". ~22" reverse loop, turning wye and sidings. Atlas code 83, with #4, 6 and 8 turnouts. Very nice Timber-flex edging. It's too big to get into my new rooms... May have to cut her in to manageable pieces and reinstall, or sell and rebuild from scratch. Bachmann contributed a 2-8-4 Mountain with a Hicken tender. Runs primarily late model steam and early diesel. Photos here (http://www.pbase.com/prinothcat/trains&page=all)
Jonathan,
My room is 11 1/2' x 21 1/2', but first it was a library. Its 4 walls are lined with bookcases holding 3000+ books. My outer oval is 15' 4" x 7' 7"; my middle oval is 7' x 14' 4"; my inner oval is 6' 4" x 13' 7". From the inner track, a switch leads to a branch of 2 sidings of about 6 1/2' each. I've made the layout as large as I can without snaking a track through the adjoining room, thence to the bathroom, & out to the library again. ;)
WGL
WGL,
Would you look at your numbers please. You have a 15' wide oval in a 12' wide room. Thanks
Rusty
interesting that just about everybody on here is thinking in terms of "ovals" or loops. does anybody here have a point to point type track plan? this is essentially what i am building now.
Quote from: jward on June 20, 2009, 01:52:41 PM
interesting that just about everybody on here is thinking in terms of "ovals" or loops. does anybody here have a point to point type track plan? this is essentially what i am building now.
I know a number of people with point to point layouts - BUT - they seem to be falling out of favor after a long run of popularity.
While they are great for branch line/back woods/logging sytle railroads, they have some serious drawbacks when trying to simulate part of a large Class I railroad.
Basicly they leave you with too much switching at each end in proportion to the mainline running time, even if you have a large/long mainline run. So many today are going for continuious track plans with some part of the loop hidden from view and used for staging.
And many people want both good operation and good display running for shows/open houses, so continious plans offer that advantage as well.
Sheldon
For operational purposes, mine is point to point or more correctly, hidden yard to hidden yard. But I will plead guilty to having an extra track, not used in operating sessions, which allows continuous running for open houses and when I run alone. During operating sessions, the layout functions as a single division with connection to other divisions at the ends. In fact, the hidden yards are called "Yonder Division" and "Hidden Valley Division."
Would it be fair to call it point to point to point when you have a third way on and off the modelled part of the layout? The third way, at about the mid point, is a barge operation which allows interchange with a friend's layout. It also allows barge to hidden yard or hidden yard to barge operation in addition to hidden yard to hidden yard. That gives 9 possible trains based on start and end locations.
But yes, I agree, point to point is no longer as common as it once was. Do you think this might be related to the use of DCC which makes it easy to have one train running around the oval while you switch with a second train?
Jim
that a point to point layout is only suitable for branchline and switching is a common misconception. add a staging yard in a reversing loop at each end and you add another dimension to the railroad. now, instead of your trains endlessly orbiting in the same direction, they are actually going somewhere, and they have to return from where they went.
having 2 or mroe large yards is not only unnecessary, it is redundant. one yard can handle all traffic, or you could operate what the real railroads call "relay" trains which bypass the yard altogether. the loops at each end can represent an infinite number of destinations.
the best part of it all is that now, with dcc and auto reverse units, you can eliminate all that "scary" wiring that has kept many from seriously considering the potential of such a design.
naturally, this is not the type of layout that will fit in a 4x8 area, at least not in HO scale.
as an example of how this works, consider my dad's layout. he has a loop at the north end alond with a major yard. transfer runs come in and out of the loop represemnting interchange runs from connecting lines, and terminate in the yard. the loop is also home to several relay trains as well.
the main yard sorts cars for the connecting lines, as well as local online traffic.
halfway down the main, a branch line heads for anothe small yard in a mining area, where several coal mines are served. this yard recieves empty cars, and sorts out the loaded ones by destination, north or south.
on the southern end of the mainline, is a small 2 track yard where coal and other low priority traffic is dropped off for pickup by a connecting line. there is also another hidden loop where relay trains lay over, along with a transfer run ffrom the connecting line. its job is to come into the 2 track yard, drop its cars and pick up whatever has been left for it.
