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It's really small and will have really tight curves if you are looking at OO/HO scale. In N, it is probably acceptable, but still quite small. You could probably do something quite interesting in 009 !
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It depends on what you're wanting to build. If you want it to be very realistic, you will be very restricted in what you can do but, if you basically just want to see trains go around, then you could cram quite a bit in. My layout is 8x4 and has double track, a four platform terminus, turntable, engine shed and a small goods yard, and looks like something out of a 1950s model railway book of plans (it's actually based on the one on the back of the Hornby Dublo book). No matter how realistic I make the scenery, there's no way that it will look like a real railway, but it's giving me more enjoyment than the fiddle yard to terminus layouts I have tried in the past.
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Depends what you want out of your railway. If you want to watch trains running at express speeds, 6 x 4 is going to look like a dog chasing its tail.
If you can do without a closed loop and would get enjoyment out of shunting - look up 'Inglenook Sidings' for example, then 6ft is plenty long enough and 4ft far more than needed - 2ft would still be a lot. This is what a railway in 6' x 2' might look like:
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The baseboard is 12mm ply sitting on shelf brackets. The track at the lower left is a tight curve which heads over a single track bridge to the far side of the room (6ft away) where it ends in a double track terminus.
David
If you can do without a closed loop and would get enjoyment out of shunting - look up 'Inglenook Sidings' for example, then 6ft is plenty long enough and 4ft far more than needed - 2ft would still be a lot. This is what a railway in 6' x 2' might look like:
The baseboard is 12mm ply sitting on shelf brackets. The track at the lower left is a tight curve which heads over a single track bridge to the far side of the room (6ft away) where it ends in a double track terminus.
David
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Here's what I have fitted into 8' x 4' but you would get pretty much the same action on a 6' x 4' layout. I generally run trains of 4 carriages and find that 4 carriages plus a Duchess or A4 fit easily into each of the two centre roads in the terminus. Vintage equipment aside, it's not the style of layout that would be for everyone, but, as I said earlier, it's giving me more enjoyment than the fiddle yard to terminus layouts I have tried in the past.
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4 foot is 1220 millimetres so for that 180 degree curve you can do using N or OO9 in fact in OO9 you need that much to be able to turn a Heljan 2-6-2 L&B loco in fact I have used n track to get a decent curve, otherwise OO9 locos can do it on a 9 inch radius meaning 18 inch board is nearly wide enough. Remeber to allow a margin beyond the outer curve as well as the track itself.
For OO radius 3 is 505mm so you need 1010 mm to get a half decent curve (plus about 50mm for the track width and overhang), R2 is tight but the curve of Setrack points whilst R1 is very tight and can be used by industrial locos and railroad models, most bigger models must have an R2 minimum and really R3.
To be honest for this size OO9 is best because there are no rules, shunting plant, industrial facility, etc. all possible whatever you want whereas this is too small really, you could also go for a tram layout but decent track like Tillig is quite expensive.
N remains the other viable option, never interested me very much but you can get something out of that.
For OO radius 3 is 505mm so you need 1010 mm to get a half decent curve (plus about 50mm for the track width and overhang), R2 is tight but the curve of Setrack points whilst R1 is very tight and can be used by industrial locos and railroad models, most bigger models must have an R2 minimum and really R3.
To be honest for this size OO9 is best because there are no rules, shunting plant, industrial facility, etc. all possible whatever you want whereas this is too small really, you could also go for a tram layout but decent track like Tillig is quite expensive.
N remains the other viable option, never interested me very much but you can get something out of that.
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Nothing wrong with a 6 x 4 if that is all the space you have available (or the domestic authorities allow!). Much depends will depend on what you are looking for in your Railway. If you want a continuous run had you thought about a shelf layout around the room? It need only be wide enough for a double track except at any station which has sidings. A round the room layout uses less space and means that you can still use the room for other things - spare bedroom, sewing room - as I know having shared my railway room with my wife when we had a 2 bedroom flat. A duckunder at the door is the only potential problem which is simply a plank of wood with sliding fishplates in it's simplest form. If you want operation rather than a continuous run in a small space I suggest looking at the 'Carl Arendt' site for inspiration. Whatever you decide Good Luck!
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hey Gazadude how are you getting on, we'd all love to know
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There was a reasonably realistic looking layout of this size featured in a magazine many years ago, so it is possible. I think it was called Bredon and based on a design in a Peco plan book.
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