Project Update: Layout Progress

A few weeks ago, I mentioned that I had been kindly given a railroad room, and that I planned to take advantage of that and build a small model railroad.  I have made some progress on that project.  Now, no construction has actually begun yet, for several reasons.  First, the railroad executives (me) must secure funding for construction.  Second, I want some fairly complete plans for the railroad.  I know that if I begin building before I have it almost entirely planned out, I will become distracted, and a portion of the model railroad will always remain incomplete.  Now I realize that model railroads, in a sense, are never really finished, but I would like to get it to a finished state, where it does not look like it is still under construction.  I am sure I will make changes from time to time, I expect that, but it would be nice to have a more or less complete railroad to run.

Progress about a week ago

Since I first announced this project, about two weeks ago, I have done quite a bit of planning.  I did some searching for track templates I could print out and play around with, and I did a little measuring in the room.  After that, as the unpacking from moving in continued, I came across an old Walthers Reference Book.  It is a couple of years old, but I have found that the products that Walthers carries does not change that drastically from one year to the next, so I began browsing through the reference book.  Since I primarily want an industrial line, I began looking through the various industries that Walthers carries, or carried a couple years ago when this edition of the reference book was published.  I marked pages that had industries that looked practical for the space I have.

Layout progress last week.

As I looked through all the industries, I began to picture how all of this would fit together, but I had a hard time getting a good grasp on just how much space was available, so I set the reference book down and picked up a tape measure.  I took some architecture classes in college, but rather than try to draw scale plans of a scaled down railroad, I decided to take a different approach.  The plans are 12"=1' scale.  I found a roll of masking tape and a tape measure, and I went to work.  I had already decided on the size and shape I wanted for the railroad.  It is going to be an L shape, along two walls of the room.  I decided to make it three feet wide from each wall.  Using those basic measurements, I measured the space and began making lines on the floor with the masking tape.  It is a carpeted floor, so making adjustments is easy with tape, yet the masking tape sticks well enough to the carpet that I do not have to worry about it moving when I walk around, or if I step on it by accident.

Layout progress this afternoon

Once I had laid out the basic area the railroad would occupy, I had a much better idea of how it would fit in the room, and how it would feel in the room.  I made a few minor changes, such as trimming the corner by the door, to make it feel more open, and then took a second look at it.  I considered a few other options with it, and placed tape accordingly.  Some I liked, others I did not.  Fortunately, the tape was not permanent, and removing it was simple if I did not like something!  Once the layout was drawn out with masking tape, I started thinking about how the track should fit in the layout.

As I thought about the track, I decided it would be helpful to print out a small pile of templates for different sizes and types of switches.  I figured it would be easy enough to represent simple straight and curved sections of track, but getting switch angles right would be significantly easier with some templates.  I printed out a selection of sizes, even some I was sure I would not use.  Then I cut them out and started placing them in different areas to get ideas.  I knew on one leg I would want a main track, or perhaps two main tracks, so I could simulate a connection to the rest of the world.  It would give the trains that serve the industries a place to go.  Now, a main line of just nine feet really is not much at all, but it serves as a connection to more, which will not be represented by this model railroad.  It does serve as a point to begin expansion, if the railroad ever moves to a bigger space.

After staring at the space available to me for a few days, and moving switch templates to different spots to help me visualize, I decided to start laying tracks with masking tape.  Once again, I applied the tape directly to the carpet to represent tracks.  I placed them the proper distance apart, and put sticky notes describing switches on the walls near the switch locations.  I used the templates to figure out the switch angles, and the last photo above is what I have come up with so far.  I have two main tracks, and the industrial spur.  One industry siding is marked out.  That industry will be a lumber yard.  Loads of lumber will be delivered there.  I will also be putting a grain elevator on the main track, as well as several other industries down the single track industrial spur.  Also down the industrial spur will be a connection to a small staging and storage yard, as well as my work bench.

That is the progress I have made so far.  I will post a schematic of this.  First I have to make one though.  The dashed lines in the photos above represent the edge of the future railroad, and the solid lines represent tracks.