there usually is no schedule to the trains, when one enters the staging yard at either end it bumps another one out. and whichever one is next out is what he runs.
this would be a busy railroad with just the two loops, but the addition of the branch line introduces equipment imbalances such as exist on the real ones. often the locomotives needed to move a train are somewhere else and must be deadheaded. or one area of the railroad may be starving for cars, while another is swamped.
the end result is a realistic ebb and flow of traffic, and the dispatcher has to keep on his toes lest he plug up the railroad. it ends up like a chess match in that you always have to be thinking ahead, and the wrong decision could have unforeseen consequences.
i honestly think that he's overcome the drawbacks of point to point layouts. after all, it's kept him interested for 30 years, and he runs as many trains now as when it was new. the novelty has never worn off for him......
Quote from: Jim Banner on June 20, 2009, 05:45:56 PM
Would it be fair to call it point to point to point when you have a third way on and off the modelled part of the layout? The third way, at about the mid point, is a barge operation which allows interchange with a friend's layout. It also allows barge to hidden yard or hidden yard to barge operation in addition to hidden yard to hidden yard. That gives 9 possible trains based on start and end locations.
But yes, I agree, point to point is no longer as common as it once was. Do you think this might be related to the use of DCC which makes it easy to have one train running around the oval while you switch with a second train?
Jim
jim,
your layout is still point to point no matter how many intermediate destinations you may have. in fact, that barge terminal serves the same function as the mining branch on my dad's layout. (see above post)
as for letting one train run while another works the yard, this is nothing that couldn't be done in dc, with 2 cabs. in fact, many of the layout plans in the atlas layout books specifically describe just this scenario, and show how to wire the layout to do this....
Jeffery,
Not sure I understand your comments.
If you have a staging yard in each of two loops, that is two yards. Are you refering to visable yards outside the staging when you say two yards are not needed? No fooling, I belive in only modeling each major feature once.
The advandage of continious over loop to loop is that one staging yard can serve both directions and efectively be the end point for both ends. Many with this type of layout conduct their operating sessions in a point to point manner. Each train can be run only once in a session and is automaticly "re-staged" for the next session.
And having continious loops does not preclude have loops to turn trains in the staging that you want to have "return" from where they came. One other advantage of continious loops is open top loads, empties can always be moving west, loads east, as in the mountain to port senerio.
Continious is especially good for double track mainlines.
Also, I know people with loop to loop layouts with staging tracks in the loops. It works good for about 4 tracks on a loop, after that the loops get real big and space eating or the trains get real short.
A staging yard that is straight and double ended can be easily positioned under the scenic portion of the layout and still have good access from the edge of the layout, especially if the scenic portion is 40" high or better. And it can be designed to hold a lot more than the six trains you are likely to store in "loop" staging yards, and loner trains as well.
The idea of where the train goes, or where it comes from is in your head anyway.
Sheldon
5x9 2 levels . even texas has its beauty mr ward . its a whole nother country .
Rusty, I re-measured & corrected the width of my outer oval. I inadvertently put a 1 in front of the 7' 7".
Me thinks your inner oval is longer than the outer ovals ???
My layout is an oval, but functions as a point to point. Trains work out of the 2 track staging yard, into the town, shove up to switch out Veryfine, then reassemble the train in town, and head back to staging.
4X8, DCC and an outer loop running a Hornby Live Steam A4. Concept is a Preservation Line which will allow me freedom to run the unusual together.
Great thread as I have often wondered about what size layouts others have. For myself I have a 4'x8' layout with the track laid in a folded over figure 8 with of couple of passing tracks and three sidings (spurs?).Because one track rises up over the other I kept the approach and descent as long as possible and it's not too bad. It's enough to keep me going and entertained for the moment but I'm also negotiating future trackage rights for a much larger piece of real estate, a double garage. Loco power on the present layout is restricted to 4 axle diesels and 40' rolling stock. All my larger diesels and steamers are boxed away just waiting. Still using DC double controller and block wiring. That's it from over here, happy modeling. Rob.
