Folding End Loops/Staging

Hi Mike,

I've seen some nice folding end loops and staging areas for shelf layouts.

They used door hinges and folding legs to allow a little more layout room when the car is backed out of the garage.

I'd also recommend a dust cover for a garage layout.

"L" w/ expansion potential

I'm assuming you're modeling HO

I designed this "L" shaped "Harbor River Belt" for a guy in Australia:

So far, he's building only the "L" on the left (and so moved the crossover off the bridge section left onto the layout) and might get to the industrial port scene on the right later.

He's also changed & adjusted the trackplan as he went to fit the structures he has.
You can see his construction progress on his Trainboard thread in the HO forum (Trainboard is currently down for a few days but should be back up soon).
And there's a short write-up on my website.

On his Layout Vision website, Byron Henderson has a few HO shelf layouts that you can adapt to your space.

Hope this helps get the creative juices flowing!

David Barrow's South Plains District?

What something like David Barrow's South Plains District?   MR article back in '95.  You can see the original track plan in the first plan here http://tommcauley.us/ModelRailroads.html  I too would play with it some if I had more space.  It was sported as keeping two operators busy for over an hour

ratled

Use shelf brackets

Use shelf brackets underneath to support as much weight as you can. That leaves the underside free for storage.

Less is more. I have

Less is more. I have discovered that an interesting point to point layout does not have to be complicated with a bunch of trackwork to be interesting. Replicating a prototype industrial setting might just be the ticket. As model railroaders we tend to overcomplicate things with fancy trackwork while the prototype does things as simply and cheaply as possible. I'd look at anything done by Iain Rice. Here is a Good Reads listing of his books.

https://www.goodreads.com/author/list/754636.Iain_Rice

All of the above are good

I used shelf brackets and modified an Ian Rice plan. I am currently working on an expansion . See my MRH blog - Link in my signature block below.

Where is Stein when you need him?

Ian Rice is OK, I have most of his books.  But I have two others who I look to for smaller tack plans.

1) Stein - He provided many neat designs here on MRH and other forums and on his own pages.  In the MRH search pain, do a search for "Stein".  You can wonder around on his personal pages here:  http://home.online.no/~steinjr/trains/modelling/ I'm not sure Stein was ever published before his passing.  I do think a book of his designs would be worthy.  Stein was known to pop in an help anyone on a forum, giving them something of value.

2) Lance Mindhiem - Try his blog and his books.  First rate, simple is better:  http://lancemindheim.com His books are simple easy reads, available on amazon and listed here: http://lancemindheim.com/?page_id=31

I've been following MC for quite some time and think he has many good idea.  The plan he mentions is a good start.

While I'm at it, I think Bob Sprague is one of the best designers of our time.  Got a Beer get a design.  Most of his plans are room size, but as MC suggests, just take a part of it.  Bob has been published in MR and other magazines.  Try his web site:  http://www.annapolisjunctionrr.com/ Click on the track planning menu to see pages of his designs for others.

Dave K.

http://www.sn2modeler.com

River Harbor Belt Line

Trainboard is back up, so here's the link to Paul's construction thread.

The first post has the revised "L"--removing the right side harbor yard and just using a removable / swing-down extension for switching moves:

You'll notice that Paul makes quite a few track and structure changes to the design as he builds--a good reminder that a layout design is only a suggestion / source of inspiration and not a command carved in stone

"The general theme is BN and

A cement plant on one leg of the L would need a passing siding with a spur for loading cement cars and maybe a spur for unloading coal cars if it's a coal powered plant. An extra spur for unloading incoming machinery or setting out bad order cars would also be handy.  The other leg of the L could be a nearby small town with minimal yard and appropriate industries such as lumber yard, food/beer distributor, agricultural business, etc. depending on the setting. If you can find a way to run a narrow shelf all the way around the walls  you could add some narrow staging tracks and be able to run the trains continuously when desired  instead of having to stop after a few feet. I recall an article in one of the MRR planning annuals about a layout and a Mustang sharing the garage that featured a removable section across the garage door .......DaveB  

Some Bavarian Plans

This link  http://lokalbahn-reminiszenzen.de/start.htm has some interesting ideas.  I like the artistry of his drawings.

This link  http://www.mittenwaldbahn.de/glplan.htm has a lot of Bavarian Station plans...including signal positions.

Cely