Nothing happening
Here we are, almost a year later.  And nothing has happened. 

Making it larger again !
I'm leaving the second mainline off but I'm making it larger again.  This is mostly to allow length for longer switches.

Making it smaller again

I am going to reduce the amount of track.  Two mainlines and another complete loop that has access to spurs and sidings is a lot.  In addition there will be an elevated loop so that is basically four parallel loops.  For a layout with limited space, that seems to be a lot of parallel track that doesn't accomplish much.  So I'm going to remove one mainline.   

The layout is 1 foot smaller and seems a lot less crowded.  I can probably remove an additional 6 inches from both the length and width.  I'll think about that for a while.  

With more room it will be easier to place interesting accessories like an overhead crane.

 

Still haven't started

I still have not started the layout.  I keep changing my mind about how to lay it out.   First I decided that I would maek the layout a little larger by using two 4 foot by 6 foot plywood pannels, then I realized that there was no way to access the center of the layout in case a train derailed.  So I put four feet of space between the panels by using 2 foot by 4 foot panels.   Despite the larger amount of board space, the hole in the middle means that difficult turns like a reversing loop need to sit entirely one on one side of the the center hole.  And this layout takes much more space, that would be a large problem.   Someone I work with (Alan) suggested that I use a run-around track -- a siding that allows an uncoupled engine to get to the other end of a train to re-attach and pull the opposite direction.    I already was planning on having a siding on the layout so I only need to include a siding on the loop of track that is elevated and trains can use the sngle track that will go from the ground level to elevated track.

Without the reverse loop a significant amount of layout space became available and at the same time I no longer need to have enough length and width to have two curves inside the layout.  I can use less space and still lay more track.   So I shrank the layout to use 3.5 ft by 6 ft end panels and 1.5ft by 3 ft connecting panels.

The blue is the ramp from ground level to the elevated loop.  The green is a small part of the elevated track.  The browns are ideas fo switches.    This is two oval mainlines with additional track.  I am trying to make the mainline track more interesting by making it less oval and putting in a crossover using curved switches. 

The drawing was made with Atlas RTS software.  The layout isn't exact but I'll be using flex track, working from the outside in.  I can try to trim a few inches here and there and cut out some space from the larger panels to enlarge the center hole and reduce the length of the 1.5ft wide panels.  I might give up the little extra curve in the upper right hand corner to allow trimming 1.5 ft from the layout. 

A big compass
I got my yardstick compass from DickBlick art supplies. This is a set of two legs that slide onto a yardstick for making large circles. I'll be using this in a couple weeks when I cut the plywood to make the slope. I'm marking the wood frame for drilling. 1 inch by 4 inch wood is only 3/4 inch thick (the finishing takes off 1/4) so I will be drilling pilot holes for all the screws to keep the wood from splitting and keeping the path's of the screws true. I'll also drill holes (probably 3/8 inch) in the cross pieces to make it easy to run wiring. I originally planned to have 6" cross pieces under the cut part of the plywood. When I went to Lowes, the large saw was restricted to making cuts no less than about a foot, so I gladly changed my plans so that I didn't have to do the cutting. Speaking of Lowes, while looking around I saw the plastic gutters and downspouts. These could be useful for making bridges or tunnels, kind of the "industrial" look.

Curves
Some people lay out curves by putting the track on the plywood and then marking the outline of the plywood. Some people mark curves by using some sort of compass. I found a yardstick compass online so I ordered one from the local art store. Basically I picture each curved track and roadbed as the top of a cone shaped structure. As long as the edges of the cones lay next to each other the shape will work fine. I like working this way because getting track lined up means that I need to line up long straight edges of the cones instead of having to get the spacing right on two pieces of metal just 3/4" apart. I will mark and cut a section of poster board for the outside edge of the roadbed. The outside of the roadbed will probably be 22.5 degrees of 25" diameter, then 45 degrees of 19" diameter, then the closing 22.5 degrees of 25" diameter. The cork roadbed is almost 2" wide so I'll use 1" in as the center of the track and make the second poster board template with 23-5/8" and 17-5/8" curves for the inside edge of the flex track.

