i am ready to build a table and a next to permanent layout does anyone have ideas for me i am fresh out
pictures to come of current "perfect layout"
jb-
There are tons of track planning books out there. You probably won't find them at a library but your LHS will certainly have some. There are some track planning web sites which people seem to like but I don't know how appropriate they would be for someone just starting out who perhaps doesn't know exactly what he wants to accomplish. For those folks, and I think you may be one, actually seeing something might be more useful than spinning railroads in the electronic ether. Another good source is the
Model Railroader magazine web site. They have hundreds of layout plans from articles in the mag. They include many 4x8 layouts as they have often built 4x8s themselves as display layouts for conventions and train shows. Plus, they know that many, probably most, modelers start with a 4x8. This is especially true for HO modelers because that is a standard size piece of plywood, it's large enough to accommodate a loop and various sidings or other off-mainline features, and it's small enough that the project isn't too daunting. Very few rules apply here (other than geometry) but experience cautions that it's easier to put too much track on a layout than too little, it's best to get part of the railroad running even while the rest is under construction, planning is a good thing when not carried to the point of immobilization, and meticulous attention to trackwork will pay huge dividends of enjoyment when operations start.
I anticipate you'll get some replies to you post advising against a 4x8 for some pretty valid reasons. Frankly, I'd offer the same advice were it not that it sounds like the 4x8 is a resolved issue. Other sizes and shapes, without a significant change in size, or even with no change in size at all, can work better than a 4x8, but we can't ignore your desire for a 4x8 or the fact that it seems just about everybody started with one. That's not coincidence; it's because a 4x8 can be a very good place to begin.
I suggest that you don't shoot for the perfect layout because you'll be doomed to failure. There is no such thing. Even so-called finished layouts aren't perfect as proven by the fact that we're always changing, improving, expanding or whatever, our layouts. So go for something that fits what you want. Make a list to help yourself. A few issues to consider are:
- Run trains continuously or just do switching
Era -- modern times or some point in the past
Industrial or "full service" with a mainline and both freight and passenger trains
Location --mountains, city, countryside, etc.
Scenery plans generally
Long-term plan to be part of a larger operation
How many trains to operate at a time
How many operators at a time, and their ages
Transit (streetcar or light rail) operations
"Normal" railroad or funky, maybe humorous, layout
"Normal" or funky equipment like tiny locos, odd rolling stock like you might find on a mining or lumbering railroad (these can also be built seriously)
Track on different levels or all flat on the table
Easily stored or always ready to use
Free standing railroad or a module which you can connect with other modules in a railroad club
Access to the railroad from all sides or just to or three (this can make a bigger difference than you can imagine)
Modeling skills you have or want to learn (first layout 4x8s are often built as learning tools for later, larger adventures)
Specific things you want such as the use of a building or locomotive given to you by a child or a loved one
Budget
Ability to negotiate expansion plans or access easements with the household general manager if you are not that person
Now that I've made your task harder you may paradoxically find it to be easier. I hope so. And welcome to model railroading. Please post photographs and progress as you go along.
-- D
Take it for what it is worth. Might not be anything but there are a lot of links to look through that will only cost the electricity for powering your PC system. Store the links you like in Favorites or Bookmarks.
http://tinyurl.com/3zye2sb
What you want and what I "think" you want can be two different things.
Rich