Liftout

I'll let others smarter than me critique your plan, however, with the liftout, I would use the Kato Unitrack transition piece on each end and flextrack only on the liftout section.  It could technically work with Unitrack if you did not use unijoiners on either end and the section was EXACTLY cut for the Unitrack to line up on each side of the liftout, but I think the flextrack would be the easier option.  That would be up to you, and of course, you'd have to wire in the liftout somehow, but you know that already.

Lift Outs!

Hylik,

I would cut holes in the bathroom wall and carry the the railroad on a small shelf around that room. Lift outs can be a center of of many mechanical and electrical problems. A train on the floor from an open lift out can be a source of intense pain. Our club had a door in the layout, and it was a center or problems and maintenance.

I will admit It was fun to leave it open and position an old engine so when a new guy turned on the layout power, the engine would hit the floor. We soon ran out of old engines!

I would route it around the room and ensure it did not allow trains to fall in the throne. This arrangement would be more interesting, for bathroom visitors, than having a bathroom reader..

Regards

John

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But there are advantages to being elected President. The day after I was elected, I had my high school
grades classified Top Secret. Ronald Reagan

Sadly i cant drill holes on

Sadly i cant drill holes on walls...but the liftout will be rarely removed. That room will be used by myself as storage room

Operations

I am not sure what your operations are supposed to be.  I don't see any runaround staging or real yard tracks.

It looks like what you want to do is just loop trains around each half of the layout and then swap them over to the other side every so often.

Is this HO or N?

N scale This is my first

N scale

This is my first model train and first layout ever so to get to know the hobby i do want some simplicity even if later i decide to tear down everything and start over. That simplicity include continuous running, with operations i want/need to start simple also because of zero local resources to learn and see (we dont have clubs or hobby shops down here so) ...I'm reading and looking at videos but sometimes that is not enough, that is why i need your advice...

Also that is just a draft I'm open to modification or start over....

Lift Outs!

Hylik,

My comments on Lift outs were based on a section that was moved several time during operations. If your section is to be moved occasionally then my remarks were not valid.

I think that you should study some track plans and make a list of things you may want on this layout. Continuous running, is one thing. Do you want any yards? What type of industries? What type of scenery? These don't need very firm Ideas, but this list could help you or others design a track plan.

You may want to set up a small layout in part of the room, before you jump off on filling the room. The experience may help you have a better idea of what you want. Getting a train running will add early pleasure to your hobby.

Regards,

John

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If you don't know where you are going, you might wind up someplace else. Yogi Berra

thanks... i do have 2 books

thanks...

i do have 2 books and a lot of links with track plans...I'm still reading and checking out new idea

this is just a draft and of course it will not be build all at once...it just to give me the big picture

also i do have that questions answered.

Do you want any yards? Yes according to my space.

What type of industries? I've three main choices, coal, gravel, lumber.

What type of scenery? a mountain town on a side and a city on the other.

Why re-invent the wheel?

Hylik,

Why re-invent the wheel?  Here is a link to one of Byron Henderson's layouts that may suit your needs nicely:  http://www.layoutvision.com/id56.html .  It is in HO, but if you like it, I'd be more than happy to work with you to convert it to N Scale and Kato Unitrack.

Best of luck!

Ryan

If you can help me out to

Current Track List?

Hylik,

Do you already have some Kato track?  If so, can you post a list of part numbers and quantities?  That way I can make sure to use what you already have on hand if possible.

Also, how wide is the lift out?

Thanks,

Ryan

I don't have any track

turnouts

I think #4 turnouts are not a good idea.  You have space.   I recommend #7 in the yard - where most of your reverse moves will be - and #6 on the mainline for industry and passing.

You say the reverse loop is 2 inches high - I assume  you mean clearance from rail to rail where one track passes over another.  This is too tight - You will need to access tracking problems in the area - be generous with yourself to avoid future agonies.

Good luck.  Remember it is your railroad - build it any way you like.  Advice is good but nobody can  decide for you.

