Kavster's Loft Layout
Posted: Mon Oct 23, 2017 10:57 pm
Hello all,
As I mentioned in some of my previous thread's, i'm starting a loft layout.
This will follow my process through the planning stages, and then my construction thread may run along side this as I cover the work that's done in the loft. I'll continue to plan while the loft is being done.
So, where to begin?
I don't have any pictures of the loft yet. I was up there today, but left my phone out of my pocket when I went up, d'oh!
But I have drawn a crude image of the rough layout below.
The red area's are where I physically cannot go. On the left, the large red square is actually a brick wall, and this area is part of the neighbours house/loft for some strange reason. So, my loft is a strange L shape in a way.
The red square in the middle is the water tank/heater/things. These will be unmovable and will remain.
The thin red bar is a beam about waist height, but is not really an obstacle, and could probably be used to attach a base board too.
Lastly, the small red square is the loft hatch.
Now, that leaves me with an area pointed out by the green arrow. And yes, I know that it seems like i'm not able to use most of the space, but having been up and stood in there, I do actually have a reasonable amount of space. I'm yet to get an exact measurement (I'll do that tomorrow), but it is roughly 10ft x 6ft, and then I can use the side area as a potential fiddle yard, or some kind of storage.
So, that's my plan for the space.

anonymous photo sharing
I will be installing lights, power and then boarding out the floor this week hopefully. Just having to wait for the father-in-law to assist with the electrics as he is qualified to do so.
Makes sense to get him to do it properly!
In the mean time, I've been playing what to actually do with my layout.
I started thinking (as you'll see in one of my other threads) about modelling something along the lines of the Tilbury line in Essex, and using some EMU's from the 80's and 90's.
Having discovered that the EMU's I wanted are not readily made, and that I would have to construct my own ones, I thought about what other ideas I could do.
I decided to step away from those particular EMU's and theme, as I am still fairly new to this, and would like to get some ready to go trains, instead of spending a very long time and large amount of money building my own. That is something I will probably do further down the line.
But, for now I wanted to come up with something else.
I've spent some time reading PECO Planbooks, and browsing online track plans, and came to the following decisions.
1) I want the layout to be able to loop. I don't want an 'End to End' layout. I would like the train to be able to continue round a loop in some way.
2) I would like some shunting ability.
3) I would like ideally 2 stations. And try to position them as best to simulate the trains going from one, to the other (in the limited space I have).
4) I want some scenery breaks, and some interesting scenes. So, maybe a freight yard, loco sheds, some residential areas, roads, public spaces, shops. And so on.
5) I'd be looking at a rectangle base, or possibly an L-Shaped base of some kind
6) Considering 2 levels of tracks.
7) Budget...let's try not to go too overboard, especially with xmas round the corner!
So, I have either copied or adapted 3 plans for now. I may not use any of them, and I will probably design some more. But for now, I like the idea of these.
1) 10ft x 6ft L-Shape
Some very tight corners, but some elements I wanted are covered in this design. I did think about raising the smaller station, but unsure.

anonymous photo sharing
2) 8ft x 4ft - End to End with a LOOP!
This one is probably my favourite of the three. Its effectively an End to End, but with a loop in the middle.
The blue area is 0.4ft high, the red and orange are at baseboard level, and the green climbs from the red upto the blue. At 4% apparently.
I will probably enclose the red area, so it can't be seen. Where the red goes under the blue, i'll tunnel it, and then have another tunnel just after the green track starts. So the train will appear from the rear of the scene and come forward and pull into the blue station. Where the orange tracks goes off to the left, i'll probably make that a entrance/exit for a fiddle yard or similar.

anonymous photo sharing
3) 9ft x 6ft Station, Town and Freight
This is pretty much a direct lift from the PECO Track Plans. However, it was an ambitious scene that I liked, and was considering challenging myself. Making this more of a long term project.
For those that are unfamiliar with the layout, the blue area is the station, green is a town area. The red area will be the town over the top of the 3 loops, leaving one visible track infant of the town scene. And the orange track is a freight yard, with a viewing area in the middle.
This does have me tempted, but think i'll need to double check the available space before even considering this one properly.

anonymous photo sharing
I've designed these in RailModeller Pro, and have used PECO SeTrack and some SL-100 Flexi Track too.
In terms of what trains I want to run?
I'm still not sure.
I think I want to stay in the 80's/90's but may even consider the 00's and something a bit more modern.
I'd like to run EMU's/DMU's and passenger trains. I don't want anything too long with large amounts of rolling stock at this stage, as I think the layouts will probably be too small for those at this time.
As I expand and grow the layout, so will my trains and rolling stock.
I want a few Diesels and shunters too for variation.
But, at this stage i'm still quite open minded about it all, and open for thoughts and suggestions.
So, it's all still early stages and messy thoughts at this time. But i'm happy with the direction i'm heading.
I'd be very grateful for your thoughts and opinions on all of the above.
I have a bit time to get the planning sorted, as the loft will take a little while yet, so I can focus on getting it right in the planning.
If you've made this far, I thank you!
I look forward to hearing from you all.
As I mentioned in some of my previous thread's, i'm starting a loft layout.
This will follow my process through the planning stages, and then my construction thread may run along side this as I cover the work that's done in the loft. I'll continue to plan while the loft is being done.
So, where to begin?
I don't have any pictures of the loft yet. I was up there today, but left my phone out of my pocket when I went up, d'oh!

