Jul
22
Layout 4.0
Filed Under Layout Design
Real Estate. Real Estate. Real Estate
It wasn’t long after I completed Layout 3.5 that I came to the realization that my “dreams” were a lot larger than what my planned layout could hold. I needed more room. Actually, I needed the WHOLE room… and what few pieces of still remaining room furniture had to go. So, I proceeded to start putting together Layout 4.0. Now my wife, being a crafty and intelligent woman, looked over my shoulder while I was busily plunking track pieces around in RR-Track, and commented “So, you are now going to be using the whole room?”. “Yep” I replied. “So what are you going to do with all of the stuff that is already in the room”. “Move it somewhere else… maybe into the dining room”. Currently, we have a lot of our collections on display in this room. A lot of it can easily be relocated elsewhere in the house. My Star Wars props and 1:1 helmets, however, were going to present a problem. In a moment of brilliance… I subtly mentioned “You know… it would be kind of cool to go with a Star Wars decor in our dining room”. She didn’t balk or say anything… just nodded that it might be okay. I waited a couple of weeks and restated my plan. No opposition. EXCELLENT. Just that easy, I became my own version of the “Big Four” [Central Pacific / Southern Pacific - Huntington, Stanford, Crocker, and Hopkins] and acquired some MUCH needed real estate.
Layout 4.0 backs up to all four walls. I went with an around the room layout with a center peninsula to maximize my linear footage of track. This gave me a few longer straight runs, and also provided for larger radius curves. I still had a few 060 curves, but a majority of the curves were upgraded to 072 or 084. All of the turnouts were either 060 or 072. Although a leather couch was still in the room, I figured that if I couldn’t tuck it under a bit, I would need to move it out as well.
Overall, Layout 4.0 would provide some decent operational possibilities with a train running continuously, and a local switcher picking up and delivering cars to the local industries or warehouses.
The downsides to this layout is that it would require a Lift Up or Drop Down Bridge to access the interior of the layout and the aisles were pretty tight.
On the positive side, I would finally be able to get a fairly decent amount of run time in before a train would travel back into the same scene. Speaking of scenery, Layout 4.0 opened up a lot of potential. My small town could be larger, making the depot more realistic in size considering the passenger cars I purchased. The area for the carnival also increased and would allow me more room for more rides and booths / tents. Lastly, I also had a long wall that could be used for rural scenery that would help add more perceived distance to the layout. The center peninsula would be used for my industrial and commercial needs.
Below is a thumbnail link to a larger image of the track plan. As always, if you would like a file copy of the RR-Track layout, just shoot me an email.
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