Can anyone suggest a track book for a newbie first small layout
There isn't one specifically for narrow gauge, though many of the ones published by Peco and others have the odd NG plan. If you are doing a micro layouts then the Carl Arendt site has many, but if you want larger then Google Images search is your friend.
https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=narrow+gauge+track+plans&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwivq460jY3eAhVLI8AKHSe2CO8QsAR6BAgGEAE&biw=1440&bih=758
http://www.carendt.com/
Peco now produce a book of settrack plans for 009/H0e https://peco-uk.com/collections/modellers-library (Sorry this doesn't seem to want to paste as a link) I haven't seen the book only the advert, so I can't comment on the content, but it may be a useful source of ideas even if you don't plan to use settrack.
There is a new 009 / HOe Planbook from Peco for their 009 setrack range at a very modest
This should show it:
https://peco-uk.com/blogs/news/oo9-setrack-planbook-and-shows-you-how-introduction-to-oo-9-modelling
Bear in mind, though, that it's only for setrack and so very limited. I'd be casting my net wider for ideas, that Google image search I'd suggest is far more useful..
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I have read the Peco booklet.
Obviously the intent is to promote "OO9" Setrack and other Peco products (RTR stock). Some plans (below) make use of non-Setrack items.
That said, here I make no comment other than to describe the contents.
It is x16 A4 pages.
After some intro spiel (illustrated by shots of that Peco "OO9" layout seen a couple of years back) there are x6 James Hilton track plans as follows.
Plan 1: Light Rly. GVT referenced. Oval (3ft x 2ft) and a couple of sidings.
Plan 2: Sand and Gravel Co. Leighton Buzzard referenced. Oval (3ft 6ins x 2ft) and a couple of sidings.
Plan 3: Blackmoor L&B. Through station (4ft 3ins x 1ft) with 4 points. Shown as needing FYs at both ends.
Plan 4: Snailbeach District Rlys. Oval (4ft x 2ft 6ins) with 5 points.
Plan 5: Port Penrhyn. Double terminus (12ft x 3ft) inc SG (needs 7 NG points, 3 SG ditto, and a TILLIG 9mm/16.5mm diamond crossing) set on quayside.
Plan 6: Ashover Light Rly. Fixed layout that snakes round a room (9ft x 10ft) and portrays Clay Cross, Hurst Lane, Fallgate, and Ashover Butts.
CP
How many plans are there altogether, Christopher?
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Blair
Six as listed. Each has a double spread except No 6 which is three pages. In each case there is a plan, perspective sketch, and notes.
The plan and perspective sketch of No 4 (Snailbeach) is also on the cover.
CP
Thanks, I thought with 16 pages there might have been more!
Just ordered myself a copy of the Peco OO9 plan book now that I know what it contains, though I was thinking of getting it anyway.
As my layout (if it can be called that) is 13 ft by 10 ft! It was going to be an OO scale layout at one point then we had the earthquakes which just put me right off doing much of any form of modelling for years. Plan number 6 sounds very promising!
Quote from: Hobby on October 17, 2018, 20:23
Thanks, I thought with 16 pages there might have been more!
What Christopher didn't mention is that (my impression, having flicked through it & decided not to buy) about half of it is sound modelling basics: how to construct a baseboard and scenery, how to wire up, how to assemble kit buildings, and so on. Very useful, but I happen to have all that in an equivalent SG booklet. What all these Peco guides seem to be about is trying to reproduce a prototypical setting with settrack, which I'm not sure does either any favours.
Personally, I don't find them very inspiring, as I really want to freelance. CJ Freezer's classic
60 Plans for Small Locations (https://peco-uk.com/collections/books-and-planbooks/products/the-railway-modeller-book-of-60-plans (https://peco-uk.com/collections/books-and-planbooks/products/the-railway-modeller-book-of-60-plans)) is more to my liking, even if only three of the 60 are explicitly NG, as it's much more about "What sort of layout can go in this space?" rather than "How can I reproduce this setting with these constraints?"
