Track Plan Recommendations

Here is a picture of what i have now with fast track. While it looks good, it has issues, i am not impressed with the way the fast track is working just doesn't seem smooth and most of that is with this lionel tressle and bridge

I'm not going to design it for you, but offer some suggestions.  Hide the top part of your oval (either under mountains (sounds like your preference) or behind a scenic backdrop) so you can still have continuous running.  Then use the remaining portion of your layout to operate as a port on one leg of the visible "U" while using the other "U" leg as an industrial area served by the port deliveries.  The space at the bottom of the "U" could be your town area.

I would highly recommend putting your hidden area where the entrance to the center of the layout is located, and then use light styrofoam (sp?) sheets to build a removable mountain piece.  Your "port" could just be a freight yard with  pictures of port facilities on the walls.  You might even use a port "facade" so that your continuous loop trains don't run through your port operation.

Finally, be sure to use your design software with the products you plan to use.  In what you posted, you used Gargraves switches, not the Ross switches you plan to use.

Chuck

Thanks for the tips chuck that’s why i posted on here was for tips or if someone had track planning recommendations or someone who does it for a fee would also be an option since i am more of a newbie and am trying to maximize space i have with switching and scenery. The gargraves switches are being pulled out and equivalent ross switches are being added i just have not made the change yet in any rail. I would have paid one guy i talked to but when he told me $2500 i was like i’m yeah too much

Updated track plan to reflect ross switches and gargraves track.

@davehall83 posted:

I am trying to get the best possible track plan/layout but i am a bit new at this. I am wanting to do O gauge but also have some scenery like mountains/tunnels etc. But i also want alot of switching while maintaing some continuous running lines. I am attaching my layout in any rail and pdf files. I am a looking for someone to help track plan but the last person i talked to wanted $2500 which is way out of my range. I just want something i can run my O gauge trains on and i plan to use gargraves track and ross switches. This was my first attempt to design something, maybe not the best design but it was a start. The files are attached. I would take help here or even a referral to someone that does track planning for a fee.  With the 10 x 11 space i have, its kinda limitied for O gauge i know but i want to get the most out of what i have and not make some bad mistakes that will cost me in the long run.

Do what I do sit down with a legal pad and draw it out. I make many changes and then settle down with the idea.

Download SCARM (computer aided layout design) it's free and will give you a very good start.  A lot of folks here use it and the learning curve is not very steep.  In learning it you will learn a lot about your layout.  There is a large library in SCARM that will contain the specific track you want to use and it will give you a parts list of all the track and turnouts needed for your layout.  Time well spent!

OH!  And, WELCOME TO OGR!!!!!@!!!!!

@Dennis-LaRock posted:

Download SCARM (computer aided layout design) it's free and will give you a very good start.  A lot of folks here use it and the learning curve is not very steep.  In learning it you will learn a lot about your layout.  There is a large library in SCARM that will contain the specific track you want to use and it will give you a parts list of all the track and turnouts needed for your layout.  Time well spent!

OH!  And, WELCOME TO OGR!!!!!@!!!!!

Very true, I like the pad first  when I am sitting outside or relaxing I can just write it down. Latter once I decide I transfer it, then it goes much smoother.

Have you looked into Ken Hoganson's book 21 Great Track Plans for Compact Layouts?  Maybe something for you to use or start with in there. I see Ken worked in AnyRail with FasTrack and Atlas O so you shouldn't have any trouble recreating his layouts. Ross and Atlas O curve turnouts are mostly drop in replacements length-wise for each other but there are some differences in curve radii so it is worth spending the time in AnyRail to fix the differences. If you plan on using sectional track I would recommend Ross over GarGraves.

Here's some food for thought.

I couldn't tell what size curves are in the FasTrack layout, but they appear to be tighter that the O-89s that are in the Ross/GarGraves version. You didn't mention what engines you plan to run and what size curves they need, but I'll assume they currently run on at least O-36.

Photo 1 is a quick (and crude) rendering of Chuck's idea to consider before you go too far drawing things on paper that simply won't fit the space or trying to use curves that also won't fit. The Blue tracks are the O-89 curves in your PDF version. The Orange tracks are O-54 curves. The Green switches and curves are O-42 with several curves cut to fit.

Photo 2 shows it separated into 2 runs with more tracks needing to be cut to fit.

As you an see, the O-89 curves will fit in either version and you can probably elevate 1 bridge over the entry, but not both. As you can also see, even using O-42 switches/curves, there isn't a lot of room for switches/spurs.

well this is certainly a cool layout you have shown me here didn’t even think of it this way. I wanted to run some engines that require O-72’s like the big boy. The fast track was just for christmas and consisted of O-72 and O-36 curves all over the place but it never got 100% working right so i plan to tear that down and put up the gargraves track with ross switches. The O-89’s with gargraves were the largest circle giving me the the best possible “outer ring” so i can run some big boys or fill scale O engines that run on O-72 min radius. The big engines will only be run on the outer ring as i know i only have space for probably one of those but like you said not so much space for switching. The rest of my engines run on O-31 or O-36 like the polar express, hogwartz express and other engines i plan to buy. The more expensive engines i get will probably be in the min O-31 to O-36 minimum radius range.  But a few bigger full o scale engines i like will have to be “outer ring” only engines since they will have the minimum O-72 ring requirement but that’s something i have to live with , with the space i have unless i start making an upper and lower deck lol which may happen one day.

Mia the blue track utilizing my ross 100 and 101 switches that join the orange track? i really love this ideas and i am definitely appreciative of what you did here for me. I took a while for me to figure out anyrail but any chance you can send me these layouts so i can buy scarm and see the parts list ?

