Digital Designed Layouts and Track Plans

[hoeij]

That is a serious amount of track! I am really looking forward to seeing actual pictures of this. Which event will you be showing this at?

This will be at our local train show in Tallahassee, Florida (google; BBMRA).

The switches that are not reachable from where I'm standing must be either remote controlled, or,

the direction of the trains is such that the train exits the switch there instead of entering.

The only remote-controlled switches that I have are 12V blue, therefore, the blue track must be on the outside while the 9V track is on the inside.

One of the 9V switches (on the right-hand side) is unreachable from the middle, so this one switch determines the direction of the trains.

The blue sidings at the bottom of the screen can park my cargo train (which is about 12 feet long) and

two other trains (5 feet each). There are three more trains on the 12V track (4 to 5 feet each), all of which can park (this requires 10 interrupter rails,

which I had to make myself because they are too expensive to buy on bricklink). This way all of the trains on the 12V track can be be started

and stopped remotely. The 9V track does not need interrupter rails because the trains can be started/stopped with the switches.

The inner most loop contains an Emerald night with about 8 coaches (from holiday train sets, some MOC, and a number of 10015). It also

contains a 5-car train made from two sets 7897. Both can park and go. This line does not go over the bridge because the Emerald night

is too wide to go over the bridge, and changing this 5-feet long bridge for just one train is too much work.

The main part of the 9V track looks like two connected loops, but is actually a single loop (the trains turn around on the loops you see at

the right hand size). There are 6 sidings, and I'll have 6 trains on this track. The sidings need to be quite long because all but one of

the trains is 5 feet long, and you need some room for the train to stop. This one loop will run 3 trains simultaneously. The trains are made

in such a way that their speeds are very close to each other, so it takes a while for one train to catch up to the one in front of it, but that's

not a problem because there are sufficiently many sidings where I can pull over a train before they get too close. The main idea behind the

design was this:

No train should run for a long time without stopping (definitely not more than 5 minutes or so) and no train should stand still for a long

time. The show is much more interesting if you keep starting/stopping different trains. And it is indeed very neat to see a train leave

a train station, with a different train stopping there a little while later.

You and I might think that the Santa Fe or the metroliner are the nicest trains, but what I learned from the previous year is that

kids have quite a different taste (e.g. they'll ask to see the blue train (two 4561's) running). So never assume that because I

think a train is less interesting than the others, that the kids will think likewise. That's why this year I set it up in such a way

that everything can be made to start/stop with a press on a button or a switch (I really don't like the engine for 4561

so I made an MOC for that, it actually turned out quite nicely).

The main 9V loop will be powered by three 9V controllers, the speed setting is #4 which is about 7.5 volts (one controller is not

enough because with 3 trains running the voltage will drop). So the speed setting on the 9V track is always the same.

I have a remote controlled AC outlet, and everything is connected to that. I keep the remote control of that (its a small device) in my

hand at all times. This way, if a kid puts their hand on the track, or, if I make a mistake with the switches and a collision is coming, then

I can shut down everything (except the battery trains, that's why they *must* be on a separate track!) with one click. This is important

because the tracks are right on the edge of the tables, and the floor is concrete. This approach worked really well last year, whenever

disaster is imminent, the solution is always the same button.

The main 9V loop will be powered by three 9V controllers, the speed setting is #4 which is about 7.5 volts (one controller is not

enough because with 3 trains running the voltage will drop). So the speed setting on the 9V track is always the same.

I meant: 6.5 volts.

[tmctiger]

Hello All,

I just stumbled across this post and I like the idea to have a thread collecting all the digital layouts. This would be a great resource for one who is currently planning a layout. Therefore I'll add my plan:

You'll find additional plan material to this layout in my brickshelf folder: http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?f=564608

However, this layout is not just a digital plan, I am currently putting it into practice. There is a thread related to this layout, where I post project updates from time to time: find the eurobricks thread here.

You can also find WIP images also in my brickshelf folder.

Some Background info: It is a PF-Layout, with the goal that 4 trains can run independently on the layout without taking care of switching points or whatsoever. The second goal is to place a modular building city on the layout which should hold all my modulars and have space for later MOCs. Due to the limited space, the layout therefore have three levels, where on two of them you'll find train tracks. The train can also travel from the lower level to the higher one over a ramp.

BR, Guenther