James,
As your query was for a layout plan for a "newbie first small layout" then I would recommend taking that absolutely literally and check out Stephen Clulow's layout "First" which is a small layout and was Stephen's first layout as a self-described "newbie"
Link to his blog: https://009adventure.blog/my-layout-first/
I would also recommend having a look at Ted Polet's "Nixnie" (Dutch/Suid Afrikaan slang for "nothing at all") which is a bit more complex to reach, but well worth the navigation!
Go to the Dutch Group website at: http://www.009dutch.nl/main/eframe.htm
Then click on "Projects" in the panel on the left, scroll down to Ted Polet, select another "projects" link just under Ted's name and then scroll down to find Nixnie. There is a full description of how he built the layout and 2 further links to photo galleries of the layout. When you have satisfied yourself here, then go back to Ted Polet and find the link to his Craigcorrie & Dunalistair layout - time bandit warning, you really need to allow yourself about a full evening and several cups of coffee to get through everything that Ted has posted, but I can guarantee it is well worth the time investment and you WILL come away being totally inspired!!
Back to "first small layouts" - both First and Nixnie are of similar genre - simple layout on boards about 2ft 6in / 3ft x 2ft, with an off-scene fiddle yard to enable you to ring the changes and a continuous run to enable you to play trains/sorry, test your stock. Simple but very effective scenics and track plan. Both ideal small starter layouts but with a lot of building, operating and enjoyment potential which both were designed to demonstrate. Importantly, both layouts are designed to be "achievable" within a reasonable time-frame and within a reasonable budget if starting from scratch.
Hope this provides something to fire up your mojo!
Mick
Quote from: S Arrowsmith on October 18, 2018, 09:07
Quote from: Hobby on October 17, 2018, 20:23
Thanks, I thought with 16 pages there might have been more!
What Christopher didn't mention is that (my impression, having flicked through it & decided not to buy) about half of it is sound modelling basics: how to construct a baseboard and scenery, how to wire up, how to assemble kit buildings, and so on. Very useful, but I happen to have all that in an equivalent SG booklet. What all these Peco guides seem to be about is trying to reproduce a prototypical setting with settrack, which I'm not sure does either any favours.
Personally, I don't find them very inspiring, as I really want to freelance. CJ Freezer's classic 60 Plans for Small Locations (https://peco-uk.com/collections/books-and-planbooks/products/the-railway-modeller-book-of-60-plans (https://peco-uk.com/collections/books-and-planbooks/products/the-railway-modeller-book-of-60-plans)) is more to my liking, even if only three of the 60 are explicitly NG, as it's much more about "What sort of layout can go in this space?" rather than "How can I reproduce this setting with these constraints?"
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I think there may be some confusion here. In the newly published "Setrack OO9/HOe Planbook" I see nothing about wiring and only a minimal reference to baseboard construction.
This new publication is not the same as -
(i) the16 page A5 "An Introduction of OO9 Modelling" (given away with a recent edition of RM) in the "Shows you how" series, and
(ii) the Peco, "Your guide to modelling narrow gauge railways" of RM format, 122 pages, published in 2015, ISBN 505-0881097595.
CP
Quote from: cp.409067 on October 18, 2018, 15:07
I think there may be some confusion here. In the newly published "Setrack OO9/HOe Planbook" I see nothing about wiring and only a minimal reference to baseboard construction.
This new publication is not the same as -
(i) the16 page A5 "An Introduction of OO9 Modelling" (given away with a recent edition of RM) in the "Shows you how" series, and
(ii) the Peco, "Your guide to modelling narrow gauge railways" of RM format, 122 pages, published in 2015, ISBN 505-0881097595.
It's quite likely that, as I just flicked through it on a dealers stand, I saw a couple of diagrams I recognised from the SG settrack layouts book I have and assumed that the non-layout pages had the same kind of content as that.
I'm rather fond of (ii) as a general source of inspiration, but it's not a place to go for track plans.
Quote from: S Arrowsmith on October 18, 2018, 22:19
It's quite likely that, as I just flicked through it on a dealers stand, I saw a couple of diagrams I recognised from the SG settrack layouts book I have and assumed that the non-layout pages had the same kind of content as that. .....
