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Getting into the hobby first layout


Grenkin

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Looking great. Nice to see the layout in the metal (and plastic). The two sidings bottom left will be useful and you can have trains shunting in both sets of sidings while a train is running around the loops and through the crossovers. Should provide lots of operational interest. 

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5 hours ago, david_watts1 said:

Just topside of the red pen/scalpel there are two points which don't appear to add anything or am I missing something?

Ah ha, they do but due to tight space, not quite a big as would be ideal. It is a small runaround allowing a shunter to pull a wagon into the space between either sets of points and run around to the other side of the wagon. The fact you can probably only fit one or two wagons in, adds to the operational involvement. It stops getting your shunting loco ‘stuck’ behind a set of wagons 😁

Edited by Rallymatt
Tyop
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On 2/19/2024 at 4:02 AM, david_watts1 said:

Just topside of the red pen/scalpel there are two points which don't appear to add anything or am I missing something?

I agree, I mentioned this back on Feb 1st.   I know RallyMatt suggested it (and why) but in my mind you wouldn't abandon a wagon on a point to run round to the other end. You'd do the run-round movement out on the main line where there is a suitable loop, and push the wagons into the sidings.

Edited by ntpntpntp
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On 1/30/2024 at 10:59 PM, Grenkin said:

forum_image_65b9713363016.thumb.png.a5ac05697c3f0769a188e649dbb99624.png

Any idea how to connect this two tracks?

Except Flex 🙂

In the future I am planning to remove these points, and go to the idea of connecting this two sections.

But this is not going to happen soon, and now this is what I have

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Why not try flexi track 😁 it’s easier than you think 

love the video and it’s all looking great. Really good quality and excellent loco control, it’s not easy doing a video and controlling a loco, I know 👍

Edited by Rallymatt
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Just my tuppence worth ... and obviously feel free to ignore if you like ...

The top in/out points at the station are a bit redundant maybe ? You have an in/out at the bottom already. unless of course it is designed as  a run-around so you can leave a train parked on the curves if not operating a 2 way service.

Either way, looks a good layout with plenty of operational possibilities 👍

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9 hours ago, Rallymatt said:

Why not try flexi track 😁 it’s easier than you think 

love the video and it’s all looking great. Really good quality and excellent loco control, it’s not easy doing a video and controlling a loco, I know 👍

Yes @Rallymatt, it is going to be flexible track. Just need to have the board first 

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4 hours ago, Too Tall said:

Just my tuppence worth ... and obviously feel free to ignore if you like ...

The top in/out points at the station are a bit redundant maybe ? You have an in/out at the bottom already. unless of course it is designed as  a run-around so you can leave a train parked on the curves if not operating a 2 way service.

Either way, looks a good layout with plenty of operational possibilities 👍

@Too Tall Thanks, yes now I also think that that points are overkill.

Idea was to have a run around as sometimes stains would have. But clearly not enough space there

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Instead of those points on the right-hand side, why not Insert another immediately at the beginning of the shed track to get a drill track for the sidings fanning out to the other side. Thus all sorting operations can be carried without fouling the main.

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Posted (edited)

image.thumb.jpeg.266f9bcd61e2749e744200b525a16aff.jpeg

Current layout state 🥲

Because: "You cannot occupy the table all the time"

😭

 

Now I need to think how to make my "not so straight" layout into small modules

Edited by Grenkin
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I can sympathise!

Depending on what storage space you have, one option might be to split your layout in half lengthways and have the baseboards joints at the half way point around the two end curves. You would then have two long and narrow boards, but the track joints would be in line with the baseboard joints. It looks like all the sidings would be on one board.

Splitting across the width looks tricky as there’s nowhere that has the same simplicity of track joints matching baseboard joints. 

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I was trying to "consult" with ChatGPT on how to split this.

His suggestion:

Station Module: One large module including the station and platforms. This module would be rectangular but with one side angled to accommodate the platform tracks.
Curve Modules: Four modules, each taking a quarter of the main loop. These modules would have a curved trapezoidal shape.
Goods Shed Module: A rectangular module including the good shed and its sidings.
Engine Shed Module: Including the turnouts leading to the shed, this could be a rectangular module with one corner cut out to accommodate the track layout.
Straight Modules: Any straight sections of track that don’t include major features could be created as standard straight modules.

I was thinking like:

Station Module: 1
Curve Modules: 3 and 4
Goods Shed Module + Engine Shed Module: 5 (Biggest)
Straight Modules + Bottom sidings: 2

image.thumb.jpeg.6653fd637fceeac05ec4017cca0f26ac.jpeg

How realistic is this?

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37 minutes ago, Rallymatt said:

Would simply cutting into 1/4s work storage wise? Least number of joins and you can miss all the pointwork etc

Do you mean in 4 parts? Just cut vertical and horizontal? Yes this would work storage, but on top suppose to be station, cut it? Also there is are into the siding, how to connect it then? 

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You could make the station buildings on a separate piece, if foam board/thin ply and pop it in place when boards are together. Joining the rails in the sidings is no harder than the other rails and sidings are slow running and much less likely to cause issues. All the cuts you have on the original of require a lot of precision to make and fasten together; that might be something you can do in your sleep or it might be keep you awake at night 🤣. Storing regular/uniform sections  has advantages too. For good info on track joining and storage of modules, check out the Making Tracks videos, obviously Pete Waterman and his crew have something epic but same principles. Old hands at exhibitions have loads of good experience too. 👍

Edited by Rallymatt
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