Thinking of Building a Model Train Layout

[Shortliner]

The room

I'm thinking about building an HO scale model train layout in the near near future and I was wondering if this was a good size room for it. I'm thinking of modeling a fictional short line railroad that serves a coal mine as well as a small town that the railroad runs through.

So far I'm thinking of having it run along the walls, but I could also have it come up from the wall into the middle of the room.

What do you guys think?

[wacampbell]

Good layouts have been built in much less.

[Chacal]

You'll probably want both: run it along the walls AND have islands into the room.
Your situation is pretty much typical for home model railroads.

Have a look at track plans on the net until you find one you like, then customize it.

http://www.freetrackplans.com/
http://mrr.trains.com/how-to/track-plan-database
http://www.thortrains.net/4holayx.html
...

[arizonachris]

Not a bad space for a small layout. Like Chacal said, use the walls (good for mountains, some tunnels maybe) then islands into the middle. With N Scale that area would be huge! (less expensive, too)

[Griphos]

In HO scale, I'd say it's a good room for an around the wall layout with one good sized island into the middle.

I've got 10-15 years worth of Model Railroader magazines and would be willing to send them to you if you pay for the shipping. They would be heavy. Lots of good ideas in those.

[Shortliner]

Well my biggest concern is how to do the transfer yard, the main yard and all that mess. I have a closet that's not in the blueprint I linked to in the OP, maybe I can incorporate that into the layout somehow.

What I'm honestly wanting to do is to model a railroad company that's more like a family business than a corporate entity. It'll have a small yard to store it's two GP9 locomotives, it's smalL MOW equipment and an office space. It'll have a transfer yard that's connect to Norfolk Southern's route and another yard for the mine that it services.

I would go N scale and get more out of the small space, but TBH N scale is too small, I've worked with HO scale all of my life and I still have HO scale stuff I can re-use. The route will be single track with maybe one or two passing sidings that's mostly used to store cars than for actual train meets (small company :P)

[thecanadianrail]

what I recommend is doing an around the walls with a peninsula in the middle, and have a second level to make it even longer, the trains can achieve going between levels with either a slow grade (corkscrew layout), just a helix, or a combo of both for continues running around. personally I would do the combo, which would give you a possible mainline run of 130 feet! that's assuming the bench work is around 2' away from the walls in the average spot and track work is in the middle of it, you could get even more track in if you have it closer too the wall, and a helix will add a lot more time if you add one. but personally since its a shortline, point to point would be the best choice. I am full of ideas if you need help and I am fairly experienced with HO scale railroading as well.

What era are you doing?
Whats the max train length you want?
What will the landscape be like? (mountains, parries, or boreal forest?)
What interchanges will you have with other RR's?

I can help you a lot with the design if you would like, I am helping another friend design and build his dream layout which takes up his entire top floor of his big house so I know what works and what dosent.

[Shortliner]

what I recommend is doing an around the walls with a peninsula in the middle, and have a second level to make it even longer, the trains can achieve going between levels with either a slow grade (corkscrew layout), just a helix, or a combo of both for continues running around. personally I would do the combo, which would give you a possible mainline run of 130 feet! that's assuming the bench work is around 2' away from the walls in the average spot and track work is in the middle of it, you could get even more track in if you have it closer too the wall, and a helix will add a lot more time if you add one. but personally since its a shortline, point to point would be the best choice. I am full of ideas if you need help and I am fairly experienced with HO scale railroading as well.

What era are you doing?
Whats the max train length you want?
What will the landscape be like? (mountains, parries, or boreal forest?)
What interchanges will you have with other RR's?

I can help you a lot with the design if you would like, I am helping another friend design and build his dream layout which takes up his entire top floor of his big house so I know what works and what dosent.

I'm not sure of the era, although I do want to do it in a time period in which it would be realistic for a shortline to be able to get their hands on two Ex-Southern Railway Geeps before the Southern Railway livery is painted over. As for the max train length, two geeps and 20 coal hopper cars. This route will take place in the Appalachia mountains (West Virginia most likely) and it'll have an interchange with a class 1 railroad at one end and the coal mine at the other end. Between the two end points, I'd like to have a mill town (think Kannapolis, NC) and another small town where the shortline's HQ is at as well as a siding for the town's local businesses that needs to ship things in and out. I do want to model an era where they would still use boxcars for shipping instead of intermodal cars. Intermodals on a mountainous shortline just seems out of place to me.

I may actually do the second story on this route, I just have to make sure it's not too high up since I'm only 5'5", so kinda short here.

[artimrj]

Did you give up on the RW route already?

[dejoh]

Hey, its okay to day-dream. Find your task and stick with it.
Model railroads are pretty expensive unless you have all the equipment you need.

[Shortliner]

Did you give up on the RW route already?

Honestly, after looking over what would be required to build the S-Line route in RW, I realized that it was above my skill level at this time as the route would undoubtedly require custom made buildings that I would have to make myself. So right now the route is put on the shelf until I can become proficient at creating scenery object in a 3D program.

Also, and to be frank I am going to wait till after the release of TS2014 to see where RW is going as a game. If RSC gets back to me after I send them another e-mail in October, telling me that they cannot or won't work on the core of the game and focus primarily on graphics and career scenarios here on out, then I'll simply walk away from RW and either find another simulator or focus primarily on model railroading.

In the meantime, I am toying with the idea of building this model train set because it's something I've always wanted and now, I have the space and the resource (money) to do so.

[byelen]

I love the area that you're doing. I'd recommend you consider the era as 1955-1965. This way you can have SR Geeps, old F units, even steam. Since it's a shortline, you can have a mixture of locomotives in different livery, and it would not be noticeable. Another good thing about this time period, is that while the boxcar is still king, it would not be out of place to have a small ramp and a few "piggybacks" (Trailer on Flatcar - NOT intermodal!). Try and get a copy of Walther's catalog. That will give you a wealth of ideas!

Have fun!

I'm not sure of the era, although I do want to do it in a time period in which it would be realistic for a shortline to be able to get their hands on two Ex-Southern Railway Geeps before the Southern Railway livery is painted over. As for the max train length, two geeps and 20 coal hopper cars. This route will take place in the Appalachia mountains (West Virginia most likely) and it'll have an interchange with a class 1 railroad at one end and the coal mine at the other end. Between the two end points, I'd like to have a mill town (think Kannapolis, NC) and another small town where the shortline's HQ is at as well as a siding for the town's local businesses that needs to ship things in and out. I do want to model an era where they would still use boxcars for shipping instead of intermodal cars. Intermodals on a mountainous shortline just seems out of place to me.

[Bananarama]

Do the Interstate post-SR takeover. The whole mainline is only 17 miles in length, but combine the branches and it balloons to nearly 250 miles of track. You only need to do a portion, however. Maybe a single branch or section near one of its four yards (Andover, Appalachia, Norton and Miller). Interchanges with L&N, N&W and Clinchfield. There's a ton of ideas on the Appalachia Modeling site: http://appalachianrailroadmodeling.com/

[byelen]

Another possibility would be to do a museum line, such as the Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum (TRM). They got some very nice trackage, and being a museum, not only gives you the opportunity to use any era of equipment and paint job, but then absolutely nobody can get picky and complain that you've broken an era!

Bruce

[Bananarama]

Not much coal traffic on a museum line.