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I have the new book in front of me. The inside front cover is text headed "Welcome", the inside rear cover is advertising. Of the 16 pages within only 3 (three) are "non-layout pages".
CP
James,
Nixnie is here on this forum:
http://www.009society.com/forum/index.php?topic=883.0
It is an excellent small layout, well worth a look.
Frank
Frankly, i am at issue with the principle of paying for, what, after all said and done, is a Piece of Peco advertising.
Would anyone be prepaired to pay for a Argos catalogue ?
If you have access to the Pinterest app then lots of track plan ideas can be found there, I've pinned loads as reference material for layouts that will never get built!
38
Dear James,
You say 'newbie', and, after reading all the comments I'm wondering, what newbie?
Do you have a grasp of the principles of electric circuits?
Have you ever build an Airfix kit?
And painted it to a satisfactory standard?
Have you had a Scalectrix in the past?
I suspect you're answer to every question above is not 'NO', that's why you have this disparity of answers.
The other aspect you don't detail is, where do you want to go? Just have fun, interesting operation, super-detailed scenery, or building locomotives and rolling stock? Model railway can be many different things.
As a pupil I bought some of the PECO publications while on an English-learning holiday in the UK; just to see how they do it over there (I'm continental, one of those the pro-Brexit voters want to kick out). ;D
And I agree with the sentiment already voiced: you pay a lot of money for very little in terms of creative and novel information.
Practically all information is available on the Internet, including reams of track plans, and unless you value a printed matter highly, taking a stroll through the Internet can answer all your questions.
Assuming for a moment (wrongly) the answer to questions above is 'NO' throughout I suggest you google 'Teppichbahn' on youtube and look at these guys. They just grab some track, lay it out on the carpet (=Teppich) and play.
If you really are a novice, this is a good way to start. Lay some tracks, and see what type of layout keeps you interested: are you a shunter that loves taking rakes apart, reshuffle them, and compose new trains, or are you a driver that likes to see his engine whizzing around? Or maybe a dispatcher that wants to see the cargo delivered efficiently on time?
So, get yourself some track with ballast, old Fleischmann or Kato, get a piece of wood that can go upright beside the wardrobe or similar, stick some track down with double-sided tape and have some fun. The beauty of 009 is, that you can build a layout in a shelf; in my student days I had a layout above my bed in my student diggings (no little monkeys jumping on the bed!)Once you decide you need some buildings, or you want to follow some specific prototype, it's time to progress. If you hit a problem, help is not only here on the forum, but also at model railway exhibitions. Ask the exhibitors there!
My favourite track plan:
X
|
--A---\-------------------------------\-----------/--/ -B--
\ \ / /
\-------------------------------\------/ /
\ \ /
\ \ /
D \ /
\/
| |
X C
You have one run around loop for shunting, you have a triangle to turn around stock (A to B to C), you can build 2 loops (A to B and A to C, or B to C), and you can add sidings at D (or an engine yard or whatever takes your fancy. X-X marks where you might want to place a split if space is tight. Thus you can build very short (that's why the loop track crosses into the triangle, to maximise track length), and make an 'extender piece' for when you have more space. The triangle, like a loop, requires some special wiring (and track insulation), but that's easy; and described elsewhere in the Internet.
With my 40 years experience in model railway (and dozens of track plan books) I rate that track plan "the maximum play-value for a minimum of switches (7 + 1 crossing) and space". It's a good plan for children to get them started, just leave it to them to continue at A through D. ;D
It can be build with set-track, and by changing how you connect the letters you can experience how the feel of a layout changes by changing design. ;D
Happy railroading
Waldschrat
I see Pudley Wonderer has a copy of Iain Rice's book on layout design for sale over on NGRMO.
David.
I should have remembered this before now. Plenty of ideas here. The site has got a little messy since Carl's death. I hope the rebuild is successful.
http://www.carendt.com/category/small-layout-scrapbook/ (http://www.carendt.com/category/small-layout-scrapbook/)
Yes, excellent web-site for inspiration. :laugh: However, 'small' doesn't equal 'suitable for beginners'.
