Progress on the Canadian Southern

[Wiredup]

I got four flagship trains that I wanna have on the layout:
1954 CN paint scheme passenger train 8-10 cars
maroon CPR paint passenger train 6 cars
8 car UP passenger train
SP Daylight core set

So average train will be 4ft long.....
which in a 10x10 room shouldn't be bad... in fact I should have enough room for this!

Based on your list (I'm not aware of the length of the Daylight core set, so didn't include it in my calculations), your average train length, not including motive power, is just under 8 cars.

I just can't figure out why I can't get it all in properly....

Even if you're using Athearn's "shorty" passenger cars, a six car train will be about 5' long without the loco(s), while a ten car train will be over 8' in length, again without counting the length of the loco(s). Using full-length passenger equipment, your trains will be even longer. No wonder you "can't get it all in properly".

I just wanna run trains, and I wanna do it quick. I'm more into building the land forms, running the trains, and kitbashin stuff than I am about the track laying... so I'm gonna take a short cut and use unitrack.

Don't rush through the groundwork for your layout. Benchwork, track planning, track laying and the associated electrical stuff, not to mention room lighting, backdrops, etc. are all necessary tasks that should be done before you get to the "running trains" part. Putting these tasks aside or rushing through them will most likely result in a less than satisfactory experience when you try to run the trains.

Wayne

When I measured out my UP train with Challenger pulling... it ended up being 5' long.

Still...thats not short! lol


track laying will be done with unitrack, so a lot quicker and more reliable than flex... I think if I woulda bought unitrack this whole time I've bought and ripped up flex I woulda have had enough unitrack to get everything going again! lol

Benchworks done... a nice solid lattice frame rectangle thats 3.5 ft off the ground, using foam core for a table top.

I gotta redo the track plan... but I think I should maybe try planning it with the track on the board...isntead of software?

I'm using winrail 7

lighting is being planned out...

but I guess the track plan is what I'm really having the most trouble with.