The chicken or the egg?

[Pitchwife]

I was designing an N scale layout that would fit in a small room of my house. I first designed it using RT in the HO mode, just doubling the dimentions. Then you guys told me about the N scale library. I downloaded it and tried to lay out my former design and Surprise! nothing fit!
Now I am redoing the entire thing and have run into a problem with an industrial area. Do you set out the industries and then run track to them, or do you lay out your track and then fit industries into it? It went fairly easily the first time, but now that I am doing it "right" nothing seems to fit. Suggestions?

 

[Will_annand]

I did a bit of both.

Sometimes you know what size the industry is, so I marked it in and planned around it. Just give yourself a rough estimate.

 

[shamus]

Always best to have what structures you will be using first, and make footprints of each one and lay these on the benchwork so you can see just where to lay your track later.
Shamus

 

[cidchase]

Hi Clark,
RTS lets you draw a closed box (with the line tool).
You can size it very closely using the rulers on the top and side
of the dwg. You can rotate it using the rotate tool.

So you should be able to add whatever buildings you plan
on using right into the RTS and move them around at will.

It will help to show the roadbed. Whatever plan you come
up with (try saying THAT without ending in a preposition)
it will probably change when you start placing the real 3d
structures, so try to leave some room for adjustment.

RTS is great for strictly sectional track. :thumb:
The flex track tool takes a whole lot of trial and error.


Best of luck :thumb: :thumb: :thumb:

 

[Will_annand]

Cid, I found the "flex track tool" is not bad if you do one thing. You have to change the zoom of the drawing down to between 1-3, then you can see the paths that the "black dots" move along. Adjusting it is simply a case of clicking on the path.

 

[cidchase]

Thanx, Will, that helps!!

BTW, Clark at some point a creature that was not born a
true chicken laid a mutated egg which produced a chicken!!
(egg comes first)

Or, to look at it another way, two non-chickens combined
to create a true chicken!! (egg comes first)

Or, from a Biblical viewpoint, "male and female He created
them." (chicken comes first)

Step right up, you pays your money and you takes your pick!!
:thumb: :thumb: :thumb:

 

[jon-monon]

Probably easier to get it all to fit using flex track, in software and real (scale) life.

 

[billk]

Originally posted by cidchase
Thanx, Will, that helps!!

BTW, Clark at some point a creature that was not born a
true chicken laid a mutated egg which produced a chicken!!
(egg comes first)

Or, to look at it another way, two non-chickens combined
to create a true chicken!! (egg comes first)

Or, from a Biblical viewpoint, "male and female He created
them." (chicken comes first)

Step right up, you pays your money and you takes your pick!!
:thumb: :thumb: :thumb:

And somehow does this relate to a chicken omelet?

 

[jon-monon]

Obtain and consume one Balut, and you will no longer question which came first, the chicken or the egg, for you will have devoured Filipino wosdom, as have I.

 

[cidchase]

The Treat With Feet!!

http://www.nbc.com/Fear_Factor/stunts/stunt_203_balut.shtml

defintitely an acquired taste

I've heard of worse, I guess

 

[jon-monon]

hehehe

I will not eat it without the assistance of the San Miguel Brewry!

 

[brakie]

Clark,I prefer to put the buildings in place then place the track..I don't use any type of track plan as such I just work my track and buildings around till I like what I see then spike the track in place.
I never could use a layout plan.Of course I never was lucky enough to have a basement size layout and have always had smaller layouts and/or larger industrial switching layouts-not the switching puzzle type.

 

[Pitchwife]

posted by cidchase

RTS lets you draw a closed box (with the line tool). You can size it very closely using the rulers on the top and side
of the dwg. You can rotate it using the rotate tool. So you should be able to add whatever buildings you plan
on using right into the RTS and move them around at will.

Actually Cid, one of the libraries that downloaded with RTS N scale has most of the structures that I am planning to put on the layout. They are just boxes, but they are true to scale and much easier to use than drawing each one individually.

Jon, I am definately using flex track for everything. :thumb: :thumb:

Now all I gotta do is figure out where they go. I will probably use Will_annand's advice and do a bit of both.

Thanks for the input everyone. Still not so sure about the chicken though.

 

[60103]

Clark:
If you design your layout properly, you will have so much track that there's no room for buildings.

 

[screwysquirrel]

A bit of both

I tend to design the 'loop' I want the track to take, then add Industry around it.

Lets see what you have so far!

 

[Pitchwife]

This is what I had using the RTS HO library and doubling the dimentions to simulate N. Then I downloaded the RTS N library and the whole thing went out the window.
The buildings I have to use are:

DPM
Goodnight Mattress Co
Gripp's Luggage Co
Trackside Transfer

Con-cor
Appliance warehouse

a small factory building of unknown mfg. and
other structures that I had planned to scratchbuild.

The buildings on the diagram are just random structures that I planned to either buy or scratch build. I have approxamately 4'x2.5' available for this area of the layout.

 

[brakie]

Clark,I have a question if you don't mind..Those 2 switches on the bottom below the crossing may I ask what they are for? Curiosity got the best of me so I thought I would ask.

 

[cidchase]

Hey Larry,
Not to answer for Clark, but I would say that the little switcher,
which is used to position the dropped cuts for loading or
unloading at the two industries, is parked there between the
switches. Would this work?

It also lets a car to be picked up get pulled off the siding so
another can be dropped off.

If that crossing were a double slip the switcher could manage
almost any kind of move!! (without having to run around on the
main) What do you think??

Surely there's a prototype fer this somewhere!!!

 

[Pitchwife]

No Y

Hi Larry. Cid is basically right. I added it just to give the switcher some more flexability when delivering/picking up cars from those two industries. The question is pretty much moot since none of that is working now.

BTW why is it that Atlas doesn't make a wye in N scale?

 

[brakie]

Clark,First thanks for answering the question..
Now to answer your question why Atlas never made a wye switch in N is beyond me..I never could figure that out either.
Atlas should make a wye switch in N IMHO but,for some reason they decided not to even though one is sorely needed in the Atlas line of track..