Building transfer tables or turntables requires some skill. :-\
Am I wrong to suspect from the initial question that somebody is overwhelmed with choice, and looking for some guidance as to how to pick a starting point and identify what he really likes about model railways?
While there are a few that have build superbly detailed model railways in their first attempt, for most of us it is a long learning curve spanning several layouts and decades. And most of the layouts shown on that web-site aren't their creator's first attempts.
That's why I suggested a look at 'Teppichbahning': those layouts are build in hours, with no need for expertise. ;D
Just some thought
Waldschrat
The layouts on Carl's site do not all have sector plates, traversers and the like. Many are plain layouts of traditional design like Inglenook, Minories, and getting more complex, Timesavers.
I take it "Teppichbahn" means something like "carpet railway" or if you are American "Rug Railroad". From what I've seen some of them may not be permanent layouts, but the are most certainly not simple, small or beginner's layouts.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/Teppichbahn/ (https://www.facebook.com/groups/Teppichbahn/)
Here is another web site that offers a few more ideas and also the rationale for small layouts.
http://www.wymann.info/ShuntingPuzzles/index.html (http://www.wymann.info/ShuntingPuzzles/index.html)
There is also a fair amount of sound modelling advice to be found there too - e.g. wiring points and so on.
All fair and square.
However, I think it is very inspirational to any newbie, because of exactly those features you describe:
1. It takes you back to the earliest days of model railways, sectional track on the floor (noting that carpets are about the worst choice to lay track on, because of loose fibres jamming the mechanics; at least put a plastic - or paper sheet on top).
2. It shows that quite elaborate layouts may be build.
3. It shows that scenery is an enhancement for the eye, but not essential for good or interesting operation and fun.
I think that these are important messages for any 'newbie', because seeing an interesting and well-working layout with beautiful scenery might be inspirational, but can be disheartening. The amount of practise, skill, experience and expertise on which these are build is not visible, and any newbie attempting to create something like this will fail due to lack in those areas. - Which could well head them for the exit.
In my opinion it is much better to start off with 'rug railroading' (as you prefer to call it), and progress as skills and expertise develop; and of course as you understand yourself better, i.e. are you driver, shunter, dispatcher, rolling stock builder, software engineer, artist, mountain builder, or exhibitionist?
Of course not all layouts on Carl's web-site have sector plates and turntables, but those who haven't have very limited 'play-value'. It's not everybody's' cup of tea to watch an engine going round in circles chasing its trains' tail; it certainly isn't mine. :P
That's not saying that these layouts are not inspirational or artistic, least some of them certainly are. But I would class quite a lot of them as artistic sculptures rather than layouts, i.e. the train is a scenic item rather than the scenery is an enhancement to the railway operation.
Noting that this is a very personal classification, where everybody has a different view, aka not to be discussed, please. :laugh:
Cheers
Waldschrat
I found this really useful. It has track from virtually all manufacturers including Peco, and allows you to create your own layout to suit size, and make adjustments, run simulated trains in 3D renderings of your layout or examples from other users, and create gradients, hills and multiple levels. You can also print out your layout in full scale and use it as a template for track laying. There is a limit of 150 (I think) track pieces in the free version The paid version is not a fortune. I think you have to pay for the ability to print out in one, but it is possible print out on several pages and 'glue' them together. If you have run out of free track pieces than your model cost is going to be quite significant anyhow, so the cost of the software is relatively low. It worked for me. It's fun to use and lets you play trains (to a limited degree) on your own layout design before building anything. There are video tutorials but its quick and easy to pick up. Getting flextrack to snap in place can sometimes be a bit awkward. I suggest turning off the minimum bend radius limit in options, or set it unrealistically low at first to get used to it. Say to 100mm.
https://www.scarm.info/index.php (https://www.scarm.info/index.php)
Something to demonstrate at a future Merseyside Group meeting perhaps Steve?