Skip to main content

I was directed here by some Facebook groups. This site is overkill! Lots of great info.

I've always wanted to have a permanent train table. We did the Christmas loop when I was a kid but we never had room for a larger or long term layout. My wife and I set up my old train around the Christmas tree and my son fell in love with it.

 Funds and space had me start with a 8x4 layout. I have some foam board coming tomorrow and I'm going to paint it greenish brown just for basic aesthetics. I thought about taking some 2x4's and leftover plywood and making a second level for this table. However, I think my best bet is going to be to make an additional 4x6 table and make this an L shaped layout. If possible I'd like to have something my son and I can enjoy as he grows. For now, I don't want to make anything too tricky that'll he'll run afoul of using it himself. He's really loving the Lionchief plus RS3 I got because he can run around with the remote and stop the train to load and unload his mini figures from the hopper car.

There is a wealth of knowledge here and I'd like to ask if some of you think it would it be possible to make a serviceable yard area with a 4x6 addition or is it still going to be too tight? My goal for this year (Covid-19 willing) is to have a loop with a yard area on an addition to the table. I've played around with the anyrail software but I'm having trouble making anything work. I wish I had more depth but right now its probably not feasible. If anyone has any good ideas or suggestions I'd love to hear them.

 

And thank you for allowing me to join! Great site

Attachments

Images (7)
  • t1: 4x8 off Lionels Youtube channel
  • t2
  • t3: I wrapped it in some 1x6's I had left over from my barn door project. I added a lip to hide the foam board and clean it up a bit.
  • t4: Stained to match some of the woodwork in the basement.
  • t5: Instant reward
  • t6: They love the railsounds and remote
  • t7: First loco I've ever bought!
Original Post

Replies sorted oldest to newest

Jushavnfun posted:

If you use fastrack I would suggest 031 switches distance is  3" between tracks. 9" overall outside to outside.  20200409_19361320200409_193522

Most engines and cars will run on 031.

Good tip, thanks! I was looking at O36 switches to keep things consistant but O31 will give me a little more use out of the space I have.

welcome,this is a great place.  One thing I recommend is trying other rail design programs like Scarm or RailModeller pro (not sure if rail modeller pro has a windows version), they have free versions and you can see if you can work with them. I had bought RR track software but I found it hard to use), I ended up being able to work with Railmodeller pro and design the layout. It makes it a lot easier to play around with configurations once you work out how to use them.

The other idea I have is use a piece of graph paper and do a rough sketch of a layout you like (so for example, using 4 boxes=1 foot, you can layout the table alignment easily (a 4x8 would be 16x32 box rectangle), then you can rough in the track using the known sizes of the track pieces (I did this with my layout, for curves I used a simple compass). Once you have a rough design, you can scan it and upload it here and people will give some darn good feedback on it. 

A 4x6 should be big enough for a decent yard, using the kind of track you are talking about, you could also probably have some industrial spurs there outside the yard area, depending on how big you make the yard. I also think using lionchief is a great idea, it is relatively easy to wire it, a lot of lionchief engines will run on O31/O36, and your son will love using it I think. 

Welcome'... In the start it's best to keep it simple'.  You'll enjoy O36 benefits over O31.  Lew's diagram above is an excellent idea.  You want to keep it interesting and fun for your son, and yourself.  Make it complicated and you'll loose him... As time goes on, you can become more sophisticated... Take a look at you tube O Gauge/O Scale videos, also Pintrest has some great layout shots as well..  Most layouts change constantly under construction, until the right mix is achieved....  

Good luck, have fun, and enjoy your build'.....

Quarter Gauger 48 posted:

Welcome'... In the start it's best to keep it simple'.  You'll enjoy O36 benefits over O31.  Lew's diagram above is an excellent idea.  You want to keep it interesting and fun for your son, and yourself.  Make it complicated and you'll loose him... As time goes on, you can become more sophisticated... Take a look at you tube O Gauge/O Scale videos, also Pintrest has some great layout shots as well..  Most layouts change constantly under construction, until the right mix is achieved....  

Good luck, have fun, and enjoy your build'.....

I agree, we want a nice loop with a stop and a yard that I can mess around with when he isn’t playing around on the main line. 

16, 18, 20,  will all work the same.  I have all three and speaker wire, telephone wire, you name it... What you have on hand will work... """. Your track voltage will be 18 to 20 VAC... Your Accessories will be @22VAC max.  (most transformers)... With what you are showing now, I don't think you have to worry about busing... When you expand'... it will be something to consider'....

Wire gauge needed depends on distance and amps pulled across it. You want an AWG chart. Found all over the net   Oversized buss wire is o.k. and can be safer too. Look for soft wire too; some insulation is very stiff and a PITA if it needs to bend. The stiff stuff is great for runs, but not so much for pig tailing (drops, accessory power, etc.) 

(You can use multiple wires to equal a larger wire, yes.)

