Far From the Middle

1

13Mtrainer

Member
Aug 21, 2004
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central pa
the layout i am working on right now is kind of big. what i want to know is if it is ok if i cant reach the middle of an 8 by 8 foot layout:confused: . could i just take it in sections? i cant make it an around the walls due to i dont have four walls only 1. i am really stumped on this one so any help would be very aprishiated:wave:


thanks 13Mtrainer
 
usually the layout shouldn't be wider than what you can reach at any point, so 2-3ft is probably the max width you should go for. If you have track in a place you can't reach, then 100% sure your trains will either derail or stall at exact that place, that's called 'Murphy's law", so I would suggest that you cut an access hole in the middle of your 8x8, and then still keep all your tracks within 2,5ft from the front, and that of course is assuming you have access to the front of all 4 sides of your 8x8 layout.

Good luck
Jesper
 
You've got two good suggestions above. Another suggestion is to keep all tracks within arm's reach of the edges and use the center strictly for scenery. (Still, provide an access panel as Jesper said. One of my expansion plans for the Muddy Creek is a 7 1/2' X 14' section with a removable mountain ridge running down the center of the section. All track will be easy to reach from 3 sides and the removable part is so I can work on the ridge (and clean it) on the workbench.

You're young enough that scampering under the layout and popping up through an access hole should be no problem!

Wayne
 
You'll either need an access hole or a harness like Tom Cruise had in Mission Impossible. My benchwork is an 8' x 11' "L" with each leg 4' across, built with a variation of the Atlas Super Pretzel layout in mind. Because the deck is low due to being in short basement and I'm fairly tall, I can reach across it but it is really tought to do (and gtting tougher each passing day). I'm going to add an access hole either buried inside a tall mountain of have a removable lake.

Post some pics of your layout when you get it cut in
Doc
 
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