Model Railroad Plans

[foremost]

This may be a little out of place, but I figured they are pretty close to maps, so why not share them. :-)

Anyway, one of my other hobbies is model railroading, and I've been working for a long time to design a track plan I like. It's important to make a track plan to determine where everything will go when you build the thing.

Most stop after they lay the tracks down, but I got a little creative, which is why I'm sharing these.

1) The Compact RR
- I can run two trains at once.
- It has a reversing track. Only works from one direction but I can throw the train in reverse if needed.
- Has one industry.
- Has a turntable & roundhouse.
- Has a small town, intended to look trailer-parky, with station.
- Has lake and river (forcing curved bridges...)
- Probably well outside of my modeling capabilities
- Small hills and mountains throughout.
- No elevation changes on the track (gave up that idea).
- Atlas C83 track



2) Larger Design
- Can run two trains simultaneously.
- Two industries.
- Two large cities.
- Plenty of mainline length.
- Small switching area.
- Large Passenger Station
- Large river.
- Mountain.
- Track elevation changes.



3) The Semi-Dogbone
- Can run two trains simultaneously.
- One-way reversing loop.
- Lake and river, plus some cool bridges.
- Small town with station.
- Awesome mountain range.
- Long double-mainline.
- One industry.
- Small switching area.
- Steep grades.



Sorry if these don't really belong on this forum. At the very least, I think they might be interesting for some of you.

I may not have talent with real mapping, but I can connect rectangles like a pro

Foremost

[Freodin]

What, this isn't real mapping? I wouldn't have known!

[jbgibson]

Hey, they're maps - even fantasy maps, in the broad sense.

That second one either has mighty tight curves, or else it's got mighty long reaches for the five-finger sky-hook to handle derailments.

"Outside your modeling capabilities"... why? I'm a great proponent of "ya can do pretty much anything ya set yer mind to". Particularly if the track is prefab stuff, you can get something running pretty quickly to scratch that itch of seeing trains move, and you can tinker and experiment your way into more complete scenery. With care, your first attempt at a roundhouse or a trailer park doesn't need to be your ultimate version.

Looks like you're fairly cautious to limit what you stuff into place - realizing elements take more space than they might seem. The uninitiated might assume one could have a more extensive town in that dogbone, for instance - you seem to have it about right - just sketching in a town's edge. If the straight side of that layout winds up against a wall though, you're relying on being able to reach over the town to get to those back tracks.... a recipe for disaster at least for my oft-clumsy elbows.

Thanks for the look at, ummm, alternate-history dioramas. :-)

[foremost]

"Outside your modeling capabilities"... why? I'm a great proponent of "ya can do pretty much anything ya set yer mind to". Particularly if the track is prefab stuff, you can get something running pretty quickly to scratch that itch of seeing trains move, and you can tinker and experiment your way into more complete scenery. With care, your first attempt at a roundhouse or a trailer park doesn't need to be your ultimate version.

Thanks for your vote of confidence. Three things; budget, time, skill. I'm sure that if I spend some time developing my skill, however, I can do the layout in parts (and thus conform to the budget).

That second one either has mighty tight curves, or else it's got mighty long reaches for the five-finger sky-hook to handle derailments.

Fair point. I'm currently working on the 4-by-9 plan, as I think that's more doable

Looks like you're fairly cautious to limit what you stuff into place - realizing elements take more space than they might seem. The uninitiated might assume one could have a more extensive town in that dogbone, for instance - you seem to have it about right - just sketching in a town's edge.

Yeah, a nice way to get a busy town feeling is just to include the edge of it. Plus, it saved time and space

___________________________________________-

I updated the 4by9 layout.

After getting some feedback on the Model RR Forums (they were more concerned with the functionality of things), I've made a slight change. The roundhouse is out and the two-stall engine shed comes it. More prototypical, I guess . I'm also debating whether or not to rework the double crossover, as they can cause derailments.

[jbgibson]

Might be room on the right/rear near the (altering the) tunnel entry to split the double crossover into a second single crossover.

Yeah, might be ten times as many prototype shed engine houses in use as roundhouses, or thirty :-). Not to mention the space a turntable eats up on a small layout.

[lostatsea]

Looks like a map to me and pretty cool to boot.