Track plans

[Frank]

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

[Pete Williams]

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 ?

[Graeme Dunbar]

[38thfoot]

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

[Stefan Krebs]

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

[clayliner]

I see Pudley Wonderer has a copy of Iain Rice's book on layout design for sale over on NGRMO.

David.

[Graeme Dunbar]

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/

[Stefan Krebs]

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

[Graeme Dunbar]

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/

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

There is also a fair amount of sound modelling advice to be found there too - e.g. wiring points and so on.

[Stefan Krebs]

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

[Steve Lomax]

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

[rander]

Something to demonstrate at a future Merseyside Group meeting perhaps Steve?