I thought I would ask for a bit of help on here as I have got a bit stuck with my layout design! Having mocked up a few ideas and modifications of various different track plans now I can't really find anything that I like, so I am after a bit of help really with ideas.
I have got (at the moment) two boards that come to a total space of just over 5ft by just under 2ft. Ideally I want to model a small terminus but I cant find anything that works (s******* g**** mindset still!!!).
Can anyone suggest anything that would suit but still be busy enough to keep me occupied - the plan is to set the line on a small island in a sugar cane growing area (Caribbean / Queensland, not sure which is better yet!) so I will have a few cane trains to add to the general traffic on the line and it's also the only railway in the area so it haul all the traffic.
I dont mind chopping the boards about to different arrangements instead of the current "plank" but it has to fit into an alcove at the end of the bedroom thats not much longer than the current boards (it's a 5ft 5" notch betwen the front wall and the airing cupboard over the stairs).
Help and suggestions greatly appreciated!
Ross
Have you had a look at Carl Arendt's web site - there's stuff there that might inspire...
Don't worry that they may be smaller than the space you have.
I had but I find it difficult to imagine some of the layouts in a larger footprint area. Some of the smaller ones are very nice though!
Llanfair Caerenion on the Welshpool and Llanfair has always struck me as a useful plan - add the sheds and sidings from the Preservation age, and you have enough operational interest. The fact that you transplant it to your own location doesn't matter.
Hum that's a good suggestion. I hadn't thought of that, I will have a look and see what I can find on google!
Perhaps the better way to go about this (and the method I tend to use) is to work out what things I want on the layout first then see what I can fit in the space available.
Try answering these questions;
Do I want to model the sugar cane being processed, or just have trains of cane and / or the finished products (sugar, molasses) passing though?
Do I want any passenger facilities?
What about goods?
Locoshed, or just a small refuelling stage and water tower?
What other things might the island be importing and exporting? And does any of it need specialist handling equipment?
How long are the trains that I want to run?
There are probably some others too!
You may not be able to fit all of this onto your 5' by 2' area, but some things, like the cane processing plant and the quay where things are loaded (and unloaded) from ships could be off scene.
Try to remember too that land to build the railway will have been cheep, so the track plan will be quite 'open' as there was no need to squeeze things in which seems to be the case with a lot of UK standards gauge stations.
Try working on squared paper too (graph paper is pretty good as it's easy to scale) and it's also easier to redraw a plan than it is to relay the track!
Quote from: JulienW on October 12, 2014, 18:12
Try answering these questions;
Do I want to model the sugar cane being processed, or just have trains of cane and / or the finished products (sugar, molasses) passing though?
Do I want any passenger facilities?
What about goods?
Locoshed, or just a small refuelling stage and water tower?
What other things might the island be importing and exporting? And does any of it need specialist handling equipment?
How long are the trains that I want to run?
There are probably some others too!
You may not be able to fit all of this onto your 5' by 2' area, but some things, like the cane processing plant and the quay where things are loaded (and unloaded) from ships could be off scene.
Try working on squared paper too (graph paper is pretty good as it's easy to scale) and it's also easier to redraw a plan than it is to relay the track!
Good points, I will start trying things out and working out a list of must have, would like and possibly if there is space would be very good way of doing things!
Take a look at www.zelmeroz.com ----- pages & pages of information for modelling sugar cane railways.
Garry
Yep that's where I am getting most of my info from with regards to the cane side of things, Lynn is very helpful and knowledgeable.
I have found that it's just locating info on the shire tramways online that's proving difficult!
Quote from: Ross Chapman on October 12, 2014, 18:47
Quote from: JulienW on October 12, 2014, 18:12
Try answering these questions;
Do I want to model the sugar cane being processed, or just have trains of cane and / or the finished products (sugar, molasses) passing though?
Do I want any passenger facilities?
What about goods?
Locoshed, or just a small refuelling stage and water tower?
What other things might the island be importing and exporting? And does any of it need specialist handling equipment?
How long are the trains that I want to run?
There are probably some others too!
You may not be able to fit all of this onto your 5' by 2' area, but some things, like the cane processing plant and the quay where things are loaded (and unloaded) from ships could be off scene.
Try working on squared paper too (graph paper is pretty good as it's easy to scale) and it's also easier to redraw a plan than it is to relay the track!
Good points, I will start trying things out and working out a list of must have, would like and possibly if there is space would be very good way of doing things!
Modelling The processing plant and/or the quay would make an interesting layout. Mal.