My first N Scale Lay-out

[waredbear]

I was told to move this from Mikes Layout Plans in the N Scale Thread to here...so here it is.

Okay...this is what I have so far. This is the plan from Mike's page that I like. It is 4'x6.5' in N scale.

And this is how I modified the track. First I added 1.5' to the right side of the track to add the two yards. I like this because I can work one yard while a train comes into the second one. I also changed the direction of the spur in the top left hand corner. I'm also adding a third layer at the bottom center. The original track has two layers and with the yellow/green dotted track crossing the two tracks. I don't like that. I want to add more character to the layout by having a third layer. The only problem is this creates a 4.7% down grade. The elevations of the double green lines and the double pink lines on both sides of the river are at 0% elevation and the green line and pink line crossing the river are at 2.0 inches. The yellow/green dotted line is at 4". Any ideas on how to decrease the grade? My only thought is to swap the 2" and 4" tracks but I don't think that would look as good. The dark area on the right is a mountain. There will be a divider wall between the mountain and the yards.

So here is my remake of the above track...

Should I remove the outside double ended spur and make it a single ended spur with three long lines? Another suggestion by Cannonball is to add 2' so I can add distance at the 1' to 2' mark thus relieving my 4.7% grade problem. I was wanting to keep this to one sheet of plywood but that is a viable solution.

Please give my your ideas...

Thanks
Reid

 

[Russ Bellinis]

Regarding your desire to keep to one sheet of plywood, let you available space dictate your layout design. Never let materials determine your layout. You do not need cabinet quality plywood, the cheapest plywood with knots and gaps on both sides is fine since you will be covering the plywood with plaster and scenery. You don't even need the strongest thickest plywood, 1/4 inch or 3/8 inch will work fine if you have your cross bracing close enough together. N scale equipment doesn't weigh very much at all, so it probably won't cause sagging. Galen (Ocaliecreek here) built a small time saver switching layout in ho scale with luan door skin. He used 1x4 lumber for a perimeter frame and 1x2 croiss members set at 12 inch centers if I remember correctly. He brought it to the modular club at one of our business meetings for us to play with after the meeting and it was very light and extremely stiff. Nothing sagged and ho is quite a bit heavier than n scale.

 

[waredbear]

Here are two updated layouts taking the advise of adding 2' to the end. I stretched the center circles on the left which brought the grade down to 3.2% which is acceptable. I also added a larger yard in the center. Is there any way to make this better?

On this one I changed the right yard to a one-way yard...which I kind of like the looks of...

So which do you like better? Or is there something else I can do?

The reason I was wanting to stick to a sheet of plywood is because we are in an apartment right now and I'm having to build this in the garage. I will most likely have to install 2"x4" girders underneath and raise the layout to the ceiling. It is only a one car garage and it is full with workbenches and stuff. My ultimate goal might be to stretch this out to an HO layout once we get moved into a house and I have the Roooooomm. I would then convert this layout to a walk around room plan. someday.......

In His Service,:-D
Reid

 

[Russ Bellinis]

I like the "stub ended" yards like the second plan better for small model railroads, because the double ended yard takes up a lot of space for switches and limits the amount of equipment that can be stored in the yard.
You will probably have to bring a train into the yard with a locomotive on the point at some time. In that case, you want your longest track to have a switch crossing over the an adjacent track to allow the locomotive to uncouple cross over, and run around the train to escape.

You don't need or want to use a 2x4 anywhere on the layout, especially if you are going to lift it with a pulley system toward the ceiling of a garage. Remember when lifting anything "weight is your enemy." A perimiter frame made up of 1x4 lumber moounted vertically under the plywood with 1x2 cross members at 12 inch centers and using a luan door skin will make a lightweight, but strong table that can be easily lifted. You can then glue pink or blue foam to the table before you start to lay track and then glue your track & roadbed to the foam. You can either cut up the foam sheets to make grades, or buy Woodland Scenics foam riser sets to make your grades. In case you are wondering about strength, Chevrolet once built a prototype car to test foam and plastic construction techniques. They used a Vega powertrain to build a 2 seat sports car. The body/chasis consisted of an inner and an outer panel of fiberglass bonded together and filled with foam. The only metal in the chassis was a small front subframe to mount the steering and front suspension and a small rear subframe to mount the rear axle. The 2 subframes were laminated to the body with fiberglass, and the thing was strong enough that if you jacked up the left front wheel the right front also came off the ground!

 

[waredbear]

Newest Plan

Okay...here is the latest and probably the last change. The major change was to add another foot to the top. This gave me the room for another yard. The right one will represent Spokane's East yard and the top on the West yard. The center yard is going to be Wenatchee WA. The brown area is a mountain...not prototypical of the line between Spokane and Wenatchee but there are mountains in the area. The blue line behind the mountain will be a divider. Please tell me what you think and any ideas or areas that I need to change.

Reid

 

[Cannonball]

I love the plan but I'm glad it's you buying all that track and not me.
Seriously, it looks like it should be a lot of fun to run when it's done. :thumb:

Hah!
I made a rhyme!

 

[waredbear]

Luckily I had some engines, cars, track, switches, power supplies, and other important stuff donated to the cause. I am still accepting donations of other N scale items if there are any generous people out there. :-D:-D:-D

Reid

 

[Cannonball]

I am still accepting donations of other N scale items if there are any generous people out there. :-D:-D:-D

Aren't we all.