Layout design - Driving myself nuts 31/8

[barney121e]

Hi all

When you are designing a layout do you look for modelling a specific location or making sure the track plan will work for you.

I only ask ask have a track plan all ready to go. it's a run what i like and was going to use scottish buildings to give it a scottish feel although not directly based on anywhere. However following reading a book abut the Quintinshill rail disaster i am wondering if building a certain location might be way to go but still running what i like.

Just wondering what peoples views are. Thanks

[Mountain]

Totally freelance and fictional as it is the best way for me to copy the prototype operational feel.

I don't know if that makes sense? It does to me.

I tried copying the real thing in the past and there had to be so much compromising in the space I had that the only real way to make anything work was to go for the fictional approach and let ones imagination go wild.

[heda]

I'm the same as Mountain 'freelance and fictional', although I take ideas from actual places, the small branch station on my old N gauge layout was loosely based on Goodrington (Dartmouth railway) with the ticket office at the top of the bridge and steps down to the platform.

Everyone has different ideas but whatever you decide it's all about what suits you, run what you like how you like and whatever scenery you fancy modelling.

Dave

[barney121e]

Cheers Guys

Gives me something to think about.

[End2end]

My rolling stock is GWR, early BR (mainly in GWR colours) and some generalised location freight.
Whether my layout modelling will be up to snuff for my general Cornish look is anyone's guess.
Thanks
End2end

[ChrisGreaves]

When you are designing a layout do you look for modelling a specific location or making sure the track plan will work for you.

Do you want to make a model of a railway or a facsimile of a railway?

A model, to me, suggests "an idea of what it was like; a feeling of what might have been", whereas a facsimile suggests a one-to-one correspondence of reality, and would probably require volumes of building blueprints of buildings along with photographs.

The bottom line is that very few of us have the time, patience, or research resources to make an exact copy, and so a model - an idea of what it was - is the logical way to go.

The point has been made here previously, that if it isn't fun, then don't be doing it.

Cheers, Chris

[barney121e]

When you are designing a layout do you look for modelling a specific location or making sure the track plan will work for you.

Do you want to make a model of a railway or a facsimile of a railway?

A model, to me, suggests "an idea of what it was like; a feeling of what might have been", whereas a facsimile suggests a one-to-one correspondence of reality, and would probably require volumes of building blueprints of buildings along with photographs.

The bottom line is that very few of us have the time, patience, or research resources to make an exact copy, and so a model - an idea of what it was - is the logical way to go.

The point has been made here previously, that if it isn't fun, then don't be doing it.

Cheers, Chris

Thanks Chris (and everyone else)

Has made me rethink exactly why i chose oo gauge and what model railway caught my attention first. The track plan i have now would still be good, but i will revisit the first plan and see where that leads me as well.

[FatController]

Maybe it's obvious, but there's a huge span of how people do it from "as close as they can get to reality", to exactly prototypical although not real, roughly prototypical, all the way to complete fantasy. And then layouts that want to put as much as possible into the space - because there isn't much space but people still want a turntable, viaduct, station, engine shed, whatever.
I would suggest ask yourself who you are building if for - sounds obvious - but is it? You, children, grandchildren, exhibition, mates? What you want and what children or grandchildren want might be very different! And if yourself, what's the fun for you? Building or running? Carpentry, electrics, non-rail scenery? Or don't you know until you try?
Apologies for the pontificating - I am just trying to suggest you take whatever people say as interesting but not gospel.
My layout is for me. I'm shooting for a vaguely prototypical layout, set in the sixties so I can have steam and green diesel. I think I enjoy most aspects of layout building but with more emphasis towards the control and automation of it all.
The points made here about it has to be fun are spot on. And your idea sounds good - but always worth a re-visit before your start.
Cheers Alun

[Dad-1]

Always freelance.
Once you start compromising, usually because of space, it ceases to be that specific place.
Railways run from place to place not round in circles except things like Glasgow underground !!
2 feet wide and 40 feet long is not particularly practical.

I usually identify an intended rough area by the stock running !!

'Tis supposed to be fun.

Geoff T.

[ChrisGreaves]

... but i will revisit the first plan and see where that leads me as well.

My signature (funicular railway) is still legit, although I have not uncovered it in 12+months, let alone worked on it. I spent last winter researching and planning 17 new windows in my home, the spring and summer gardening when I am not putting one room of books into cartons, emptying room, sweeping up insulation after walls have been cut open (each room had a 20"x30" window, will now have TWO 72"x48" windows), vacuuming insulation, moving contents of next room into previous room, ... coupled with the fact that the contractor can only work on weekends, has a cottage, loves fishing on days legally permitted, can only work days when his assistant is not drunk, no rain forecast, etc, hence the slight delay in the funicular development.
My real plan is a circular toy train powered by a 12vdC system from my wind turbine (nothing done on THAT for 12+ months either ...)

My point being that if I had forced myself to funicular or toy-train it would NOT have been fun, and I would not have enjoyed it, and so would not have done a good job.

I predict that you will build a system that provokes plenty of comment and suggestion.
And that will make everyone happy, including armchair enthusiasts like me!
Cheers, Chris

[barney121e]

Thanks for all the replies.

Have decided to go with a layout based on the youtube video i saw that caught my imagination. I'm looking forward to every part of building from learning how to solder to repair trains and provide feeds to the track to scenery and then the running. Have placed a picture of the plan below.
Although the inside line is 1st radius it will hardly be used, more for the view than anything else. And sure i can improve the fiddle yard slightly.

May also move the signal box, but there are two or three positions it could go.

[Dad-1]

He, Ho, Hum !!!!
I see mention of 1st radius curves - to fear, or not to fear, that is the question !!
Today I opened a Hornby box with a Merchant Navy class 4-6-2 "Tangmere", not used for many a year.
I was drying out the box from a flooded garage on Wednesday afternoon. It ran quite sweetly around
My Garage layout St Oval, and that has some 1st radius curves.
So should you want the latest and most recent models NO hope, but many an older monster will get
around them.

Geoff T.

[Flashbang]

Older Hornby and before that Tri-ang models had the flanges removed on the middle set of driver wheels! So for example a 4-6-2 would only have wheel flanges on the outer most four wheels of the "6" set. Modern locos of the same wheel arrangement or similar have wheel flanges on all wheels. Hence they are unable to negotiate 1st radius curves and some are not that good on second radius either!

[barney121e]

Well all my locos are older ones, and will be for the foreseeable future.

So next decision is now DC or DCC. Gone between the two for a while. The plan is fairly simple which would lean me towards DC but might equally be easy in DCC. Maybe if i'm going to build bigger and better in the future (well thats the plan) maybe doing DCC slowly wont be such a hit on the pocket.
Decisions, decisions.

[Dad-1]

While Flashbang is mostly right,
There was a period when Hornby in particular had fully flanged wheels, but
with sufficient lateral play to negotiate 1st radius, yes even on the 4-6-2
R2221 "Tangmere".
Always very hit & miss hence in the FAQ section of this site I have a list of
models I have that run around St Oval and it's limited number of 1st radius
curves.
Always have the comment MY model, on MY track & it works, but that is no
guarantee.

Geoff T.