Your input is required please

Why me

Member
Hi guys as some may kmow i have had to give up my HO layout due to ill health now having cancer of the bowels but its not life threating thats the good new but i have had to reclaim the train room so N Gauge here we come i have a space of 3.60m long by 90cm wide for a double decker with a helix are very dear friend Train clown has started the ball rollling with a few ideas im looking for bottom layer for loads of switching and stagging industries and the top layer for twn and city with loads going on if poss like to have mountins bridges and anything else you guys might think of all help and opinions welcom .mike
 

Attachments

  • TRACK PLAN N SCALE.jpg
    TRACK PLAN N SCALE.jpg
    32.6 KB · Views: 10
  • TRACK PLAN N SCALE 2.jpg
    TRACK PLAN N SCALE 2.jpg
    30.6 KB · Views: 11
  • TRACK PLAN N SCALE 3.jpg
    TRACK PLAN N SCALE 3.jpg
    35.5 KB · Views: 11
  • TRACK PLAN N SCALE 4.jpg
    TRACK PLAN N SCALE 4.jpg
    44.3 KB · Views: 14
  • TRACK PLAN N SCALE 5.jpg
    TRACK PLAN N SCALE 5.jpg
    51.1 KB · Views: 13
  • TRACK PLAN N SCALE 6.jpg
    TRACK PLAN N SCALE 6.jpg
    94.5 KB · Views: 10

Why me

Member
All track being used will be fleischmann so you will have a wide choice of things to use if anyone can help.mike
 

baldwinjl

Member
Mike-
Sorry to hear about your health woes. I hope you are feling better.

On to the layout. Are you sure you want to go with the double decker helix arrangment. I think I'd advise against it, for several reasons. First, the helix takes up a lot of the space, so you don't get nearly the 'bang for the buck' that it would give you in a larger layout. Secondly, because you only have .9m width the radius of the helix is going to be only 16 or 17 inches (in old money). So the loops are not going to have much clearance, and the grade is going to be steep. So performance will suffer, and maintenance will be a pain. Thirdly, do you really want the annoyance of constructing something that complex for realativly little gain? I'd think long and hard before I went this way.

On the layout plan itself, with all due respect to the TrainClown, I really don't like the crossings (or doubleslips) in the middle of each deck. On any layout, but especially a small one, you want to try to minimize the times that a train passes through the same scene, to make the distance seem greater. With those crossings, you are going to be passing through where you just were all the time. I don't see the benefit other than to turn the train, and even then, you'd only need to have one.

With you space I think I would start with a door layout plan and grow it. Take a look at this site:
Dave Vollmer's N Scale Pennsy Middle Division
(It is having maintenance this weekend, so there may be trouble accessing it)
You've got about the same width, but more than half again the length. Look at the video on his front page. It is hard to believe it is on a door. Imagine it 4 feet longer! He can't reverse trains, but with your extra length I think you could sneak in a cutoff in each direction and hide them well enough to make it unobvious.

If any of this sounds useful to you I'll spen a little bit of time sketching out a rough idea for you to start from. I'm not an expert by any means, but I can sometimes figure what will work. If you could give a clue about what sort of railroad you are after it would help.

By the way, why Fleischmann (good stuff) and not Peco?

Jeff
 

Ralph

Remember...it's for fun!
Mike, I am also sorry to hear you are dealing with a cancer. As a two time survivor I hope to give you encouragement. It sounds like you are confident in your treatment and prognosis. I'm glad!
Best wishes!
Ralph
 

Why me

Member
Mike-
Sorry to hear about your health woes. I hope you are feling better.

On to the layout. Are you sure you want to go with the double decker helix arrangment. I think I'd advise against it, for several reasons. First, the helix takes up a lot of the space, so you don't get nearly the 'bang for the buck' that it would give you in a larger layout. Secondly, because you only have .9m width the radius of the helix is going to be only 16 or 17 inches (in old money). So the loops are not going to have much clearance, and the grade is going to be steep. So performance will suffer, and maintenance will be a pain. Thirdly, do you really want the annoyance of constructing something that complex for realativly little gain? I'd think long and hard before I went this way.

On the layout plan itself, with all due respect to the TrainClown, I really don't like the crossings (or doubleslips) in the middle of each deck. On any layout, but especially a small one, you want to try to minimize the times that a train passes through the same scene, to make the distance seem greater. With those crossings, you are going to be passing through where you just were all the time. I don't see the benefit other than to turn the train, and even then, you'd only need to have one.

With you space I think I would start with a door layout plan and grow it. Take a look at this site:
Dave Vollmer's N Scale Pennsy Middle Division
(It is having maintenance this weekend, so there may be trouble accessing it)
You've got about the same width, but more than half again the length. Look at the video on his front page. It is hard to believe it is on a door. Imagine it 4 feet longer! He can't reverse trains, but with your extra length I think you could sneak in a cutoff in each direction and hide them well enough to make it unobvious.

If any of this sounds useful to you I'll spen a little bit of time sketching out a rough idea for you to start from. I'm not an expert by any means, but I can sometimes figure what will work. If you could give a clue about what sort of railroad you are after it would help.

By the way, why Fleischmann (good stuff) and not Peco?

Jeff

Hi Jeff the helix sit in a 24inch deep x 35 inch wide alcove then i have 2m70 of track space top and bottom the distance in between layers is 15inches from bottom to top be real nice to have a load od stagging on bottom layer then extent that other vidieo track plan as for train i like them all never have had a set eara or theme as i like to run allsors on it lol track curve radius is fleischmann 4 and 3rd if that help mike
 

baldwinjl

Member
Mike-
I like the helix idea even less with it in a alcove. Any touble in there is going to be a real pain. Also, have you thought about how you are going to support a 36" deep second level? Let alone reach to the back of it. I'm afraid this could be a design that can't get built.

So, do you have a diagram or a description of the space there is work with, and where there is access around the space? If there is the right access, just a few inches of depth might get enough staging in where it could be hidden, without a helix. And it would be much easier to build.

Jeff
 

Why me

Member
Hi Jeff the helix can go either end i was just using the alcove to hide some of it if need be i can work it so the layout has 2 ft from the back wall to the start of baseboard given me 2ft all over to walk around apart from the 2 ft going into alcove no big deal there the baseboard a present from a friend so can say to much just yet i try and post the pics when baseboard arrives over next week or so its being built proffesionaly for me by a company here in the UK costing £750 for it so better be good lol.mike
 

baldwinjl

Member
Hi Jeff the helix can go either end i was just using the alcove to hide some of it if need be i can work it so the layout has 2 ft from the back wall to the start of baseboard given me 2ft all over to walk around apart from the 2 ft going into alcove no big deal there the baseboard a present from a friend so can say to much just yet i try and post the pics when baseboard arrives over next week or so its being built proffesionaly for me by a company here in the UK costing £750 for it so better be good lol.mike
Ok, so there is benchwork already in progess. And you don't have to build it. That changes everything!

Is the benchwork going to be tables, ro an open grid? Is the helix part of the benchwork?. I might wait to think too much more until I see what there really is to work with.
 
Top