[goedel]

QUOTE (dwb @ 18 Jan 2009, 19:16) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>Hi Goedel, thanks for doing the resize. It's fine for me now and I can see what's going on. I've only the one comment - if you want your hidden storage sidings to be of equal length, you can get this by reversing one of the entrance / exit ladders. Looks like a lot of fun!
Hello David,

That sounds a good idea although it might make some storage yard point motors harder to access. I was hoping to use side mounted ones as they'll be hidden and will be easier to install than underneath in theory.

 

[goedel]

Hello again!

I have been busy revising my plan and after thinking about further storage yard integration I decided to see what happens if I swapped over the connections out of the main station, result is perhaps a better layout? The storage yard can of course be made more equal with tracks off/onto both of the pink mainlines but I wonder if some sort of train direction reversal loop or two would be a good idea...

The only problems with the new configuration might be the steeper gradients on the track on the 'paradestrecke' as they rise after the pointwork on the left to cross over the pink tracks...the red branch line is at 3% to this point (could be a bit softer) and the orange mainline at 2.5% (to give 7cm clearance at when crossing the pink tracks, perhaps I could go slightly lower...?). If I were to put this pointwork on a slope also then this would ease the other gradients...I think my models can manage the slopes but then again, will they look silly?

The storage yard tracks are probably too long and perhaps too many, I've tried adding a storage yard for branchline push-pull trains (5 coach max I think) and DMUs but these sidings are probably too long also. My computer tells me the total track length is now just under 110 metres...

...am I edging back towards a white elephant with too many points and lines etc.? Half the layout nows seems to be out of sight which is always a bit of a waste I think. Perhaps I need to add line side industries and corresonding sidings to store trains in?

Any thoughts would be most welcome!! Being merely a fan and occasional user of railways (which may change once house move complete!) I've tried to make it work a bit like a real railway (i.e. by using a real station trackplan...) but perhaps one of our Forum's experts can point out where the odd siding/connection or two will massively enhance operational enjoyment. The main station is still two tracks in, one track out, but the single track section only persists as far as the first tunnel. I still wonder if this feature from the original track plan will be more of a pain than a fun operating challenge?

 

[Rowan]

Looks good, looking foward to following your progress.

 

[goedel]

Just thought I'd add some pictures of the layout space before it construction begins (not for a month or two alas...)

I'm still not sure though - sauna or railway room?

Being honest the fact that it's all lined and insulated has saved me a lot of work and should help regulate the temperature, and a sky-light window is very useful as not everyone can just cut a hole in their roof! I'm planning to make it as dust free as possible by using laminated board flooring despite the racket a swivell chair / shoes will make on the stuff!

Edit re post 25 - Hello David, the framework from the old OO layout is massive for N scale, fortunately only 1 metre deep at the end, but to the side its 1.4 metres deep. As can be seen from layout plans above I'm not planning on using it all because as you say its so far away to reach for the inevitable derailment!!

 

[dwb]

That looks like a nice place to wile away a few hours! How deep does that bench go? It looks rather a stretch to the back in the photo.

David

 

[neil_s_wood]

Very nice Goedel. Maybe you could do a sauna and a railway. If you were modelling Indian or Cuban railways you'd be laughing.

 

[Brian Considine]

Very nice & a pleasant environment to work/play in.

 

[goedel]

Dear fellow hobbists and enthusiasts!

Firstly thank you all for the above comments and interest!

Having moved house (at last) and unpacked (at least partially) I can begin to impose my will on the loft, and so have put down some laminate flooring (foul stuff I find) lifted from elsewhere in the villa house which is perfect for a swivel chair and further minimises dust generation hopefully... it is for this reason the entire loft interior is now coated with wooden panneling. I probably should varnish/stain the wood to maximise its lifespan, but as I decided not to include the sauna in the end it shouldn't get damp!

As can also be seen in the picture below I have added a blackout (actually a blueout) blind with reflective outer surface to reduce the temperature variations, and I have to say it has made a noticable difference in the summer (what summer!?) this year. It is of course an obvious thing to do.

Also, the old loft ladder was a rather rickety and old contraption, so I replaced it with a telescopic ladder which I'm rather pleased with. The legs telescope up in sections once you release a catch on the bottom step, each step then pressing a release catch on the step above, and then the compressed ladder is swung up into the loft with no effort at all by some viciously strong springs (think locomotive bogie springs!!).

And on to the layout itself (Construction to actually begin this year!!). I've been refining my track plan to maximise use of space and hopefully fun and interest to operate, along with careful design to keep construction and pre-defenestration derailment management easier. It would as ever be super to have the feedback of our experts and enthusiasts, all comments encouraged!

Sorry about the picture quality, I was experimenting with how to minimise the size without losing information. I hope that it is not too big for peoples' screens as some of my earlier escapades in "billboard" posting have been!

As may be seen above, I have resolved to cut access holes in the huge exisiting base board and route the storage yards 1,2 and 3 around these for convenience and to maximise storage space.

