Please give me some ideas.

[p_fairchild]

Hi.
A couple months ago I built a table for a Ho scale layout. The track plan came out of an Atlas book and at the time I thought it was what I wanted. It started as a 4 X 8 sheet and grew to a 10' X 10' "L" shaped table. I would post a picture but I am having trouble getting it to show up and my wife is at work now so there is no help from her right now.
Anyway, I got to thinking that running a double main line would be cool. I bought a 90' turntable Sat. at the LHS and would like to have it somewhere in the layout along with a roundhouse.

Can someone give me some layout ideas? The table is on casters, so I will be able to reach any part of the layout by pulling it one way or another.
Thanks
Phil

 

[Russ Bellinis]

If my calculations are correct, your turntable is about 1 foot long. Your round house needs to be about the same depth as the length of the turntable bridge or perhaps 1/2-1 inch deeper. Then you will need to have a minimum distance between the roundhouse and the turntable to allow the tracks to come off the table into the roundhouse. You will also need a lead track to the turntable. I think you are looking at at least a 30 inch x 30 inch space. Do you have room to run a 30" x 30" square bit of bench work off the edge of the table somewhere?

 

[MasonJar]

Phil,

Welcome to The Gauge!

I too started with a 4x8 so I could have the trains run around and around (very therapeutic, by the way ). But I was not happy with it either. I now plan around modules (2x4 foot sections that fit together - see the club website for more www.hotrak.ca).

I would suggest you look at the Givens & Druthers form (link in my signature) that asks a bunch of questions and makes a few suggestions for things to think about. It will help you focus on what you want to do, and whether that double main is really for you.

For example, if you have a 10x10 table that you can move around, the room must be bigger. Would you be better off with a "round the walls" type layout permanently installed?

Andrew

 

[p_fairchild]

Thanks for the replies.
I have plenty of room for another add-on to the table but my wife may not go for it. Maybe I can sneak it buy her....yeah, right! I have been sitting downstairs checking things out. I am now thinking of having the main track on the 4' x 10' section and the round house, turntable and other stuff on the 4' X 6' section that forms the "L" of the layout.

If I had only went N scale......
Thanks again,
Phil

 

[Russ Bellinis]

The turntable section does not have to be a permanent part of the layout. You could do the benchwork on a separate small table and connect it to the layout with a joiner track like we do in modular railroading. If it is on some sort of caster set, it could be rolled out of the way when not in use.