Outside Clearance

Since I'm going to have 5 ft depth to work with instead of 4 ft, it's not as significant that I get every last fraction of an inch. So while I still need to make sure there is enough room for clearance of cars turning into the curve, my new consideration is that the track needs to be close enough to the wall so that there is not enough space for cars to fall behind the track. I will make my cutouts for the sloping track 1/2 inch from the edge.

I put the track on paper, marked the outline of the ties with a pen, taped a felt marker to the car, and pushed the car on the track. This created a wobbly curved line that bore very little resemblance to the required clearance.

I tried to get a ruler set so that the 2-1/2 inch mark was centered between the rails. This is where the straight track is connected to the 22 inch diameter track. The photograph is much more useful than the lines were. It looks like the car needs clearance of about 7/8 inch from the center of the track. I think 1-1/2 inch from the center of the track to the edge of the board will be about right. On the curve I might leave more wood on the outside of the track to put something to contain the train if it leaves the tracks.

Some inexpensive first parts
I went to a store that has some old and used items in addition to the new trains. I bought new track, a couple used switches, a couple used cars, an old engine that sat in a back room for a number of years, a used transformer, and some small parts. I have about $50 invested.

With one engine and two cars, I have three different styles of couplers. I was able to buy and mount couplers for the box car that work with the engine, but the coupler mount on the passenger car will not work with the couplers that I have.

I am considering a change from my plans to make the layout 4 ft by 8 ft. If I change the layout to 5 ft by 8 ft by using two 5 ft by 4 ft sections I get a larger layout and also have smaller pieces to transport. The left over lumber when I cut the 4x5's out of 4x8's will be used for the track on the upper level.

Layout for cutting Plywood
I use the Atlas Right Track Freeware program to create my layout diagrams. I'm not trying to use the program to get an exact layout because I will use flex track for much of the layout. But the diagrams are close to what I will have.

I am using the "cookie cutter" method of creating the roadbed for all the raised elevation track. This will remove from the base level a lot of the plywood that the layout is built on. I will have framing or another sheet of plywood under the base level plywood to maintain the integrity of the layout.

Because I am working with a small layout (4 ft. by 8 ft.) I want to work to the edge on three sides. This means that if the layout is pushed against a wall, there will be little clearance. The curves that run against those edges will start more gradually to avoid having trains rub the walls. If I get some large cardboard boxes, I can use the cardboard to try laying out corners to see how close to the edge I can get. Then I can use the cardboard as a template for cutting the plywood.

Here's my preliminary layout. Thr purple is at ground level. The blue is the transition from ground to the upward slope. Yellow is the upward slope and red is the transition from top slope to the upper level tracks. Brown is the upper level track. The track that progresses from blue to yellow to red is the strip that will be cut from the base plywood. The blue section will remain attached to the plywood. The red section is where the second level plywood will connect.

There is a row of rerailers on the upper level. This is the most convenient area where trains can be added to the layout.

So HO it is
I commented to someone that I needed to figure out what I was going to put on the plywood to create the sloped track between levels. He suggested that I not use anything but the plywood. By using a "cookie cutter" method I will cut the plywood to create the base for the track, leaving the ground level part of the base uncut. Then raise the opposite end. An additional advantage of this technique is that the plywood at the beginning of the up-slope will resist the bend and therefore make a more gentle transition to the slope. I'm thinking along the lines of having everything that is raised (sloping track, the higher loop, and reversing track) be one single piece that is pulled up this way.


My plywood will have a frame attached on the bottom. I'm thinking along the lines of 2" x 2" framing with cross pieces every two feet. This allows plenty of room inside the framework for wiring, mechanical switches, and other mounting hardware and wood. I will not be putting woden legs on because this is intended to be portable, laid on a floor or table or between sawhorses. I might get metal folding card table legs.