Newbie with plans

[Oranoco]

Have to admit my use of OO is entirely down to what I have already. If I was starting from scratch it would be in N gauge. What I am trying to do has unfortunately been saddled with a lot of restrictions. If restrictions mean I get to do this though I'm happy to be restricted.

[Emettman]

I love the idea of a sectional board but woodwork isn't where my talents lie. Always open to bribe people and have a friend who's a competent chippy.

Perhaps a bit more thinking is needed to accommodate this and maybe even the consideration of a reduced 6' x 4' board instead (Noooo!!)

OK. Restrictions in place now better, but sadly, understood.

There are ways to get the best out of limited spaces, but something usually has to give, somewhere.
With a 6' by 4', small locos and short coaches give much more room to operate a variety of trains in something more than a "watching the trains go round" environment.

This guy has done an impressive job with a foldaway layout, cosmetically acceptable to the domestic authorities...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EQPBuW66lBo

It's not that often done, not least because it needs careful planning, but it can be made both to work and to look neat.
Yes, you would need your friendly carpenter...
It's the basic idea for a foldaway bed (Murphy or other,) but installed *above* the existing bed, with the long (hinged) axis horizontal unless you have high ceilings.


Do say if you want me to stop having ideas...

When restricted, wriggle.
Chris

[Oranoco]

I live my whole life by that motto

That's pretty much how my old nearly 6x4 was done. Wondering if I could do that, sacrifice some width and add a little length. Will chat to the boss and see how long it takes me to scrape her off the ceiling lol

[jon_1066]

Some thoughts from your proposed two designs.

The track is very close to the edge - this is a recipe for trains to hit the floor.

Your longest train appears to be a five unit HST. Unless that is going to be permanently circling or manually taken on and off all the time then you need a siding long enough to store it.

Consider what era do you want to run. The track demands can be pretty different depending upon this.

An 8 by 4 board with bracing is pretty heavy. I would recommend you use plywood and it will need some sort of cross bracing to prevent it bowing - it will definitely be a two person job to de-mount it.

Plonking buildings on shouldn't be a problem so long as you have somewhere to store them when you de-mount it all. Look at miniature wargamers for the sort of things they do (eg woods mounted on separate bases, etc.)

So with that in mind here is a suggestion:

8 by 4 1980s.jpg (101.2 KiB) Viewed 2903 times

It gets away from lines parallel to the board edges, gives you a station that can just take your longest train, a siding to store it in, operations with 2 car DMUs and a small TMD plus a commuter or branch type station. It can also be converted to steam running by changing what buildings you put on. eg.

8 by 4 1950s.jpg (100.82 KiB) Viewed 2903 times

[Oranoco]

Quite like that. Think I'll play with SCARM a bit more once home.

Cheers for all the input guys, gratefully received.

[pete12345]

One idea I've seen that can give a bit more variety and realism to the rectangular layout is to divide the layout lengthways by putting a backscene down the middle. You then have two distinct scenic areas that you can develop as their own layout. For example you could model a rural branch line station on one half, and an industrial complex on the other. Only one scenic half is in use at any time, with the unused side forming the fiddle yard. It also visually breaks up the continuous circuit which is good for realism.

[Emettman]

Some thoughts from your proposed two designs...

That seems a very good analysis as I read it. That five car HST set is a significant factor.
I too wonder about moving an 8 x 4 board.

Oranco, if we are talking about a board which will be more readily accepted if its underside is finished cosmetically, (say, as a large picture) would there be anywhere else in the room where it could literally hang on a wall, (as an art feature) rather than be behind a bed and two cabinets, where retrieving it would be a pretty hefty job.

Thinking while typing, and looking for cheapish items to suit on eBay... DON'T finish the underside of the board.
Provide sturdy mount on wall for layout board and then hang cosmetic lightweight board 8X4 on that...
Picture board won't get damaged, layout board will be lighter and have underside still accessible.

I quite like the idea of picture frame wallpaper, which can be gradually customised by adding pictures into the "frames"...

Chris

[Oranoco]

As soon as the boss gets home I'll broach the suggestion of mounting it on the wall. She'll either be perfectly fine or go ballistic, not sure which reaction I'll get which is a bit of a worry.

HST is a 6 car unit or 2 4 car HST's if I can get the other powered car running again.

[jon_1066]

Here's another idea. Based upon a four car HST (but could squeeze a 5 car in)

8 by 4 v19 80s.jpg (122.64 KiB) Viewed 2836 times

It is a terminus station with a double track continuous run and small TMD. You could run the HSTs, loco hauled coaches or DMUs. You could remove the bulk of the passenger stock and have a freight yard instead with shunting of goods trains on the inner loop and two passenger trains to and from the terminus on the outer loop.

The reversing loop allows you to turn tender steam engines without using a turntable:

8 by 4 v19.jpg (102.65 KiB) Viewed 2836 times

[Oranoco]

That's really smart. How do you add rolling stock and buildings in SCARM?

[jon_1066]

You basically build them using Figures. Some rolling stock is available from the Scarm website.

If you PM me your email I can send you these Scarm files if you like.

[Oranoco]

That would be awesome, thank you. PM sent

[Oranoco]

Well after a while away working on my automotive projects the board was brought back out and further tinkering followed. Due to a change of circumstances we are now looking to move house in the next 12 months where we have decided a bedroom will be given over to my model railway and the bosses craft stuff, or better still a loft conversion. Will need to see how things pan out but the current layout will be played with up until it comes time to strip it for the move.

What do folks do for pic hosting since PhotoBucket broke the internet?