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Model railroad layout

{{Short description|Model of a railroad}}

File:HO Layout 1.jpg model railroad layout]]

In model railroading, a layout is a diorama containing scale track for operating trains. The size of a layout varies, from small shelf-top designs to ones that fill entire rooms, basements, or whole buildings.

Attention to modeling details such as structures and scenery is common. Simple layouts are generally situated on a table, although other methods are used, including using a flush-sided door as a base. More permanent construction methods involve attaching benchwork framing to the walls of the room or building in which the layout is situated.

Track layout

File:Mini Layout01.jpg' with 9 mm gauge track in 7 mm scale (09 scale)]]

An important aspect of any model railway is the layout of the track itself. Apart from the stations, there are four basic ways of arranging the track, and innumerable variations:

  • Continuous loop. A circle or oval, with trains going round and round. Used in train sets.
  • Point to point. A line with a station at each end, with trains going from one station to the other.
  • Out and back. A pear shaped track, with trains leaving a station, going round a reversing loop, and coming back to the same station.
  • Shunting (US: Switching). Either a station, a motive power depot or a yard where the primary mode of operation is shunting. This includes layouts which are built as a train shunting puzzle such as Timesaver and Inglenook Sidings.

Common variations:

  • On a point to point layout, the train can increase the time it takes to get from A to B by going around a continuous loop a few times.
  • Single or double track or more, so more trains can run at the same time.
  • Intermediate stations, to distinguish between express trains which go straight through and local trains which stop briefly.
  • Branch lines, to add an excuse for more stations and different types of trains.
  • Use of multiple levels.
  • Arranging the continuous loop as a figure-of-8, possibly with one track going over the other instead of having tracks crossing on the same level.
  • Folding one loop of a figure-of-8 over the other loop to produce a looped-8, so as to reduce the amount of space needed while keeping a long continuous run.
  • Using one or more fiddle yards (US: staging tracks) to represent the rest of the railway system. A fiddle yard is regarded as off-scene; it may hold multiple complete trains, and may also be subject to direct human intervention (fiddling) to re-arrange trains,
  • Dog-bone arrangement of a continuous loop; the sides of an oval are squeezed together so it looks like a double-track section with a loop at each end where the trains turn around.
  • Rabbit warren; a continuous loop folded over itself several times with multiple levels and many tunnels for trains to pop in and out of - often a small layout with sharp curves and short trains.

Station layout

File:2019 East Texas Model Railroad Club Open House 06 (HO-scale layout).jpg layout]]

There are three basic types of station, and sometimes combinations of these types:

  • Terminus or terminal station. As the name implies, all trains stop here, and then go back to where they came from.
  • Through station. Trains can go through this station; express trains don't stop, while local trains do stop briefly before continuing their journey.
  • Junction. The tracks diverge/join here.

Other factors which affect the track layout of a station include:

  • For passengers only, or for goods only, or for both passengers and goods.
  • Use of steam engines and/or diesel/electric engines.
  • Use of trains which can be driven from either end, e.g. Diesel Multiple Units.

The simplest possible station for passengers consists of just a platform beside the track, with no points (US: switches) or sidings. Both terminal and through stations can be as simple as this; a junction requires at least one point.

References

  • "Adventurous Model Railway Plans." A. Postlethwaite. {{ISBN|1-85260-613-4}}. Basic configurations, page 9.
  • "Basic Model Railroading: Getting Started in the Hobby." Kent J Johnson. {{ISBN|978-0-89024-334-3}}, Kalmbach Publishing, 1998.
  • "Railway Modeling." N Simmons, 8th edition, {{ISBN|1-85260-596-0}}. Planning the layout Chapter 5.
  • "Track Plans", C. J. Freezer. Peco Publications, 2nd edition.
  • [http://macrodyn.com/ldsig/ Layout Design Special Interest Group] see subpage: Design Primer/Introduction to the wide variety of layouts possible

External links

  • http://www.plasticoferroviario.it – Hints and tips for model railroaders
  • http://modeltrains.about.com – Online resource for model railroaders
  • http://www.gatewaynmra.org/project.htm – Small model railroad project layouts
  • http://carendt.com/ – Micro/Small Layouts for Model Railroads showing hundreds of examples

Category:Rail transport modelling