OO Shed Layout

[IanM558]

I had a layout when I was younger hinged down over my bed. It was copied out of a Hornby track plan book, I think in 1985 and looked like this...


My_track by Ian, on Flickr

It was dismantled when we moved house in 1995 and was boxed up in my parents loft. Fast forward to last year and I retrieved the boxes and thought about building a layout in my own house but unfortunately we haven't the space indoors. I do however have a 12ft x 9ft insulated shed which seemed an ideal location for a layout (and also my old collection of Airfix kits!).

At much the same time I acquired an old Ikea wardrobe which was far too large to do anything sensible with so that has been made into my baseboard.

Ignore the clutter, it's tidier now!


2016-06-12 18.01.12 by Ian, on Flickr

I was originally planning an end-to-end 'L' shaped layout but after watching videos on YouTube of trains moving I moved on to a round and round layout.

However aside from having two ovals I'm completely lost as to what the layout will actually end up like and am looking for inspiration!

The boards are as the image below. Unfortunately the door opens inwards hence the 'cut-out' on the bottom right board and the dark-yellow removable section.


Board_Plan by Ian, on Flickr

Any help on how to progress with the design would be appreciated!

[Emettman]

Do you have a favoured period or region?
Loco-hauled trains, and doubly tender steam loco-hauled trains, generally need more pointwork for handling the locomotives.
DMU's are "easy" in this respect.

What do you want as a longest train? The longer, the fewer stations (even down to zero) and storage loops there will be room for.

Multiple levels can give more in the same space, with attention to access to hidden track.
It's not actually necessary (though it is usual) for the two levels to connect. A high level express line for "running" with a lower level mineral / docks shunting line, for example.

With a double track, a pair of loops either "offstage" or as extra platforms at a major station doubles the main line capacity with just four points.
Without this or an equivalent arrangement the two trains on the main lines tend to get stuck there.

So much depends on what you are aiming for, traded off against space, time and budget!

Chris

[IanM558]

Apologies for taking so long to reply, I've been trying to get the answers straight in my head!

Do you have a favoured period or region?

I don't necessarily have a favoured period or region to be honest. My old layout was a mix of everything as I assume most children's layouts were. I've got a like for the GWR (an ancestor of mine worked for them) but the only GWR loco I managed to get for my old layout was an 0-4-0 tank. The other locos being a LMS coronation, Western diesel, Class 37 and a HST! A choice I know I'm going to have to make is whether to bite the bullet and go DCC which will require new locos and retiring the old ones or stick with DC.

What do you want as a longest train?

That's more of an easy one to answer as one of my reasons to construct a round the room layout was to run an engine and 3 or 4 coaches without it looking too daft. My old layout didn't allow that and I did like to run the HST with 3 coaches plus the 2 power cars. I acquired 4 1970's style coaches recently and they really look good behind the 'Western' so that's the kind of length I would love to see pass on up and down lines (again, something my old layout didn't have!).

Multiple levels can give more in the same space, with attention to access to hidden track. It's not actually necessary (though it is usual) for the two levels to connect. A high level express line for "running" with a lower level mineral / docks shunting line, for example.

As the boards are down and fixed now I'm kind of limited to one main lower level but I could always add an upper one I suppose.

With a double track, a pair of loops either "offstage" or as extra platforms at a major station doubles the main line capacity with just four points.
Without this or an equivalent arrangement the two trains on the main lines tend to get stuck there.

That was the kind of thing I was going for, two continuous loops plus a main station. Bit of a goods yard plus an engine shed / MPD would complete it.

I know the first priority is to get a continuous loop down so I can at least play trains

Ian

[Emettman]

I know the first priority is to get a continuous loop down so I can at least play trains

Ian

Yes, if you're happy that that may be temporary or provisional..
It's nice if the the points that will expand the layout can be put in as the double oval is first laid, as that saves going back, cutting track, shifting alignments..
This may mot be possible, buteither way one early decision is about the type of points to use.
Pretty settled wisdom is that Hornby or Pecos Setrack points should only be chosen if space is distinctly limited, as live-frog points give much better performance.

Approximation for the basic oval 23'. Approximation for a single track gradient to climb 3" and 1:40, 12ft
So a single climbing gradient would need a track width (plus walls/embankments) round half the layout... a significant space, but not impossible, if allowed for at the beginning.

If you like (and only on request) I can sketch up an idea or two
I'd need to know if that 12 x 9 was the *interior* measurement, and how wide the baseboards are.