The grey lines are sketches for roads, with nice hair pin bends, and I thought a lake to reflect the trains in would be good in photographs, and where would I be without a hydroelectric power plant modelling Austria!?

The high level station has moved and I've added helices to provide most of the change in height as otherwise all the winding crossing track (as seen in the older designs above) looks a bit silly, I personally don't like to see tracks crammed in left right and centre in every available free centimetre (this is what H0 TMD planks are for I always thought?!)

Finally I have tried to make as many hidden curves at least radius 25cm so that nice Hobbytrain steam trains (Badische IVh, Württembergische C et al.) can go round without falling off (I'm sure they won't anyway!!).

I wonder if anyone has ideas on how to make more it more fun/interesting to operate? Perhaps more line-side industry spurs etc. or do I need more pointwork/passing loops etc to add interest (e.g. on mountain line on the right hand side)?

 

[billericaybill]

I haven't really followed all of the development in detail so I am not sure i understand it all, but any way I'll venture some feedback. I think the Otztal Hbf is so developed and will look so good that the paradestrecke will only detract from it visually. It also adds complexity and imho its still a bit complex for a one man layout. (I have buit 12 or so over the last 40 years). So pehaps this coud lbe omitted or left as part of the fiddleyard route. As far as some industries go that nice long stretch by the workbench calls out for a lay by loop and a couple of related industries if there is the width.

I would also be inclined to seal the boards with something as there is often a lot of fine dust on the surface of machined boards, at least the ones i have built with. A spray job of some kind would make it quick and easy and I dont think it matters what you seal it with from the dust perspective.

I hope you get a lot of enjoyment from it, it looks a great project.

Andrew

 

[Brian Considine]

Nice progress & thanks for the update.

 

[goedel]

QUOTE (billericaybill @ 14 Sep 2009, 16:16) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>I haven't really followed all of the development in detail so I am not sure i understand it all, but any way I'll venture some feedback. I think the Otztal Hbf is so developed and will look so good that the paradestrecke will only detract from it visually. It also adds complexity and imho its still a bit complex for a one man layout. (I have buit 12 or so over the last 40 years). So pehaps this coud lbe omitted or left as part of the fiddleyard route. As far as some industries go that nice long stretch by the workbench calls out for a lay by loop and a couple of related industries if there is the width.

I would also be inclined to seal the boards with something as there is often a lot of fine dust on the surface of machined boards, at least the ones i have built with. A spray job of some kind would make it quick and easy and I dont think it matters what you seal it with from the dust perspective.
Thanks for your comments Andrew! Twelve in 40 years sounds prolific - did you keep them all or was it agony sometimes to "wipe the slate clean" for the next? I shall look again at the need for the paradestrecke, the only advantage I can see in having one is that it reduces the amount of hidden track, perhaps with judicious scenery placement / sufficient height difference / tree cover the parallel zones can be isolated for the viewer? I agree that over by the workbench it looks fairly dull, although a nice place to work if I can set it up so that the occasional train runs past while I'm screaming obscenities during decoder installation...(try getting the casing off a Minitrix doppelstockwagen to install interior lighting and you realise that performing Nuclear Magnetic Resonance by hand is easier!).

Thanks for the advice on boards, I didn't realise they could harbour so much dust, it should also assist in keeping the water content more uniform.

Thanks for the encouragement Brian. I'll try not to post again until I've actually started physical construction though, I hate purely theoretical layout threads!

 

[Putzi]

Hello all

Just a brief update, I have been refining the design to simplify construction and ease of access to the storage yards (schattenbahnhof 1,2 and 3), and have relaid the virtual track using Peco Setrack ST-5 and ST-6 points. Although these are R1 turnouts i.e. 9 inch radius they are shorter and can be reliably operated with the Peco PL-11 alongside point motor - this is my plan for the storage yards, to minimise the cost and complexity, so that I don't have to make any holes through the existing MDF (urgh!) baseboard. Using R1 turnouts means that R1 corners are allowed in the storage yard to so I have reshaped it to maximise storage but also create more room at the back for an operator access portal.

The only one worry I have is that the ST-5 and ST-6 setrack points are insulfrog points, so running may not be quite so good in an area where it really should be perfect as it will be less accessible when the main station and branchline/terminus station levels are installed. However the points are short so the gap is short too, and in the storage yard the trains don't need to run at very low speeds over the points anyway. Perhaps the points can be altered to have metal strips in the wells under the wheels in part of the dead zone (as seen in at least some Roco N scale points that are best described as half-electro-half-insulfrog points!!). I wonder though if anyone has built a storage yard with ST-5 and ST-6 and later regretted it for any of the above reasons?

I was also thinking of leaving the branchline and terminus station (i.e. all the red stuff including the helices!) as an optional part of the layout to simplify construction.

Next step...actually start! I promise!!

 

[Putzi]

Sehr geehrte Damen und Herren

Putzi has been working hard on a control panel schematic for the travelling-salesman track plan above. E voila!

