OO layout size

[klaatu]

Hello! I'd like to take up modelling in OO. One of the possible locations for my layout is an L-shape in the corner of a room, 10' along one wall, and 9' along the other. The depth would be 3'.

Would this depth prevent me from running a double 'circuit' of track?

Steve

[piemanlarger]

yes, i would say you will need at least 4ft width just for a single track and 5 for double if you want a loop / continous running in 00. No probs with n guage!

[klaatu]

Thanks for the reply. I have considered N. The problems with that, as I see it, which may be completely wrong, are:

1. My eyesight isn't brilliant (never has been) and is getting worse.
2. I don't have very steady hands
3. I want DCC, and it seems to me that restricts things quite a bit in N

Steve

[piemanlarger]

Your curves with a 3 ft wide layout in 00 would be so tight alot of locos and stock may not be able to go around them. You could perhaps extend the width at the ends of the layout to make the loops bigger (3 ft in the middle / straights is fine and leave plenty of room for scenery, sidings etc), but i think you will need 4-5 ft of width for most stock to run around them without problems.

[Zunnan]

Most new models come with the recommendation of 2nd radius as an absolute minimum so for the sake of being on the safe side I'd aim at 3rd radius as a minimum for the layout. A 4ft depth board will just about allow the use of a 3rd and 4th radius double track line, which should also be future proof should the manufacturers ever increase the minimum curve requirements as models become more and more detailed. This later point is quite worth picking up on, a lot of the American models I am using come with a minimum 22 inch requirement which is just larger than 4th radius, some rolling stock is up to 24 inch required.

Regarding N Gauge, you would be surprised how easy it is to actually work with. You become accustomed to the size of it, and DCC is no longer really a limitation. Most of the new generation models are DCC ready and a lot of the older ones are relatively simple to convert, the worst case scenario is you pay for fitting in older models.

If you can't increase the depth of your boards to accomodate OO, N Gauge is a very viable alternative and is more than happy to run on a 3ft deep layout.

[klaatu]

Perhaps I should get hold of some N Gauge stuff and see how it feels.

Steve

[Peterm]

You might even find that the corner's a bit tight from the 10' to the 9' boards in 00. You could put a triangle across the corner if you have the room, but you'd still have the problem at the ends. What about an end to end ?

Your user names a blast from the past. A mate of mine's got an LP by Klaatu, is that where your name came from ?

[poliss]

"Klaatu barada nikto"
I wouldn't say my eyesight is the best, but I still model N scale using DCC. If space is a major consideration I would say that is the way to go.
This chappie is considerably older than me yet he doesn't seem to have problems with intracate modelling. Perhaps he has a very good optician.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... plane.html

[Lofty]

Hi Steve,

The answers so far are all assuming that you want to run big locomotives.

Whilst you cannot fit in a double track circuit in your limited 3’ width, you could accommodate a single track branchline which would have course be populated with smaller locomotives that would happily run on tighter curves.

[klaatu]

I do want to run big locomotives, and reasonably long trains.

I do have some alternative locations where I would have more space, but this one is by far the most convenient. I'm going to send for a bit of N kit and see how I feel about it, I suspect it won't be as bad as I think. My eyesight problems come from getting measles in my eyes at the age of four (a long time ago!); I do OK by wearing contact lenses and glasses at the same time, for close-up work. We also have one of those large powered magnifiers. I suspect I'll manage just fine. There are undoubtedly people with worse eyesight than mine, modelling happily in N scale.

My user name, as poliss has correctly deduced, comes from the film The Day The Earth Stood Still. The original is one of my all-time favourite films.

Many thanks for all of your help!

Steve

[pete12345]

I'd think about either using N gauge if you want a continuous run, or opting for an end-to-end setup in 00. You have a fair bit of length (albeit bent into an L shape) and not much width, which would lend itself better to an end-to-end layout.

[egroeg93]

Is going round the whole room possible? You could model on the L-shaped part you mentioned, then just have tempory fold-down boards round the rest of the room.. This would leave extra space on the area you mentioned because you'd have 2 lines, not 4 (2 going each way) to have some super scenery

[klaatu]

Is going round the whole room possible?

Unfortunately not. One possible alternative would be to have a 10' x 5' rectangular layout, which it seems would let me have my double loop in OO, just not as long a loop as I had hoped for.

Steve

[Beep55]

Hmm

Maybe you could do an incline on the turns? Although if you want to run long trains then inclines may not be the best idea. It may pay to you do an end to end layout, put a couple of de-coupling ramps in and do some run around movements? I guess its not what you want but it could be an interesting set up. One thing I enjoy doing is actually doing movements/shunting rather than watching the trains go round and round on my big loop.

[klaatu]

I've ordered the Farish Sprinter DMU set from Hattons so I can get some sort of feel for whether I'd be happy with N gauge.

Steve