Chris

[IanM558]

If you like (and only on request) I can sketch up an idea or two
I'd need to know if that 12 x 9 was the *interior* measurement, and how wide the baseboards are.

Chris

That would be amazing, thank you! I'll get in there at lunchtime to get the exact measurements.

[IanM558]

Interior of shed: 3750 x 2710

Left, top and right boards are 580mm deep, bottom is 495mm deep.

[Emettman]

Here's a first thought (as a sketch) which I'd better explain.



Double track oval.
Station has two extra platforms as loops.
Inner platform is the busiest as it is set up to be a passing loop or to terminate or reverse trains from either direction.
To this end it has inside it a run-round loop which will also act as the goods headshunt.
All the platforms/loops are comfortably over 5ft, so will serve four long coaches and a large loco with no difficulty.
Checked against actual stock, it's possible they could be shorter, saving space for other purposes.
As drawn there is just a loco spur at the south end. That could be made into more of a small MPD, or the loco facility go with the goods siding space restricting that slightly.

For the left/bottom left I have suggested another pair or storage loops (drawn in N to show variations)
The left-hand set is less probable, but allows for more track in the open, including the junctions with just the left hand pair of tracks being hidden.
The right-hand set will be all hidden, with removable scenery above (or a removable workbench)or in the open in a non-scenic "fiddle yard area. There would be room for another pair of tracks in this mode. or a "reversing" track for DMU or push-pull services.

I think this gets near your brief.
At the least it gives something to disagree with or develop from.

Chris

[RAF96]

My advice would be whatever track design you opt for to make the tracks going over the lift-out section as simple as possible, definitely no points over the joints and ideally keep the track across the joints dead straight.

Alignment of the track ends is critical for reliable running both vertically and laterally. Those alignment dowels used to help connect modular baseboards can also be used vertically to align a removeable section as opposed to their usual horizontal fitment.

[IanM558]

Firstly a big thank you for that plan and huge apologies for not getting back sooner but life has got in the way a bit!

I never thought about having the station on a bend but I kind of like the idea however maybe the majority of the platforms being straight but with curved ends?

I'm having a rethink of the lift out section over the door as at the moment the rail joins would have to be on a curve so I thought of a diagonal section across the bottom right corner allowing the door to open fully might not be a bad idea. I just have to get in there and measure it now to see if it is practical to do.

The double track oval is certainly the way I am going it's just the location and layout of the 'extra's I need to get clear in my head.

Sorry if that doesn't make sense!

[Emettman]

The station set across a corner, or using a straight and a corner allow for gentler more realistic curves
(away from the "straight" plus "corner" more reminiscent of Scalextric racetrack than a railway)

A lifting or lift-out section with curved track is no real problem if its ends cross the track at 90 degrees.
(The baseboard section thus having a trapezoidal shape)
I drew the bottom right to have only two plain tracks around the curve and further as I wasn't exactly sure where the door was.

Where I have sketched the storage loops it would be possible to put a station with a bay platform for push-pull or dmu services to the main station.
This would increase capacity and variation in operation, but at the expense of having two stations improbably close together and with some unlikely junctions to storage loops.
Trade off, trade off, there's nearly always a trade off somewhere.

Chris.

[IanM558]

Right, a slight update on things.

I have now (almost) finished the boards around the outside of the shed.

I say almost as the section across the door has been bugging me for a bit. Due to the width and location of the door and the necessary cut-out piece on the adjoining baseboard there was going to be no way I could cross the board joints at right-angles.


2016-09-27 16.56.22 by Ian, on Flickr

What I think I'm going to have to do is extend the piece of track from the removable section a few inches over the join so the track joints fall on the fixed section of baseboard.

It might work!

[Emettman]

Due to the width and location of the door and the necessary cut-out piece on the adjoining baseboard there was going to be no way I could cross the board joints at right-angles.

It really isn't necessary, give an adequately consistent board alignment.
(and if that's not there a crossing at 90 won't be happy either.)

Not just theory: I had an exhibition layout where every single board crossing was oblique. 11 of them.

Chris

[IanM558]

I might give it a go this weekend with some old track and see what I can get to work best

[IanM558]

Just for fun I plonked some track down and ran my HST around for a bit

https://youtu.be/tWaI4mp_IBk

I really need to get some new track

[Boischaut]

I really need to get some new track

Absolutely !
Thanks for the video.