my carport 'drafting table'

verses living room rug...

Initial creations

For reference,..overall trackplan first..
 

The ones that follow were created up on that table, but subsequently laid out on the carport concrete so they could be joined together

Retreat to Indoors

We then had some rather windy and cold days, so I cleared off a temp shelf (again 4x8 piece of plywood) I had put up in the train shed. Then proceeded to lay out my staging tracks,...at least the ladder entrance end (bottom end coming up soon).
 

Great post Brian

What a delightful post Brian! I've been exploiting that fun factor to turn my students on to geometry and algebra. You've demonstrated that the experience is nearly universal!

I've found that the full size paper planning extends to over-the-road planning very nicely when using masonite splines to effortlessly lay out long cubic spiral transitions without the fuss and bother of doing any symbolic manipulations - direct, hands-on math that literally feels good and is viscerally productive. 

Jeff Allen

Jeff, Where did you get the

Jeff,

Where did you get the light colored Masonite in your splines. The only color I've seen is very dark brown.

Speaking of splines, how do

 "how do you control the

Basically one just needs the centerline  marked on the benchwork some way. Then let the center spline conform to the radius and add the side splines . If the radius point is accessible it's easy to check the radius of the splines by hooking a tape measure on a temporary nail and swinging the arc. If the radius point can't be used then a template of the proper radius can be used, they are easy to make from cardboard or other thin sheet material          (hook a tape measure on a nail and scribe the arc on the material adding and subtracting distance to define the edges of the template).....DaveB 

Splines for laying out the layout

John, I've found that the color and back texture varies quite a bit from one hardboard source to another, but since I don't use it in any color-sensitive applications I've never selected on that basis. I don't even know who the manufacturers are, in fact! Sometimes I buy it at Home Depot, sometimes at my local lumberyard that carries Homosote (HD doesn't, at least in my area). 

In my case, I'm not using it for roadbed splines (though I've been tempted to in some locations, that seems like an excellent approach). I'm using it to establish my track centerlines on paper. I trace along it onto the brown paper, draw offset lines to form the roadbed edges, then cut out the paper to transfer the patterns onto Homosote/plywood sandwiches. Like dressmaking. 

In the picture on the left you can see where I've clamped 1x2 strips to either side to form tangent (straight) sections, then let the masonite spline form the curve to the next tangent. The nature of bending moments in the material "automatically" forms a cubic spiral down to a minimum radius in the center of the curve, then uncurls towards the next tangent. I use a foam core template as DaveB describes to check that the minimum radius in the center of the curve never gets tighter than my design minimum. 

Jeff Allen

Close to Edge

 Some sort of edge barrier is likely. I already have some plexi.

Accuracy of Pattern

Yes Paul I am using almost exclusively Peco turnouts, and I have made the printouts of those templates right off of their site that gives you a scale ruler on the printout sheet of paper that allows you to confirm that your printed template is an exact replica of the actual turnout. Plus I have measured this up against the actual turnouts themselves.

So I feel very confidant that my full size drawings are exact relicas of the track I will be laying over them. The trick is going to be how to get the paper pattern out from under the track after all things have been located.

Remove the Paper Pattern??

Anyone want to chime in as to why I should just forget removing the paper pattern from under the track?

I had thought that it might interfere with other adhesive efforts around the track,...such as ballasting or other scenic materials, etc ......

The 1:1 track templates stay

The 1:1 track templates stay permanently on my layout and that's perfect for me. Designed with CADrail SW and printed on a HP T120 from a paper roll. First, the prints serve as a template to cut the roadbed, then they are glued on permanently. One thing to be aware: gluing anything on top of the paper is a weak bond. You need to use screws or cut out the paper where a strong bond is needed. I am also using track nails.

Water Front, Brick Factory & Cement Silo

This mockup works on the lower right hand corner of the train shed (just to the right of the entrance way). My waterfront scene had already been chosen to be located here, and is designated by the big irregular shaped black marker pen lines on the right of this photo (and there is a small size print out of the scene taped in the middle of that blob)
 

To the left of that scene there is the brick factory with 2 tracks down either side, then the 4 kilns with their smoke stacks. The footprint for the factory is that of the Walther's Water Street Freight Terminal.  

 

Viewed from the opposite end, you will see that I have managed to put a 'Medusa Cement' structure on its own siding in the very corner of the shed.

The two heavy black lines are the twin mainlines making the curve thru the corner of the main deck. They are 29" and 30" radius curves.