My layout is also an oval that represents about 50 miles point to point between Craig Yard and Phippsburg transfer station, with imaginary line to Denver. Locos will eventually be all diesel except for my wife's vintage steamers/excursions. Actual table size at present is 42" X 86", thought of expanding, but we don't really want two tracks. 7' fiddle track on my side will be a program track and extra car storage.
My layout is approx. 10' x 10' with a pop-up in the middle I have a main line and 3 feeder lines , 1 to a typical prairie town , 1 to a small mining area and one to a yard. It is all EZ track. I run almost all steam.
Don
pdlethbridge, I was in too much of a hurry & read 160" on the tape as 16'. My inner oval is 6' 4" x 13' 7". :-[
What's that old saying measure twice, cut once, or in this case record once. ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D
I've got around 150Sq Ft in a 16 x 24 dedicated building in the back yard. It's comprised mostly of code 83 flex track with a small section of hand laid code 70 on some of my spurs. I model the Rock Island as it was in Little Rock back in the late 40's and early 50's. I run mostly Bachmann steamers (2--8-0, 2-8-2, 4-6-0, 4-8-2 & 4-6-2s) diesels (RS-3, DL109, E-8, F-7 and a Budd RDC-3). Currently in DC mode, but am planning DCC as soon as I decide on a brand. I've just finished a streetcar line with 9" radii to run in my down town area. Buildings are mostly DPM with some Walther's pre-builts. All are illuminated.
Bill
New layout under construction is in area 8' x 18' , will be E shaped , 1900 to 1930 logging and an interchange track. 22" max radi.( this part single main for grandson around outside edge ) ,mostly 18"-- radi. plan on code 83 with atlas and pico turnouts, will power with NCE power cab, Rooster consists of Bachman 2-8-0s,3 truck Shay ,4-4-0 and a 0-6-0 Porter .
Well my layout, bench, pike or whatever folks like to call it is not as grand as most folks and not as large as I wish it could be but one has to restrain oneselves based on the space I have.
I have a extra bedroom at my house at the lake that is 13 ft 6 in by 3 ft 6 in square.
My bench is 2 levels and kind of a oval shape. The lower bench runs 12 ft 2 in. along the back wall and 10 ft wide on the left side. The right side is 9 ft 6 in wide since I had to make room for the entry door on that side. The front of the bench is also 12 2 in. wide with a 28 in. opening to get thru to the center area where the control section is. The control section is a somewhat tight squeeze and is about 30 in. wide x 30 in. deep.
The upper bench width and side lengths are the same in the back as the lower bench but about 6 in. narrower at the front and along the inner sides where the control area is.
A nolix will connect the 2 levels together for the DCC Engines. Currently I have 6 diesels and 3 steam. The space between the 2 levels is 26 in. high. The bottom bench sits about 2 feet above the floor. Being a short person at 5 ft 6 I had to keep the height of the upper bench at a level where I could easily see all of it and also for access to the center areas.....still use a small footstool to stand on to reach the center of the benches.....hey I got short arms also.
The bottom bench is mainly DCC on the right leg and around the outer edges of the leg leg with my 57 year old Marklin HO on the remaineder of the left leg.
On the upper left bench will be my old DC HO engines from the early 1960's and part of the DCC this will all also run over the center section to the upper right leg.
I have a Eheim HO Bus that runs on overhead rails that needs to be merged into all this madness also on the top bench.
The majority of the bench will be a summer scene with the upper right bench being a winter scene I plan on putting a turntable and yard on the right lower bench for the DCC and the same for my Marilin in the center area of the lower bench.
The majority of the track run is 2 tracks on the nolix with a small run that has 3 tracks running side by side. I havene't really figured out the entire track length yet but my closest guess for the DCC lower bench is about 190 feet which does not include the turntable and yard yet.
I am using mostly Bachmann EZ Track 28. 26 and 22 in radii with some Atlas flex track.....all track is code 100. So far 3 Bachmann single crossover switches and 2 No. 6 switches....all DCC.
