Suggestions on track plan

[justind]

Looking for suggestions on a track plan. Size is 2'x12' and it is HO. Minimum radius is 18" with a lot of it 22". Running small equipment (2-6-0, old-time equipment) and the trains will be short 3-4 cars at most. I know that a lot could be done by adding just a small stretch of it with a 4' width instead of 2' (wyes, dog-bone, etc.) but 2'x12' shelf is what I have limited myself too.

For flavor it is a small colorado silver mining town set in the early 1900's. (think Ouray, Silverton or Telluride)

 

[justind]

Well, I thought it uploaded the image, but let's try again shall we...

 

[Russ Bellinis]

I'm not real good at planning layouts on paper. I generally do mine in my head and then put them down on the benchwork. I throw out suggestions that others will run with. With a limit of 24" width, you are not going to get a turn back curve, so you are going to have to run point to point. I would suggest an Atlas turn table at each end to turn the locomotive. Break and make the train at each end of the run. If you don't like the look of the Atlas turntable, use it as the bottom of the pit, and scratch build a turntable bridge and pit walls to go on top. With the rugged mountainous terrain of Colorado, you could even put in a switch back to get a longer run. Pick up loaded ore cars from the mines, and leave empties, and haul logs down from a logging camp to a lumber mill in the town at one end. You would also need to haul a box car or two to the mine and logging camp to bring up supplies. There is your concept, I'll bet some of the members of the gauge can take that and run with it. Hold your speed down to a crawl so the railroad doesn't seem too short. The late Art King spent years working on a railroad that was only about 2' x 6' if I remember correctly.

 

[brakie]

Justin,First rethink your layout design..Sadly unless my math is off (and it may be) I don't think a 18" curve will fit in 2'.Seems to me 36" is what you will need for 18" curves.Now that 2'x12' area will give you a most excellant industrial switching layout..Now,this past Saturday at the Marion(Oh) train show I saw a most excellant logging layout on a 2'x14' layout.It was mostly switchbacks that went down/up the side of a hill and and ended at the sawmill.It included a engine house,wather tank a coal bin, sawmill and lumber loading area and interchange track..At the top was where the logs was loaded to go to the mill.It also had a jill poke to unload the logs at the mill..I have never seen a layout quite like this one in the 52 years I been in the hobby.It was shay powered...It looked like this..Mind you the track went up/down grade.Also mind you I am not a artist. This is just one idea.

 

[brakie]

Justin,I forgot to mention if you don't want to haul logs you could haul coal or some type of ore including silver.

 

[Russ Bellinis]

If you build a mountain range, and bring ore down the mountain from the silver mines, you could either have the stamp mill up at the top and bring down crushed ore, or put the stamp mill at the bottom and bring down rough ore. Then model the ore smelter at the bottom. Then you could build an interchange track that would disappear under the mountain that would haul out the silver bars in boxcars. The train would pick up a cut of loaded cars, probably 1 or 2 cars at the turn of the century due to weight restrictions.

 

[justind]

Brakie, right you are about the space for an 18" full radius, but there are no complete turns, only partial, so according to the software it will fit. Unless I'm overlooking something .

 

[Russ Bellinis]

As long as you are just doing some "s" turns and no turn backs, the 18 inch radius will fit. If you are just running old timers, 4-4-0, 2-6-0, with 36 foot cars, you could even run 15 inch radius without problems. By the way if the choice is between a larger radius without easements and a smaller radius with easements, go with the smaller radius and easements. You will get smoother operation, and it will look better.

 

[Russ Bellinis]

I see not much more has happened in this thread, how are your ideas coming? Is your layout on the way to getting started?

 

[Ralph]

Justin,
The more I look at your plan the more I like it. Its hard to squeeze a lot in a space like your's in HO but you've created two seperate scenes, provided some visual interest with the tunnels, river, and meandering track, and have some switching possibilties. I say go for it! Only thing I wish you could do is punch a hole in the wall so that track curving up to the right and off the layout went through to your next room where you could have another layout!

 

[justind]

No progress yet. No space right now so I'm still in the design phase.
Thanks for the suggestions.