More difficult to see are the penciled in lines that define the tracks of the staging level that is just below this main deck. I have actually mapped out both the main deck tracks & the staging level tracks in this corner of the shed, .....all on one piece of paper. I will make additional tracings of these mainlines & staging tracks that will translate over to the other corner (left hand side) of the shed.
BTW, only the 'outer 3 of the staging tracks will be rigged to cross the bridge across the entrance way. The other 3 staging tracks end on either side of the layout.

What I found interesting when I was drawing these curves is I did not have to use the same common point of radius generation, and thus was able to utilize a few larger radius curves than originally contemplated, yet still have generous clearance between the tracks of the curves. No radius in this area is less than xxx inches.

The track on the very left of this photo feeds a long siding that eventually curves around into the peninsula, ...(and of course it feeds Madusa cement). The next two tracks in are the mainlines which will then start to rise towards the end of the shed to clear that siding track that ducks back under the mainlines to go into the peninsula area.

The Y switch over on the right might be changed to something else. Right now it serves to provide a coal car for the loading/unloading of the coal barge in the harbor.  Its other leg goes down the one side of the brick factory, and will likely be sort of 'road flush' so trucks can drive over it.
 

The brick factory came along after the waterfront community had been in existence for awhile, and they bought up that big empty field to put their factory up. But both of these aged communities existed in somewhat the same time period.

Probably going to need a few more silos for raw materials to make those bricks, and some stacks of bricks outdoors? Suggestions anyone??

For reference,...overview trackplan of maindeck
  

Basically I used the same methods building the Bagnell Branch

I’d used a computer program to draw my layout on 81/2” x 11” paper just to make sure the curves were large enough and the industries fit my trackage.  I used a MP Condensed Prifile from 1930 to replicate the prototype.  After this step a friend gave me a large roll of kraft paper and I laid out everything 1:1 to make sure it fit my original plans.   

Templates a construction boon

Hi Railandsail,

I was so glad I used full size paper patterns when constructing my layout.  It allowed me to:

Move supports away from turnouts BEFORE building the benchwork;

Provide adequate clearance in tunnels and bridge abutments;

Calculate grades and put grade elevations on the track locations;

And, build the benchwork around a support beam, knowing it would fit.

Easements

Brian, it looks to me like you haven’t added easements to those curves?  Easements make a big difference to how well a mixture of equipment goes through the transition.  It’s fairly easy to do easements on a paper plan, once you know what your easement standards are.  Basically you want the easement length to be at least twice the length of the longest car you’ll run through it, and the offset is easily calculated from the easement length and the curve radius.  The 3rd planit site has a good description of how to do that: https://www.trackplanning.com/easements.htm.  Several track planning books have decent tables for easements.

Easements

You have quite a good eye there Ken.

I'm not so sure I can fit easements in,...because I am trying to compact things so much in order to fit so much industry into my layout ??

I have been accused of trying to put too much in a small layout,...
A thought crossed my mind the other day, wasn't it Dean Freitag that really built a LOT of industry in a small spot?.. .images)

So can I do the easements without screwing up my full scale plans too much? (I already had to go back and put more clearance between my mainlines today, which resulted in new curves and fair bit of redrawing,...and more delay)
 

Merry Christmas, BTW

PS...a bit of Bourbon spiced Egg Nog is helping with attitude adjustment this evening.....ha...ha. Thats the way my father drank it. Got to save some for Santa

Easements matter

The tighter you are trying to cram things, the more easements matter.  You get better performance from a slightly smaller min radius with easements.  I urge you to at least go through the exercise of deciding what you’re longest car is, finding the offset for the common curve radii you’ll use, and making a couple templates so you can see how they’d work out in practice.  There are a couple fairly easy ways to make easement templates (bent stick method, offset method), and I’m sure you can get plenty of help with the process here if you need it.

Full size template but not only

Full size Template are great to see if your pla is really working or not and you really can find some big mistake between the paper plan and the full size lay track.

I use similar method to lay my track when I'm not sure everything will fit, this really help to check if everything is working.

But first and I really invite you to try to design a precise paper plant; I try especialy to keep the track plan in the designed space, with imposed minimum and maximum radius and precise measurements where turnouts, group of turnouts will be placed.

The grid plan method with some real room benchmark are really a necessity to obtain a quiet precise paper track plan.

When time comes to lay track, I first determine where turnouts and group of turnouts will be placed on the roadbed; this is quiet effective with precise measurements and accurate plan paper.

When the place of these pieces of track are fixed on the roadbed, it's time to design the connecting track between these turnouts or group of turnouts including the curved tracks.

To drawn track line I use the yardstickmethod, a piece of wood of 4 feet long, flexible enough to be curved.