Progress has been slow but steady for the most part with a few rebuilds and redesign as I go along. Putting in a nolix has been a challenge to say the least but it has been a worthwhile experience. My grade is about 2 percent a 1 in rise for every 4 feet of track for the most part.
Larry
For those of you not familiar with the term "nolix," it is a contraction of "no helix" and is basically a ramp. It is especially useful in the smaller scales where the track can reverse direction in a width that the operator can reach across. The nolix trades width for length and can extend the visible main line instead of hiding it in a mountain or other geologic feature.
Rusty
I built a folded dogbone that is in reality an off-sided donut with a central operators pit, and with a swing down access hatch which is disguised as a lake. Access to all sides of the layout is no more than a two foot reach, in spite of the layout's size which is 11 feet wide by 19 feet long. also there is the main yard, which a lead track connects from the yard lesd to form the entrance to the main yard. The main yard and engine terminal is 4 feet wide by 23 feet long. The whole layout fits in half of the basement.
I would have built an around the walls for reachability, but other "mountains of shelves", and incoming water and gas mains were already in the way.
ATSF5700Bob
Quote from: rustyrails on June 23, 2009, 09:43:39 AM
For those of you not familiar with the term "nolix," it is a contraction of "no helix" and is basically a ramp. It is especially useful in the smaller scales where the track can reverse direction in a width that the operator can reach across. The nolix trades width for length and can extend the visible main line instead of hiding it in a mountain or other geologic feature.
Rusty
rusty i like the way you think. since i model mountain railroads, i could never see the point of burying the climb in a helix. the climb is the whole point of a mountain railroad......
helixes would be fine if you were modelling the flats of illinois.....
My space is much like Rusty's 8x12 although I eye the other wall of the garage with envy. Too many obs ticales to over come - water heater, breaker box, freezer would require benchwork around the 66" level.
Layout premise is based loosely on the coal fields of Virginia and Kentucky and the C&O Big Sandy Subdivision and Clinchfield.
I am definitely a strictly point to pint operation - pretty much the terminus of a mine branch back to the main line with some local industry at the junction point.
Track Code 83 flex track
min radius 22"
Control E-Z Command DCC
Tom
Posting to this thread has slowed down a lot, so I'm thinking that this weekend, if no disasters strike, I'll try to summarize the information that you all have shared. PD has added several threads about how we view and run our railroads, and if he would like me to, I'll include information from his threads in my summary. If you'd like to get your two cents worth into the discussion, please do so by the week-end. Thanks.
Rusty
Rusty, that's a great idea. Go for it! :) :) :) :) :)
My laayout is 5.5x8 feet. Since it is setup in the laundry room part of a finished basement I made the 4x8 foot section so that it folds up into the wall space and is out of the way. It's two ovals with crossovers and plenty of sidings to park engines and loads on the stationary section. Since I had a number of older (15 to 20 yrs) engines which are DC I arranged power so that I run either DCC or DC. DC operation is mainly when the grandkids come over and insist on running the trains.
I have 3 steamers and one diesel (all Bachmann with DCC) and one DC trolley which runs down the middle of the main street in town. The trolley automatically stops and reverses via Circuitron circuits.
pAUL
The Newburgh, Dutchess & Connecticut RR is basically a 30"x 12' shelf layout. The gauge is HO and the track plan is loosly based on John Armstrong's 'Timesaver' puzzle. The era modeled is Fall (harvest time) 1889. All trackwork is Peco Code 75. All turnouts are manually operated (keeps me in character). The operating system is DCC. Currently there are two Bachmann Spectrum 4-4-0s and probably 40+ period cars from Bachmann, Roundhouse, Pocher and Mantua (all cars are rebuilt and redecorated/weathered). All structures are of the craftsman (wood) type and decorated for the time period.
I sure wish I had a large layout like some of you folks operate. Unfortunately basements are rare in Alabama. We have to make due with part of a 10'x 10' ex-guestroom. Ah, the sacrifices we make...
Ray
Alot of nice sounding layouts .
How many of you are satisfied with the ovals most of us have . on a 4x8 or 5x9 ft layout size . And how much of the round-a-round can you stand . And what did you do to change up . the layout
It's tough being short on space .
to answer your questions.
