My official layout thread.

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iis612

Member
Dec 26, 2006
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Chicago Burbs
I will post all progress, revisions, succeses and failures here.
My layout origianlly was going to be a 4x8 HO. Then the plan grew, which lead to the discovery of a large quantity of mold in the house.
We sold that house, and now I have even more room to play with. I have a roughly 18x18 area, which I have been forced to wittle down to 14x14 because of building codes, safety and storage needs. As the size has changed, I have decided to change scale as well. I was originally going to use N scale, and my wife said that I should use HO. Why I listen to her is beyond me. sign1
My original plan was to model the Chicago Stock Yards, using CNW as the prototype Ry. That has changed. I am now going to be modeling CSX, the Saginaw, MI subdivision (where I used to work). The intersting thing about this is the shape of the yard.
It will feature a scratchbuilt version of the yardmasters tower, as well as a few other structures.. Beyond the shape of the yard is the history, which will enable me to run 4 different prototypes, and 3 different interchanges.
I can run Pere Marquette, C&O, Chessie, and CSX. The interchanges are GTW, Conrail, and Mid Michigan SL.
The layout will feature the Michigan division of GERN, set at a barge Transload site, Vlassic Pickle factory, cement factory, Dow Chemical, Auto industry (various aspects), and a steel mill.
I am hand drawing the trackplan, as I am not smart enough to use Xtrk or AtlasRR. I am designing it using John Armstrong's controlled sketching method.

As soon as I have the preliminay plan complete I will try to scan it. It is slow going as I have only 1 reliable hand. I injured my wrist on my dominant arm at work, and I find drawing difficult.


I welcome all comments, suggestions, criticism, and encouragement.
 

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bigsteel

Call me Mr.Tinkertrain
Dec 12, 2006
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Cincinnati,Ohio
cant wait to see progress! that yard will be defiantly different :mrgreen:,could be a challenge though to model using commercial turnouts.oh well,cant wait to see how you do this.--josh
 
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iis612

Member
Dec 26, 2006
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Chicago Burbs
We have been slow getting unpacked since our move (nearly 6 months ago). I can't find the usb cable for my scanner. I am going to post some photo's of the preliminary benchwork design shortly.
 
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iis612

Member
Dec 26, 2006
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Chicago Burbs
Let's try this again, with a better photo.

Of note, the photo is arranged so the layout has north at the top of the page.
Along the east side, there is an area that is a 6' x 30" staging extension.
Along the west side there is a partition, that is the backdrop. I am using a double sided backdrop to maximize the space. I will be extending the layout approximately 9" to the west.
The grids represent 22", as the minimum radius I am using is 19". There will only be 1 or 2 curves that sharp though. The rest will be 20 or better.
There are areas that will be out of reach, and I will use that space for scenery only.
The 2 "pond" looking things in the middle are operating pits.
I am giving serious consideration to making them alrger along the western most part to reduce the reach over Saginaw Yard, which is in the middle of the layout.

I would love to hear some thoughts, critique, suggestions.

When I have finished drafting the benchwork cut away view (showing the construction methods) I will post them as well.
 

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iis612

Member
Dec 26, 2006
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Chicago Burbs
I was digging through all of my HO stuff, getting ready to sell it off. I never realized how much stuff I actually had. I have somewhere in the neighborhood of 200' of flex track, and at least another 200' of snap track sections.
I don't know how many turnouts I have, but they fill a large box. Many of them are new in there packages.
I have some thinking to do.
I really love the layout I am brewing in N, but it will take a while to accumulate all of the needed components.
With my wrist injury, I have lots of time to think about it.
 
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steamhead

Active Member
Apr 16, 2005
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Hi...I'm sure you can sell most of that HO stuff off on eBay. Looking at your track plan..it looks like you'll be ducking under to get to the operating areas....That can get old REAL soon. You might want to consider a liftout.
In any event...Good luck..!!
 
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iis612

Member
Dec 26, 2006
485
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Chicago Burbs
The demise of an idea

Well, after my wife learned how much HO stuff I would have to get rid of in order to switch to N scale, she had a melt down.
Therefore, since I want my wife to be happy (more for my own sake than that of my wife sign1) I have to scrap the N scale conversion, again.
I was really looking forward to making the leap.
To stay in HO, I will have to include a 2nd, perhaps a 3rd level to accomplish my dream layout.
 
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