But I have drawn a crude image of the rough layout below.
The red area's are where I physically cannot go. On the left, the large red square is actually a brick wall, and this area is part of the neighbours house/loft for some strange reason. So, my loft is a strange L shape in a way.
The red square in the middle is the water tank/heater/things. These will be unmovable and will remain.
The thin red bar is a beam about waist height, but is not really an obstacle, and could probably be used to attach a base board too.
Lastly, the small red square is the loft hatch.
Now, that leaves me with an area pointed out by the green arrow. And yes, I know that it seems like i'm not able to use most of the space, but having been up and stood in there, I do actually have a reasonable amount of space. I'm yet to get an exact measurement (I'll do that tomorrow), but it is roughly 10ft x 6ft, and then I can use the side area as a potential fiddle yard, or some kind of storage.
So, that's my plan for the space.

anonymous photo sharing
I will be installing lights, power and then boarding out the floor this week hopefully. Just having to wait for the father-in-law to assist with the electrics as he is qualified to do so.
Makes sense to get him to do it properly!
In the mean time, I've been playing what to actually do with my layout.
I started thinking (as you'll see in one of my other threads) about modelling something along the lines of the Tilbury line in Essex, and using some EMU's from the 80's and 90's.
Having discovered that the EMU's I wanted are not readily made, and that I would have to construct my own ones, I thought about what other ideas I could do.
I decided to step away from those particular EMU's and theme, as I am still fairly new to this, and would like to get some ready to go trains, instead of spending a very long time and large amount of money building my own. That is something I will probably do further down the line.
But, for now I wanted to come up with something else.
I've spent some time reading PECO Planbooks, and browsing online track plans, and came to the following decisions.
1) I want the layout to be able to loop. I don't want an 'End to End' layout. I would like the train to be able to continue round a loop in some way.
2) I would like some shunting ability.
3) I would like ideally 2 stations. And try to position them as best to simulate the trains going from one, to the other (in the limited space I have).
4) I want some scenery breaks, and some interesting scenes. So, maybe a freight yard, loco sheds, some residential areas, roads, public spaces, shops. And so on.
5) I'd be looking at a rectangle base, or possibly an L-Shaped base of some kind
6) Considering 2 levels of tracks.
7) Budget...let's try not to go too overboard, especially with xmas round the corner!
So, I have either copied or adapted 3 plans for now. I may not use any of them, and I will probably design some more. But for now, I like the idea of these.
1) 10ft x 6ft L-Shape
Some very tight corners, but some elements I wanted are covered in this design. I did think about raising the smaller station, but unsure.

anonymous photo sharing
2) 8ft x 4ft - End to End with a LOOP!
This one is probably my favourite of the three. Its effectively an End to End, but with a loop in the middle.
The blue area is 0.4ft high, the red and orange are at baseboard level, and the green climbs from the red upto the blue. At 4% apparently.
I will probably enclose the red area, so it can't be seen. Where the red goes under the blue, i'll tunnel it, and then have another tunnel just after the green track starts. So the train will appear from the rear of the scene and come forward and pull into the blue station. Where the orange tracks goes off to the left, i'll probably make that a entrance/exit for a fiddle yard or similar.

anonymous photo sharing
3) 9ft x 6ft Station, Town and Freight
This is pretty much a direct lift from the PECO Track Plans. However, it was an ambitious scene that I liked, and was considering challenging myself. Making this more of a long term project.
For those that are unfamiliar with the layout, the blue area is the station, green is a town area. The red area will be the town over the top of the 3 loops, leaving one visible track infant of the town scene. And the orange track is a freight yard, with a viewing area in the middle.
This does have me tempted, but think i'll need to double check the available space before even considering this one properly.

anonymous photo sharing
I've designed these in RailModeller Pro, and have used PECO SeTrack and some SL-100 Flexi Track too.
In terms of what trains I want to run?
I'm still not sure.
I think I want to stay in the 80's/90's but may even consider the 00's and something a bit more modern.
I'd like to run EMU's/DMU's and passenger trains. I don't want anything too long with large amounts of rolling stock at this stage, as I think the layouts will probably be too small for those at this time.
As I expand and grow the layout, so will my trains and rolling stock.
I want a few Diesels and shunters too for variation.
But, at this stage i'm still quite open minded about it all, and open for thoughts and suggestions.
So, it's all still early stages and messy thoughts at this time. But i'm happy with the direction i'm heading.
I'd be very grateful for your thoughts and opinions on all of the above.
I have a bit time to get the planning sorted, as the loft will take a little while yet, so I can focus on getting it right in the planning.
If you've made this far, I thank you!
I look forward to hearing from you all.