1. i try not to build an oval layout unless i have to for space reasons.
2. if i have to build an oval, i try to add industrial spurs and a small yard.
3. i do not let lack of space keep me from having a layout. it is amazing what you can do in a 4x8 in N scale. but even in HO, you can make the most of your space if you are willing to add grades and a second tier of track. for examples of what i am talking about, look at some of the plans in the atlas layout books.
4. round & round is boring. unfortunately, it is what most think of as model railroading when they first get into this hobby. this hobby is so much more than a train set oval.
Quote from: OkieRick on June 18, 2009, 11:18:33 PM
4x8 in bedroom, DCC
Rick
Same here... We're two-of-a-kind! :)
Joshua
On a 5x9 layout . I have a 22" outter 18" inner radius . kind of a dog bone . control side has straight main line to the 22 " and 18 " radius .other side of the layout has what i call . The other half of the dog bone . I do have turnouts to industry and a point to point on the inside of the layout for a trolley . An upper level 18" radius with 2 standard turnouts making up a half oval . I do like the fact that i can run my trains in either direction .on both radius . And work the 70ton switcher in the yard .run the plymoth a little bit . And challenge myself working the switches so I dont have a crash .
I just want so much more and at times . I get bored . And often think ,what about n scale as you said mr ward . But I have so much invested in the HO scale . It's bad going from O to HO and now pondering n what am i thinking . hmmmmm
as an example of what you can do in 5x9 in HO:
http://www.atlasrr.com/Code100web/pages/10028.htm
this layout, granite gorge & northern, has a double track main with two reversing connections between the mains, and a small yard. and yet, there are no reversing loops so wiring is simple.....this plan can also be modified to add more industries, and has many scenic possibilities.....
http://www.atlasrr.com/Code100web/pages/10023.htm
this layout has several industries, a yard, a double track mainline, and a branchline, all in about 5 1/2x8. it is a bit cramped, but still workable.....
http://www.atlasrr.com/Code100web/pages/10015.htm
this layout is designed for 4x7, but expanding it to 5x9 would allow you to use 24" radius curves, add a small yard, and a few more industrial spurs.
these plans are quoted as examples only. if you are interested in any of them, they appear in layout plan books by atlas, along with lists of materials used, and in the case of the granite gorrge & northern, complete dimensions and instructions for construction......
Having too little space can be overcome by creative design. Check out my earlier post on this forum:
http://www.bachmanntrains.com/home-usa/board/index.php/topic,9353.0.html (http://www.bachmanntrains.com/home-usa/board/index.php/topic,9353.0.html)
Another interesting, and inspiring, website deals with Shunting (Switching) Puzzles and some suggested track plans:
http://www.wymann.info/ShuntingPuzzles/ (http://www.wymann.info/ShuntingPuzzles/)
I hope these suggested sites are of assistance to those of you who find themselves 'dimensionally challenged'.
Regards,
Ray
I see where Rusty gave his definition of a nolix. I was told a nolix is nothing more than a helix that has been stretched out. As a rule a helix is round shape going from a lower level to a higher one.a large spiral coil.
I have stretched the helix out so that ist is a series of ramps going from a lower level to a higher one.....some parts of it hidden in mountains and over half of it actually on view on the bench. Some of my ramps run 12 feet long. 2 tracks running side by side for the trip up and the trip back down.
I had planned on building a traditional round helix design but came up with this shape and a friend of mine from FLorida informed me it was a nolix.
Larry
8X12 Basement, U-shaped, 2-cab DC.
http://img241.imageshack.us/img241/4571/mvc006s.jpg
SLOW...under construction.
Nice poll subject.
Ken
Dear Ken,
Great looking scenery, track and weathering. More pics please.
Sincerely,
Joe Satnik
Thanks Joe, I'll get on it. Might be a few days though.
Meanwhile, here's a 'teaser'.
Woodland Scenics, "Moonshine Still"
http://img141.imageshack.us/img141/9836/huckmoonshine.jpg
nice, very nice