Fuse or breaker(I just say "fuse"; from work lingo... they do the same job) outside the transformer; before the run(s).  Wire size determines max fuse amps that are safe to use. (If the wire is big enough to handle all the transformer power at once, then you can almost skip fusing again. Fuses at that point would be at, and for protection of the individual things you run)

Transformer breakers are not designed to save the track and trains; they save the transformer. (they afford some protection to track, but it's not ideal and coincidence)

Laker80, I know this might be a bit overly complex, but I had a go at seeing at what I could fit. Minimum curve O36. This layout gives you four ways to operate it:

1. Simple Continuous loop on the left-hand side, possibly with a second engine working the yard

2. Inverted Figure 8, going around the outside, straight opposite the yard, and through the crossing

3. Reverse Loops, going by the yard, turning opposite of it, through the lead track, turning left before the crossing and back

4. Going wherever just for fun 

Laker802D

Laker803D

Laker80Parts

Links in case Pictures didn't imbed/show: 3D, 2D, Parts List

Attachments

Images (3)
  • Laker80Parts
  • Laker802D
  • Laker803D
Last edited by BurkusCircus52

So I got some additional material to make my expansion and I am playing with layout ideas. 

This is what I can up with. Extending the loop so the kids can run it simply and I'll have room to add terrain and structures but adding some switches for dad to have fun with. I cant seem to get the loop to connect. I messed with adding different length track but nothing seems to gel. Am I missing something? I'll try again after some coffee.

Is there anyway to fix or fudge this gap?

 

 

Attachments

Images (2)
  • mceclip0
  • mceclip1

Hi Laker80, just another tip, especially when working with AnyRail or SCARM drawings, you will get faster answers if you include the drawing file in your post. I recreated your drawing in AnyRail, but I haven't upgraded my v6 license so I had to use the flex track trick to get under the piece limit. Mine came closer than yours, but it is still showing a small overlap. In my experience that type of overlap will work in the real world.

Laker80-AnyRail-v4

Attachments

Images (1)
  • Laker80-AnyRail-v4
Files (1)
@Adriatic posted:

Or cut a piece of track to fit. (the "brown" one??)

Screwed down, the FT "click" together aspect isn't important. As long as the rails align and don't move, you are golden.  (not FT, but I have a few 1-pin track joints, and one 0-pin joint).  (trim the non-pin end to avoid having to pull any pins )

So cut the pins and secure the two track ends together?

@Mike Wyatt posted:

Screws:  #4 X 3/4" Flat Head Phillips.  These are generally not available at a big-box store (Lowe's, Home Depot etc.) but you can find them at a local hardware store.  Or online.  I used a foam track bed under my Fastrack, and I had to go to 1/4 X 1" screws.

Ok thanks for the screw size. I planned on screwing everything down once I get the additional layout set because the kids tend to dislodge anything that isn’t fastened down.
I have the layout on soundboard now but I have foam insulation underneath because I didn’t know which one I would like more. I like the texture of the soundboard and it feels more rugged but it did start to bow up at the corners after I painted it. I set some weights on the ends and it seemed to cure most of the issue. If not, I can always flip it over and put the foam on top.

@Laker80 posted:

Ok thanks for the screw size. I planned on screwing everything down once I get the additional layout set because the kids tend to dislodge anything that isn’t fastened down.
I have the layout on soundboard now but I have foam insulation underneath because I didn’t know which one I would like more. I like the texture of the soundboard and it feels more rugged but it did start to bow up at the corners after I painted it. I set some weights on the ends and it seemed to cure most of the issue. If not, I can always flip it over and put the foam on top.

Any foam board will warp if painted, especially using a water-based paint.  You can minimize the warping or eliminate it by always painting BOTH sides. 

A closed-cell foam, cork, or PVC track bed will not warp and will give you sound-deadening qualities.  I used

"O" Scale Gray Sound Foam Track Roadbed" from an e-Bay vendor.  A 30" pieces is about $1 a foot.  It is grey in color, easy to work with etc.  But the Woodland Scenics  "Track Bed" (PVC foam) is more readily available, and also works well.   

First of all, were I doing this layout with RRTrack, I would measure the gap. If it is less than 1/4", you can usually squeeze things together. Otherwise, I would be looking at 1.75" or 1.375" fitter pieces. If necessary, drop a piece of 10" and replace it with a 5", 4.5", and then a fitter to get the gap to close.

@Laker80 posted:

I am using fastrack. How much of a strain is normally allowed before its an issue? Is there a generally tolerance or does it vary?

@Gilly@N&W posted:

First of all, were I doing this layout with RRTrack, I would measure the gap. If it is less than 1/4", you can usually squeeze things together. Otherwise, I would be looking at 1.75" or 1.375" fitter pieces. If necessary, drop a piece of 10" and replace it with a 5", 4.5", and then a fitter to get the gap to close.

Laker80, I have done exactly what Gilly suggests with Fastrack.  Follow his advice, and you should be good to go!!  

If you're talking about screwing the black FT controllers down, I use small 3/4" long roundhead brass standard slot screws from Lowes. They give a nice contrast to the black controllers. Also, the controllers "snap" together sideways to help keep them in line.

Also, you want to be careful about screwing down the FT, especially the switches, and not overtightening them. The way the FT snaps and stays together, I only lightly screw down the track about every three sections.

 

PANEL 1

Attachments

Images (1)
  • PANEL 1

Add Reply

Post
The Track Planning and Layout Design Forum is sponsored by

AN OGR FORUM CHARTER SPONSOR

OGR Publishing, Inc., 1310 Eastside Centre Ct, Suite 6, Mountain Home, AR 72653
800-980-OGRR (6477)
www.ogaugerr.com

×
×
×
×
Link copied to your clipboard.
×
×