At this point, my paper plan is just a indicator to say " there is a track going from here to there", I mean I drawn line between the turnouts with the yardstick but I don't care about the plan and radius; I just check if the designed yardstick line don't use radius under my minimum imposed radius, if it's over it's ok, no more no less, the rest I really don't care about it.

The result is an extremly flowing track and experience has show, train like to run on such designed flowing track with no sharp curves or sharp  easements.

Of course the design must be incorporated in the place  and surface allowed.

To check if the drawn line don't use a radius under the minimum, I use templates cut in forex (half circles) to check if the yardsick drawn line is not under the minimum imposed radius.

Parallel track are just drawn along the first line, considering the first track line designed with the yardstick is the inner track.

Yardstick drawn method or spline roadbed obtain the same quality of flowing track, easement on curves are natural and easy to drawn; radius are easy to check with templates.

But if a curves is designed as a return loop or a back curves at the end of the layout, I use a big compass an  drawn perfect circular line, but  just a half inch under the designed radius; the end of the curve is connected to the track which is placed for the full radius with the yardstick method giving a natural easement without any calcul.

Of course only flextrack can be used with this method.

"Of course only flextrack can

  It's a bit more work but hand laid track can still be used with this method. I locate my turnouts and connect as above but use a batten or curve template to draw the connecting lines then cut roadbed to the resulting lines and glue it down to accept hand laid ties and rail. Doing the final design tweaking full size as above saves a lot of on paper or in program calculating along with letting one set their freight cars on the prospective routes and see how they look and how their couplers interact on the curves and how much overhang and curve clearance they have etc......DaveB  

Templates used for planing size templates

Planing a layout can sometimes be daunting for the new, even challenging for experts especially when you are trying to emulate the prototype with a switch layout formation and correct transitional curves. 

At an early stage in my modeling I was striving for more realistic track formations to also add prototypical operation that could be found on the real thing, laying proprietary track on the layout may look good at first, but soon to realise alignments switching movements are less than satisfactory, I came across in the early 80's an English modelling group Proto 4 Scale Four groups that not only were scratchbuilding turnouts and designing layouts with paper templates but the entire track was built to the correct Finescale Gauge 18.83 mm representing 4"8'1/2 and this was all Prior to widespread use of computer printouts, I found a group here in Adelaide South Australia and joined, all subsequent layouts were set out with track templates 

Now with my largest layout yet the staging yard needed a custom switch to use in an awkward area of hidden staging so using Fast Tracks templates and custom drawn turnouts laid in the area I realised the formations positives and failings once rolling stock was set out and working out there movements. Some tweaking and now the task of build these switches in place for the Railcar depot in the hidden staging yard

Big Paper Plans

Some have voiced concerns with handling BIG paper templates. well yes if you were trying to template the entire layout in one shot. But I am working with sections and spec corners, scenes, etc.

So here are a few shots of some of my full size templates rolled up to get them off of the 4x8 foot 'drawing table' in my carport.

Then just roll it out on the board,...fast and easy...4' wide roll, approx 8' foot long, or shorter if desired....
(my 'table' sits on an old workbench, with casters, I acquired from a garage sale of a remodeling contractor)

I am using full size template

Tracing Copies of Tracks

As I mentioned before this full size dwg has BOTH the track plans for the main deck and the staging deck drawn on it ( I didn't feel that I needed two separate 'originals' for this corner).

Now I wish to make the separate copies I'd like to have to actually utilize to lay the track. I decided to use 'tracing paper' to make these copies. The first images shown here are tracings of the 2 mainline curves and the turnout leading off to that siding along the sidewall.

This dwg can then be flipped over to provide a pattern for the same curves that will appear on the opposite corner across the entrance. Over in that corner (down from the freight yard and behind the steel mill), there will be the same 2 mainline curves, with an identical 'siding' along the wall being the track that leads to the helix, and subsequently down to staging. Nice that these 2 sides became mirror images.
 

As mentioned before I was able to fit the Madusa cement structure into the very corner on the right hand side. I've been wondering what I might fit into that left hand corner? There are a few pencil scribbles on that tracing paper for one idea I might consider,...a diesel engine maintenance building (likely just cut off front half of the structure), and several tracks for parked diesels waiting for service. This corner might also have some mirrors behind it to make this building and the number of locos look more massive.

Prior to my full scale drawings project I likely would not have considered this scene as possible. That's part of the reason I find this exercise so much fun. I actually feel like I am advancing with my overall layout plan, rather than stalled in the scale dwg mode.

 


Next I will be making tracings of the underlying staging tracks in that corner, and I will be able to flip that dwg over and use it as a track laying pattern for the opposite side staging deck as well.