Art

Unitrack

only has #4 and #6 turnout sizes, so that is one of the limitations hylik has.  When I used Unitrack, I used all #6 turnouts as I didn't like how tight the #4 is with longer cars.

I do no have any track, or

Liftout

I see no problems in a lift out section.

I built a 5 track geriatric bridge for the club layout about ten years ago. The tracks are a two levels, four mainline tracks at the low level and a single branch about 3" higher. The hinges are arranged so that clearance is good in all positions and the bridge is counterbalanced with a rope over a pulley to a weight. The geometry is such that the bridge is stable in the up position as well as the down though there're also locks to hold it down and an interlock which isolates all tracks within 6ft of the bridge when it's not down.

The base is 1" plywood with 3/8" track beds with cork. The base lands on pattern makers dowels for final location but we've never really had any problems though we are careful not to leave the bridge up overnight in case of warping. Mind you the building ain't going anywhere. It's the basement underneath the ropewalk in Chatham Dockyard so is about 300 years old.

The tracks are curved so at one end the joint is a zig zag so that all tracks cross perpendicular to the joint. However if I were to do it again I'd prefer a diagonal cut and would fit check rails to keep the flanges away from the running rails.

Archie

Unitrack and Lift Out

In the past I've had two Unitrack layouts with liftout. It really is no brainer. The way I did it was I put the the lift out and laid the track right across the lift. Once the track was laid I got a hacksaw and cut the Unitrack right on the edge of the lift out section. I never had a derailment or any issue whatsoever. This was on a HO Layout on a 10 x 12 bedroom. I am planning to do the same thing with my new N scale layout.

thanks for all the

thanks for all the advice...i'm working on a second plan draft, I like this one better, as soon as i getting more refined i will post it....

  Following rblundon

Need more advice and some suggestion on what industries can i model

ok...updating.... there

ok...updating....

there have been a couple of changes...the most important is track...after experimenting with flextrack (i got a couple of flextrack), i'm in love with it...it's have more flexibily on what i can do, so i will be using flextrack and sectional atlas 55 track.

this is my last draft of the plan (i hope) I'm working on the wiring plan right now. Also i've started building benchwork and PHASE I (left part of the layout plan benchwork) will be ready this week with god in hand.

Maybe more staging capacity

Maybe more staging capacity needed?

size of squares in your plan

If those squares are 1 ft, then you have approximately 320 scale feet with a turntable, passenger depot and industry.  Tis a little too crowded for your dreams there.  This a very normal problem for early plans.  One n-scaler planned to be able to go from Dallas to Fort Worth in one actual foot when first planning his layout.  So this is one of those, try to build it first before deciding the scenicing the layout. 

in my opinion layout plans

in my opinion layout plans are not engraved on stone, meaning that I'll building everything, one step at a time of course (or better said : in phases), and if i need to change something or everything well i will do it, this is a learning project after all. also if you (CM Auditor) or anybody else can give me some pointers of what you think i can improve/drop/add i will more happy and with just a mere comment

I do plan on removing some track on the yard mostly from the back part..and i will just be running 3 trains (maybe 4 at most) so i may be good with that staging but i can add a couple of more track.

Not much of a plan guru here....

It looks pretty good to me though. The only things I would point out is to remember that you have a couple of reverse loops that are going to take special wiring for DC or auto reverse units for DCC and I don't know why you would have an  "enginehouse" that close to a roundhouse but that's just a minor little thing.

I've found over the years that I can plan and plan and plan and when it comes time to actually lay the track that I have to make alterations or small concessions on the fly.  A lot of the time back in my N-scale days, I worked from a general plan "in my head" and used various sizes of sectional curves and pieces of flex track pinned in place to finalize the design. When you do begin to test fit your trackage, start from the turnouts, the most complex arrangements first, and work your way around. I'm not saying you shouldn't have any plan but sometimes the best way to see if something is going to work is to just temporarily tack some track in place. Even the best track planning  programs out there aren't perfect.

Michael

Lower Right Corner of Plan

Recommend you do a test layout of all the tracks and turntable you have shown in the plan for this area so you know how much actual room you have on your 2 foot wide shelf.