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Duncan’s View: Building a layout Can Go Awfully Wrong without Careful Planning
Club member Duncan from New South Wales in Australia sent in these planning tips to share –
I’m on to my 2nd layout so thought I would jot down some suggestions for others. Here we go…
The more carefully you think through the planning stages of building your model railway, the fewer problems you’ll have when it’s finished and operational. That’s my experience anyway.
I can’t stress enough, the importance of selecting the right track plan for the space you have available. The cars need to operate without derailing, and the railroad needs a reason to exist, because no trains run from point A to point B without a purpose. Also, I’m sure you’ll soon get bored if the layout is too restrictive, and doesn’t allow for enough operational variations.
Based on my experience, I would say you should be 100% certain of your track plan, and lay it out on your baseboard before pinning it down. I first pin the track lightly to my baseboard which I make from exterior Water and Boil Proof (WBP) plywood. You can use other materials. I don’t use cork.
I then test for smooth operation and test that the electrics of the track are correct. I do this before starting on the ballasting. This is really important, because it’s too late if you find problems after the ballasting is done. It’s just so hard to rip it up and start again. So check track alignments, wiring etc before you ballast.
As soon as I have finished and tested the wiring, I then test my various locomotives and all my rolling stock on the track. I do this to satisfy myself that the track is laid correctly and that it allows for good running. I hope this helps someone.
7 Responses to Duncan’s View: Building a layout Can Go Awfully Wrong without Careful Planning
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I might respectfully suggest that after you are satisfied with the wiring, you should run trains & rolling stock before you ballast.
You do not want to find that some piece of rolling stock, passive or motive power, derails at some place meaning you have to redo a joint or replace a turnout after already doing the ballast.
I had some insulating rail joiners which were too “fat” and caused some wagons to “lift” as they crossed. I had to replace all the offending ones with Peco ones which are much “slimmer”.
(I model in 009 /HOn30 scale)
Good luck, Bernard
Absolutely 100% agree…Planning is critical. 95% of the problems I’ve had are layout related.
For example, my grades were too steep for some of my locomotives, a couple turn clearances were too tight,etc. Amateur mistakes that forced some re-do’s.
So…proper planning will prevent issues later.
Great article. Thanks.
Gonna follow the suggestions, but I will be using roadbed on plywood.
Going back a step. Once you have your plan on paper, check all your possible tran movements. If double track check each direction indepenently, if single track, check in both directions. Do they all make sense; are they over complicated?
I developed a plan about 30 years ago and partially built is so that my kids could ‘play trains’. When I became serious about building my railway, I copied and expanded on my earlier layout but I didn’t check all the routes. I forgot that we had run the trains on the left but on my new layout they are run on the right. If I’d tested routes I would have seen the problem and done the new as a mirror image of the old. As it is the sidings in my small freight yard face the wrong way and trains go into them loco first! (See 3 grey tracks to the right of the station.Far too late now to correct the error other than to start over again! A very expensive mistake.
Even more important than running rolling stock is to run trains, Check that your planned moves are possible. Lay track in summer when its hot then the gaps will open out in winter. If you lay in winter leave big expansion gaps or your track will buckle in summer heat, Some stock wont run on some layouts, long wheelbase 4 wheel vans won’t run up a 00/H0 3rd radius helix for example, Ballasting can wait, over 30 years in my case!
Just read your post and completely agree. I am on my 2nd project and would have liked to have had this info from a hands on modeler. I also use plywood , but have found construction grade Ok if using 3/4 inch. product. many thanks for your input. S.B.
P.S. Don’t forget to subtract width of support boards from both length and width for total size you are building. I did forget and did not discover until track layout was created.