Any good track planing using 0-80 curves for a island type layout size about 11 by 12 foot

While I don't have a specific plan available, I do suggest a folded figure eight.  This will make the most of the graceful loops and also give a bridge and trestle opportunity.  You will be able to have gradual inclines and be able to run anything out there.

GLenn

This one is designed for a room that's 11'8"x12' It started out as the MTH Spare Room Layout (8'x9') but uses #4 turnouts. It uses 36" Radius (O-72) curves and has 2% grades. It could be done with 40" radius (O-80) but you lose aisle space and straight track, plus a spur or two. Every piece of 3-rail equipment produced to date will run on O-72 curves.

I don't have a track plan, but here's a photo of the current state of completion of my layout, which is roughly 12-13 feet square. It's a straight-up racetrack arrangement with 4 lines. The outer loop is STD-87 which corresponds pretty closely to your 0-80 spec. The 0 gauge loops are 0-72, 0-63, and 0-42. The innermost loop has some sidings and spaces for operating accessories. You can't tell from the photo but the narrow part of the layout just in front of the diesels is a lift-out section. The track plan was created to meet specific parameters, including Standard Gauge on the outside, one loop of 0-72 to run anything available in 0 gauge, and an inner loop incorporating operating accessories. The major drawbacks are that it's relatively flat and it will be difficult to add elevation changes, and the racetrack arrangement lacks the interest of meandering track and sidings. Everything is a compromise, especially in a too-small space. 

Here are a couple more photos. The curve on the left, behind the diesels and between the switches, is 0-54. The switches and the rest of the inner loop are 0-42. You can see the space for sidings, accessories, and buildings. The coal ramp and loader were another basic requirement. It's all very tightly packed. 

Hello AGHRMatt...........

That is a nice track plan that you posted but i remember while back you posted 11 by 12 foot Island track plan without grades as that was the one i was looking for.  Is it possible to have a twice around using 0-72 or 0-80 and 22.5 degree crossing with a spur and no grades ? 

the woman who loves the S.F.#5021

Tiffany

I'll check my files. I'm usually not a big fan of island layouts as you can't reach into them and the viewing is better with around-the-walls. You can do a 2-lap oval as small as 10x10 with O-72. Just takes a little creativity. 

It would be fairly easy to do that layout with a crossing as opposed to a fly-over. I'll check when I get home tonight.

hello AGHRMatt.......

Thank you 

the woman who loves the S.F.#5021

Tiffany

Didn't find the "island" layout. Here's a variant with at-grade crossings as opposed to "fly-overs." Working on cutting the width down to 11' from 11'8"

A sketch of the room with dimensions and door/window/obstacle locations would be a big help.

Hello AGHRMatt............

My goodness!!!!!!!, you are really are good at this plan.  Is the curves 0-72 as i will be running the scale 2-10-4 and seven scale 72 foot heavyweights.  I will surely print the track plan on my printer if you are about done yet ?

the woman who loves the S.F.#5021

Tiffany

It's all O-72 or larger (some flex) so your 2-10-4 and coaches will be fine. A quick check of RR-Track 5's simulator function indicates the locomotive and coaches will clear the crossings safely.

lOOKING FORWARD TO SEEING THE ISLAND STYLE WHEN YOU FIND IT.

THANK YOU

Matt, Tiffiny's Engine and 7 Cars is a pretty big train, could she negotiate the crossing at grade and not hit the ends of the train?

What happens to the track plan with grades if you had say 54 inch curves with 072 easements?

Are you willing to examine this question? My space is somewhat smaller than Tiff's

According to the dimensions used in the RR-Track simulator, a large locomotive and 7 80-foot cars clears well (the proportions of the equipment appear correct.) O-54 is too sharp for the train in question. The smallest O-72 two-lap I've done in my experiments is a 10x10. Based on the lengths of the shortest straights, it could be made even smaller, but the bridges wouldn't fit. This particular one was done as an example for a guy on the Trainlife board with a 10x10 space.

hello Lee 145 and guys............

I agree that my train is a BIG train but i had a semi-scale train (railking challenger and semi-scale cars) would be better train to run on this track plan here but semi-scale doesn't cut it anymore for me.  I picked the BIG Texas (A.T & S.F # 5011 class) because its my all time favorite locomotive and no one makes a semi-scale version of that type so i am forced to pick a scale Sunset 3rd model.   I have been a long time fan of scale Madison heavyweights and the whole train is about 170 inches long (14.16 feet long) from cowcatcher to the deck of the 7th passenger car.   I came to ask AGHRMatt to help me make a track plan using 0-72 which he did twice already and you can see that hes really good at it (making track plans fit in small space).   I THANK HIM for taking the time and effort to make this plan possible and shows that he has good computer skills which i lack of.   I was hoping to use MTH scaletrax 0-80 and 22.5 degree crossing twice around and no grades with a spur or 2 its just a simple plan that wont cost too much build using few buildings. 

the woman who loves the S.F.#5021

Tiffany

I had the idea that a double-lap oval could be set up with 'interchange' tracks at the crossing to provide some additional interest, and also allow independent operation of two trains. This is about the minimum size with O72 curves and standard switches. To make something more interesting you would would need more space or tighter curves. O72 curves are pretty much minimum for your big passenger train.

I like the original track plan you have submitted and have a few questions. What is the clearance at the upper center where there is an over and under? Where does the elevation begin, right after the switch (left center)?  Is the bridge in the lower left a MTH which is 40" long? I have #6 switches, will they work on this layout?