The other trick is that open bridge area is a basically a piece of plywood on a piano hinge with a latch underneath that i will have to tinker with to figure out how to get it working.

But this layout would keep me happy for the time being  and i could run 2 trains if i isolate the electrical too. The wall on the top of your drawing goes into my office and is hollow if i ever convince my wife i was going to cut 2 tunnel portals into the wall and then make it look good with some scenery and portal graphic etc then i can expand into my office and have some track there too for switching and a storage/turn table yard and maybe more running track lol.

Thanks pretty far off before i do that though. I would most likely get room in the basement for a second layout before she lets me do that one

Dave, based on this new info, I’ll clean up the design some. I’m not pushing SCARM, it’s just what I use these days. If you want to use AnyRail, I’ll post a photo with track labels and a parts list so you can convert it to AnyRail. If you just have the trial version, SCARM also has a trial version. It does things differently, so be ready for a learning curve if you try it out.

ROger that, the one design on top that had a 3 way y was that a particular part? I may like the bottom design better though

Ok, here's a version with a lot of track and switching to show different configurations. Unfortunately, the blue crossover on the left only fits using GarGraves O-42 switches, not Ross, and O-72/O-89 curves as labeled. The purple tracks are grades from 0" to 6" elevations. The clear tracks are those that had to be cut. All green switches and curves are Ross O-42. There's was no 3-way in the other photo, but I added one here to show sizing. It does limit how many spurs can be easily added, but it's something I can work on. I added the Parts List to show you that the number of pieces is under the SCARM trial limit of 100, so you can install SCARM and fiddle with the file to decide if you want to purchase it. I think AnyRail trial limit is also 100. To download the SCARM file you need to right-click and select Save As or Save Link As.

@davehall83  Dave, your layout space is similar to what I have and what @Mark Boyce has on his Blackwater Canyon layout. Check them out for ideas.

You may want to consider having a main which will handle the BIG engines (make sure you have sidings - I've found once on, I do not want the hassle of removing them) and design the rest of layout for most of the other gear which usually handles 42 inch diameter curves.  Looks like you could easily fit in several long sidings to park the long engines. 

Be careful on the grade, I do not think you have enough room to get a 6 inch rise with a reasonable grade.  For a 6 inch rise at 2.5% grade you need 20 feet of run. Stacking track on top of one another will not work at those sections. You can reduce the run needed by have one section rising and the other declining to meet in the middle, providing more flexibility in layout design. Of course that is assuming you want too be able to connect upper and lower levels.

If you want to do switching, you should look at the ideas of "a runaround track configuration" instead of dead ends in a yard.

The only thing is, was there anyway to keep ross switches in here and use the o-89 outer circle like you had earlier? I really want the reliability of those switches and the layout your showing. If we can figure that out, this would work out well. I saw the black water canyon very intersting layout that is something of interest. I may get rid of the trestle/elevated track here just to get the layout on a level working layout and do some upper levels later instead.

Don’t have time tonight, so I’ll see what I can come up with tomorrow, but it’s going to limit the ability to elevate sections because I’ll have to try different locations for connecting the inner and outer loops.  It’ll reduce the number of spurs too.

Ok understood, if it will reduce spurs then o-72 is ok with me just mainly want the ross switches in there. The elevation stuff i may do without, i had some issues with mine on fast track

Not the O-72, using Ross switches.

I cancelled my Ross order for the 101 and 100 switches so we can figure out what i need switch wise no sense of buying the wrong switches. I just really want the reliability of the switches that ross has. The elevation i am not too concerned about and that doesn’t have to be apart of the layout.  Its just that one area thats open to the floor that was in blue highlighted line which we could just run track across and use the piano hinge drop down dooor without any elevations or i can make it closed permanent as well i just have to climb under lol. The blue area is an entire piece of plywood on a piano hinge.

The gargraves switches i mean i don’t have any issues using them personally but i have no experience with them and the dz2500 switch machine. I have just heard on these forums all the horror stories of why you should avoid any other switches other than ross and people who have gotten gargraves switches have regrets and ended up tearing them out and got ross switches.

But i agree with your note saying that it’s going to reduce space for spurs because they are bigger for sure.

It would be nice to run two trains at one time by isolating electrical but that’s a secondary requirement as we gotta figure this out first lol

Just to put it out there i appreciate everyone’s input and help here. This is most certainly saving me a lot of grief and mistakes and i plan to learn from this to be able to do this on my own. I tried tinkering with the layout i had for a few hours last night and yeah i didn’t come close to the nice layout you came up with originally

If i need to keep the gargraves switch design you created because i just don’t have the space to make ross happen i will do it but my big concern was the switching derailments and reliability. For example i had another thread out here where i had a problem with my brand new polar express and this fast track. Come to find out the front wheels of the berkshire doesn’t like going into a switch unless it’s complete straight which made me have to tear up a bunch of secured fast track to put straight sections in and then it started working. I have still one section that just doesn’t work in that train but works in other trains like the wizard of oz locomotive set i have. I also watched how the lionel graduated trestle kit and girder bridge just didn’t work so well with fast track when it was suppose to and made my trains act crazy like going too fast down a steep grade and slower up in the other side of the grade and yes i expected that for sure but not as much as it did.

The topping on the issue was when i ran the N&W 612 it didn’t like fast track at all it sounded as if it were having issues with it like a small dragging noise even though this thing ran fine on the floor months ago with fast track in a basic O-36 oval with a few straight sections. The train when it got to the other side of the gutter bridge and started going down hill on an O-72 curve just fell right off the track and it wasn’t going that fast at all a picture of the locomotive i have is attached here i am not sure why it acted up maybe the turn radius wasn’t efficient for it but i know i like this locomotive and want to get it running and have a decent track with some spurs and switching