I decided to attempt a layout for the new york & atlantic engines ive been working on but I have little to no space. Im going to put the layout in the alcove that I have in the living room which is 80"x40". To understand my space issue...


That's the benchwork so far which is, yes, under my bicycle and behind my tv.
This is the plan I made on the computer.

I want it to 16" deep so I can add a shelf to store all my trains and keep those drawers underneath then hide it all with a curtain or something. But the 16" depth is creating a large dead space in the front that I dont know what to do with. The tracks on the bottom left will represent this yard with sidings and transload area which im not exactly sure if it's in Queens or Brooklyn because it's right on the border but its on Grand Ave.

All the other track is just sort of thrown together to see what I can fit and don't have any designated customers. I would like to hear any suggestions or for those who have layout software wanna take some time out and see what they can come up with would be greatly appreciated. Also I just realized that the totals for the length on the bottom (23, 47, 8) only come out to 78" not sure what happened but it's 80" across. It might be 24" and 9" but it doesn't matter yet because I haven't installed those sections yet. Either way i'd like to get some creative feedback and get some options, thanks in advance.
Bob

That is a tough one. But what is more important to you? Something freelanced that will allow you to sqeeze in as much tracks as possible or a scene based on the NY&A?

I don't mind freelanced then I could run my New York Cross Harbor locos on it but I came up with this NY&A based plan...

the siding in the "dead space" will be Manhattan Beer Distributors, they are off of Grand Ave but not the end with the siding so i'm going to flip the building around.

The 2 lead curved tracks on the top right would actually cross Grand Ave with a bridge, i'd like to do it that way but might be tough getting the different track grades I might just do a level grade crossing.

The top left siding could be a good candidate for Allied Extruders, it won't be exact but close enough.

The top right siding could be any of the 2-4 lumber dealers that receive box cars and center beams. Probably will only be able to spot one center beam and maybe a box car at a time but not bad for just 80" of space.

I think the big hurdle is just getting started. I'm not sure how you mean to construct the baseboards, but it seems to me that you can get the rectangular pieces cut from plywood for a nominal price at a lumberyard, and a few hours work with shelf brackets would get you going then. (If you're in an apartment, that might be a tougher hurdle, but you could probably find some sort of cabinet or drawer set at a place like IKEA that would hold things up as well -- it might influence your plan, though.)

Then, especially if this is a first layout, I'd consider using Kato HO Unitrack to make it easy to make changes. But the big step is simply to get started. I see lots and lots of threads on various forums by guys who plan and plan and never actually build anything.

I definitely have all intentions on building this layout. I'm going to take the current benchwork cut it back to 14" and make it the lower shelf for storage. I'm going to pick up a new sheet of plywood that's 80"x44" and cut out the areas i don't need to make that U shape this way it's one big sheet of wood and not sections. I want that mainline overpass over grand ave to work so I think that'll be a challenge for me but i'll give it a shot, that's the plan for now

Your biggest challenge will be the length of your sidings on the left -in HO a 50' cars is 8" over couplers, and you need to allow clearance at turnouts to ensure that cars don't sideswipe each other - I suggest you get (or make) some turnout templates ( put LH and RH turnouts rail-side down on a photocoipier or scanner and print at 100%) and do some planning on the floor in that space, with some masking tape, a loco and some cars, long before you go into the woodcutting stage - you'll save yourself money, believe me! - If you are in an apartment - I'd go for several sectional/modular boards - much easier when you come to move out, Looking at the left side of your plan - you can lengthen those RH sidings by taking out the curve between the turnouts - butting tthe same ones back to back and then curving the tracks to head towards the end of the board - it would also let you make that side of the board narrower - narrow boards LOOK longer.
What do you have beyond the alcove in the living room? Is it possible that you could have a removable extension board, that will store under the layout, or vertically in a cupboard, or behind a door?

Try a look at this - bear in mind it is O gauge and will be half the size in HO - The translation is a bit wierd
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[attachment=13904]

You could always do away with the runround and propel everything on the layout,using a fiddlestick or extenstion board which plugs in or drops down when not in use (where the A is,like Shortliner said).

Points are peco small radius (24") and minimum radius is 20",this would give you enough switching and room for your buildings,(with a bit more fine tuning).

I would definitely do as Shortliner says about templates lets you work things out with not a lot of cost,good planning saves you more in the long run.

Have fun

Ray

shortliner Wrote:I suggest you get (or make) some turnout templates ( put LH and RH turnouts rail-side down on a photocoipier or scanner and print at 100%) and do some planning on the floor in that space, with some masking tape, a loco and some cars, long before you go into the woodcutting stage - you'll save yourself money, believe me! -

I used Fast Tracks Printable Templates for this. They look a whole lot better than the photocopied version in my opinion.

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Hope this helps.
Mark

You can find PECO templates here <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.peco-uk.com/page.asp?id=pointplans">http://www.peco-uk.com/page.asp?id=pointplans</a><!-- m -->

I'm waiting for a photo of the baseboard installed.

Thank you everyone for the useful tips, there's a lot of good points for me to think about. LI Jack, i'd like to cram everything I can into this. With your example i'd lose 3 sidings to shuffle cars around which is why i added the run around. I realize I dont have much space to work with but i'd rather squeeze in what I can even if I have to shorten a siding by a car length. I will include some sort of extension for the left hand track of the 2 on the bottom right. I'll print out some turnout templates and mess around with the placement of them. I'm not going to build it with sections, whenever the time comes to move ill deal with it then. JWB i'm not sure what you mean by the baseboard being installed.

My plan was worked around the 20"minimum radius,your plan seems to have really tight curves,which if you plan to run centre beams and c/hoppers you maybe asking for trouble.

Don't forget with trying to cram all that track in,it leaves a lot less space for buildings etc.

At the end of the day it's your layout,and i appreciate you don't have much space,but i think this is definitely a case for
"less is more".

Have fun planning and building this,will follow this thread.

Ray

Cramming things in is definitely a route to disappointment - all track ,and no room for anything between tracks, and constant de-railing is almost guaranteed. But rule #1 = it is your railway

shortliner Wrote:Cramming things in is definitely a route to disappointment - all track ,and no room for anything between tracks, and constant de-railing is almost guaranteed. But rule #1 = it is your railway

Right! Especially for a small layout area. Less is more. Just looking at the area upon which you are basing your plan, there is plenty of switching that can be done with just modeling the four tracks in the area. You have no less than 8 industries on those three industry tracks, with 5 separate industries in that one long warehouse. You could also use the end of the track next to the warehouse track as a team track to handle the odd shipment of lumber or whatever. Here is another view of the area at Grand Ave you picked, showing the industries, products and car types they get:[attachment=13126]A plan based just on the prototype track arrangement, and with an ample switching lead to the right, would certainly be interesting. But I'd try to work in broader curves, if possible. It would probably take a good hour to switch all the industries and you'd have more room for the structures and scenery. The more I look at this area, the more I like it. Here's my quickly thrown together plan idea, which no doubt needs refinement. Minimum curve radius - 24 inches with one Peco SL-87 LH Curved Turnout required:[attachment=13259]With only three turnouts and a few sections of flex track needed, you could have this in operation in a short time. Then spend some enjoyable time building the structures and adding scenery.

Just my two cents worth (before taxes).