My room is 19 x14 so I plan on making  the layout a little larger to add a circle of 080 and o88 to the outside with connections of all three loops by switches.

Thank you for your response.

I think both of Matt's first two plans are your best options.

For starters, the hinged bridge will give you access to the room through your door.  (Just be sure that you have accounted for where your door is located and how far it swings/travels.)

Secondly, from my own failed experiences, plain, "boring" loops are best avoided if at all possible.  They're easy and cheap...but they get boring quick.  Matt's plan alleviates that problem.

The curse of modeling in O will always be trying to make your curves as wide as possible.  Given the size of your room, you'll be hard pressed to come up with something better than what Matt has provided you with.

For what it's worth, I'm working on a L shaped layout where the long part of the L is 25 feet long and the short part of the L is 15 feet long.  I'm going with a double track main line.  The best that I could do on the shorter 15 foot section are combinations of 80/72 curves on the outer line and 72/64 curves on the inner line.....and I've got 4 more feet to work with than you and no door to contend with.

IMHO, Matt's plan is really neat and you'd be hard pressed to better it.

Than again, that's just my opinion. 

Tiffany, your flat plan as made by Matt with the crossover and no grades is very appealing. I suppose you will want a tower. One train can wait for another.

I have a williams hudson, one GGD Express and 5 18" heavyweights. That is quite enough train for me.

I think you made a good choice with your Sunset Engine.

I have a similar space but somewhat smaller and have to run through a wall to get a little more room.

One comment on my posted plans. While they're 11'8"x12'0", there are a couple of spots where the horizontal can be widened to 12' and the vertical narrowed to 11' giving a layout that fits the 11'x12' original dimensions. I had worked on the file, but never got it completely cleaned up. Like I had said earlier, this was a variation on a design I was working on for a spare bedroom

Hello Lee 145 and AGHRMatt, Berkshire President.........

Lee 145...... thank you, it is my FAVORITE engine as in the 1980's i had at least 3 (PFM) H.O. scale and one "N" scale (hallmark models) and wasn't happy because they were "H.O." and "N" so i HAD to have the Sunset "O" scale one and took me 4 months to pay for it whew !!!! 

AGHRMatt......... I understand but i LIKED your track plan,just a simple twice around using the 22.5 degree crossing and 072 or 080 curves and a spur or 2 and no grades is good and you did very well on it, better than i could.

Berkshire President......... I think "L" shaped layouts are even better but my husband and i are buying a home and the common bedroom size are about 10 by 12 at least and we may get a moblehome instead. 

the woman who loves the S.F.#5011

Tiffany

Ace, I love the layout. As far back as I can remember we've always had a train around our Christmas tree. When I was growing up it was always a Lionel #8142 on an O-27 circle. Recently I've been trying to make it a bit more interesting for my son ,now 4yrs old, because it's his favorite part of Christmas to bring the train out and I think this layout would be fantastic for that given the ample room in the middle. I attempted to recreate this in the AnyRail5 trial (did I mention I'm just starting out) but for whatever reason AnyRail is saying that some key pieces won't connect. I've already discovered that this cannot be done with FasTrack so I'm assuming it was done using the older style with no rail bed. I tried to recreate it again using O-72 tracks with no rail bed but again places like the straight 10" track above and below the cross-over won't connect. 

So all this babbling comes down to two questions:

1. Would you be willing to share the specific parts (and quantities) required for this layout?

2. Is AnyRail correct and I'll need to modify rails to fit or is the program just not very good?

*Sorry for the long first post*

Hello Matt, I think I have 12 by 24 in my new place, what can be done with 072-081? I forget what the Real track's largest radius is. I wonder if a walk in or duck under via one corner with the MTH bridge will work.

What happens to your up and over plan if the width is kept at 12 feet and the length increased to 24 feet?

I have completed the famous "Matt's Wye" and if I may I would like to ask anyone who owns a EM1 to verify if a half section of 054 between two full 072 sections will be possible with this model. If not, I will need to explore full 072 wyes with a different brand of track.

I don't have any pictures and drawings yet. Ive started on one section while waiting for a MTH Cream Passenger station with platforms to arrive. (Thanks! to the fellow Forum Member who made the sale possible!) That will be one of the LDE (Layout design element).

I also wanted to say that the number of plans you have put into this and other threads have provided much food for thought.

I like the first design Matt did with the 2% grades and no crossovers- it would work your engines a bit more, but then you could run longer trains without fear of having them hit the tail end and it adds more visual interest to the layout.

072 curves are tighter than 080 curves, but not by much. Matt's design is probably the best one I've seen with track designed for a long passenger train into a room smaller than 12 x 12.

Geno

Thanks for your interest in my track plan. I worked it up as a minimum-size "concept" with conventional 3-rail track, using some straight "filler" pieces stretched to fit. The plan needs additional work if you want to assemble it with minimum cutting of standard pieces of track. I didn't figure the track requirements in detail because it would be subject to change depending on the exact space a person might want to fit the plan into, and what type of track you want to use.

I use the free trial version of AnyRail which limits me to 50 pieces of track, so I can't draw up this plan with all of the individual pieces in one image.

Conventional track is somewhat springly and you can often fit pieces even though AnyRail won't show an exact fit. AnyRail does allow some fudging if you move the pieces with arrow keys, then right-click to connect, instead of dragging and "auto-connect".