I hope it can then be seen that with all the curves and helices stripped out the track plan is actually not too complicated. The blue line divides the scenic areas from the hidden areas which are mainly for the storage yards. The turquoise loop in the top right is a proposed pair of direction reversal loops that overlap to form a circle, the lead up tracks will be longer in reality so longer trains can be direction reversed.

Any thoughts or comments greatly appreciated. I'm going to start laying track as soon as the weather warms up a bit so there is still plenty of time to tinker with the track plan!

I have obtained lots of setrack left and right turnouts for the storage yards and tested my most curve-hating locomotive (Minitrix DR 03.10) on a pair of these arranged to curve in opposite directions, as I think will happen in three places in the storage yard. Luckily it just stayed on the track!

 

[Brian Considine]

Thanks for the update - good idea to keep a "tempremental" locomotive on hand for track testing - when I had a brief "flirt" with N gauge (& before BRITHO says it I now flirt with other subjects) I also had a Minitrix 4-6-2 that hated almost anything (must have been an 03 as well).

 

[Cradle]

love the plans, i'll be paying close attention to this one since im going for a similar theme just not as big of a layout lol

 

[neil_s_wood]

This looks like it's going to be an awesome layout.

Cheers

Neil

 

[7113]

Looks good on the schematic, and if all goes well should be impressive.

QUOTE (Brian Considine @ 20 Dec 2009, 08:00) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>when I had a brief "flirt" with N gauge (& before BRITHO says it I now flirt with other subjects)
Would I do a thing like that?.... Actually, many years ago when I first met Brian (1977 I think) he sold me a Hornby Minitrix Britannia - same problem, was that the same chassis?

Regards

 

[Putzi]

Thank you all for your comments.

I have posted this review as a test item to begin "Putzi's "blog"" or the "plog" as I am calling it on Eurofima Prima! (follow link to Putzi's layout). I propose to duplicate entries on the website in a dedicated layout thread here on the MRF as many other excellent modellers have done and are doing.

Here is a very brief review of some new (this year) Dapol N gauge (i.e. 1:148 scale) Mk3 Intercity coaches, which arrived with Putzi at the same time as some track pins for the storage yard setrack pointwork on her new super-mega-ultra layout; the layout for which the plog exists! Putzi is using the pins to fix down a Pl-11 along-side point motor and a setrack point on a scrap piece of wood to make sure that the point can be reliably operated. Putzi hopes to provide the outcome of this research soon, as she hasn't yet heard of a strong confirmation either way but suspects it will work because of the large throw of Code 80 setrack points.

Upon receipt of the Mk 3 coaches Putzi was pleasantly surprised to see nicely coloured and detailed interiors, close coupling that is less than a millimetre when using the short alternative couplings supplied, and the ease of assembly/disassembly was good too when she had to dismantle one to re-align the close coupling mechanism. The etched brake disks look good, well done to Dapol for going to the expense and giving modellers the option but personally Putzi confesses that she can't really see the point as the bogie design almost completely obscure the wheels. The wheel rims themselves are very un-European i.e. no pastry cutting possible, but as a consequence she found them a right fiddle to get on the track!

Putzi reports that the rolling properties are good but not as smooth as a Roco coach, but then the Dapol ones do come with integrated current pick-up strips for optional lighting strips that do cause some friction. She tested the coaches on a piece of track or two in the loft and found they ran very well and travelled through her Peco setrack points ST-5 and ST-6 to be used in the storage yard with the closest Dapol couplings fitted. Putzi says that it is good to see Dapol nearly up at the level of Minitrix or Roco coaches at last (the windows are done better on European models, conversely the Dapol interiors are more nicely painted).

In fact the only problem that Putzi reports is the Rapido coupling left on the front Intercity coach to attach to the temporary motive power (Austrian ÖBB Class 2016 diesel of Fleischmann) until the rest of the Dapol HST arrives in 2010. The European and UK Rapidos just didn't want to cooperate and kept parting. Good job it was only a temporary situation, as Putzi'll be using Fleischmann Profi or Tillig TT solid bar couplers on her European outline models!

Having confirmed to herself the quality of these Dapol coaches Putzi will be pre-ordering the HST at the first chance. The Intercity HST is to be her only UK outline model on the layout, and Putzi hopes people will agree it is suitably iconic for the role, steam locomotives aside. Interestingly Putzi finds that the coaches don't look too daft when pulled by a 1:160 scale locomotive, no doubt because the small UK loading gauge to some extent offsets the 1:148 scale of the coaches.

In conclusion Putzi strongly recommends (as strongly as an anonymous and sporadic forum member can...!) these Dapol coaches if you want an N scale HST.

 

[Putzi]

QUOTE (Putzi @ 22 Dec 2009, 21:13) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>I have posted this review as a test item to begin "Putzi's "blog"" or the "plog" as I am calling it on Eurofima Prima! (follow link to Putzi's layout). I propose to duplicate entries on the website in a dedicated layout thread here on the MRF as many other excellent modellers have done and are doing.

The new thread recording progress is here! (at last)