eliminator Posted November 8, 2011 Posted November 8, 2011 (edited) So, I've been going nuts buying train sets lately and need some help designing my layout. I know there must be some people out there that mess around with BlueBrick alot and have way more talent designing a layout then me. So, here's a quick rundown of what I have available for my layout if you'd like to offer me some ideas or suggestions. Work space: 2x 72'' x 30'' tables (182cm x76cm) set up side-by-side to form a square Core sets: 3939 Cargo Train: -16x curved -16x flex -8x straight -1x left switch -1x right switch 3838 Passenger Train: -16x curved -16x flex 7937 Train Station -4x straight 7936 Level Crossing -4x straight 7880 Straight and Crossroads packs (x3) -3x straight roads -3x cross roads Notable buildings: Tower Bridge Fire Brigade Grand Emporium City House 8403 City Corner 7641 Bank and Transfer 3661 Intercoastal Seaport 6541 + 5 more port plates Edited November 8, 2011 by eliminator Quote
kyphur Posted November 8, 2011 Posted November 8, 2011 (edited) I don't know, a layout is kind of a personal thing to have someone else design for you isn't it? I mean you need to decide what you want in it, not "What do I have" and work from there. I'ts taken me a while to get mine started (I've only been into LEGO Trains since April) but when I listed everything I really wanted on the layout it became obvious that I would need a massive space. That's how I ended-up with 15 29 1/2 x 72 inch banquet tables lined-up asymmetrically in my basement. Here is my Layout Thread Things that I knew I must have: - a Wye - a Turntable - a Locomotive Yard - a Locomotive Maintenance Facility - a Switching Yard - a Cargo/Freight Yard with a dock - a Line connecting the Yards together - a Tunnel - a Bridge - a "Cross Country Line" the could run long distance trains without touching the "Local" Lines - a Town - a Local Freight Line around the town - a Local Passenger Line around the town - a Commuter Line (doesn't leave the town) - if possible I want the Passenger line to have a Station/Stop near the Yards. Edited November 8, 2011 by kyphur Quote
WesternOutlaw Posted November 9, 2011 Posted November 9, 2011 You might consider downloading a copy of Track Designer. I find it a very useful program for creating layouts. Quote
LegoSjaak Posted November 9, 2011 Posted November 9, 2011 Hi Eliminator, you should just start with a layout.... keep changing and shuffeling untill it looks good to you... Decide to make a large, spacy layout or a busy compact city... For me it is a process of adding and changing thing in the layout... Sometimes it takes a little bit longer and somtimes everything fits in place and you'll make great progress!! Succes.... And maybe you'll get inspired by a full HD video of my own layout...it is a busy one.. 8 square meters.... Greetz, LegoSjaak Quote
Andy Glascott Posted November 9, 2011 Posted November 9, 2011 Is a layout ever finished....? My current one took about 8 weeks of focussed building to get it to a stage where I could run trains, but I'm still tweaking it and adding bits and pieces. I've recently moved the footbridge round the corner, added lights to the signals at one end of the top (9v) level. There's more I'd like to do... I agree with the comments about deciding what you want in the layout first and taking it from there. I wanted to be able to run as many trains as possible at the same time, so went for multiple loops (as large as I could manage in the limited space I have) and as most of my trains are currently passenger trains a large feature station that can hold the six passenger trains at the same time and the freight train can pass on the outermost loop. Andy Quote
TaltosVT Posted November 9, 2011 Posted November 9, 2011 So, I've been going nuts buying train sets lately and need some help designing my layout. I know there must be some people out there that mess around with BlueBrick alot and have way more talent designing a layout then me. Here's a quick idea that I put together this morning. It's just a simple loop with a couple of sidings. I used the flex-track for the harbor siding. This would give you three main areas for scenery: a railyard, the town, and a port. I also added in a few ideas for smaller scenes like the waterfront park and wooded area. -Elroy Quote
harnbak Posted November 9, 2011 Posted November 9, 2011 (edited) Here's a quick idea that I put together this morning. It's just a simple loop with a couple of sidings. I used the flex-track for the harbor siding. This would give you three main areas for scenery: a railyard, the town, and a port. I also added in a few ideas for smaller scenes like the waterfront park and wooded area. -Elroy I like TaltosVTs suggestion with the different areas! Could you get some more switches? Making an extra loop enabling two trains to run simultaneously enhances the wow-effect! If possible, additional elevation of the extra loop would crown it all! But you could keep this in mind for the next iteration. Edited November 9, 2011 by harnbak Quote
eliminator Posted November 10, 2011 Author Posted November 10, 2011 Here's a quick idea that I put together this morning. It's just a simple loop with a couple of sidings. I used the flex-track for the harbor siding. This would give you three main areas for scenery: a railyard, the town, and a port. I also added in a few ideas for smaller scenes like the waterfront park and wooded area. -Elroy Thanx for the input, I've been playing around with BlueBrick abit this evening and trying alot of different things... Well, here's my first attempt with BlueBrick. I tried laying the tables in an "L" shape to see what I could come up with. Using an "L" shape with narrow tables really limits things. I think I will go with the tables arranged like a square and buy more track and switches so I can have multiple trains running at the same time. Nonetheless, here's my thoughts; -Basically this layout is divided into two main areas, downtown and industrial/port -Downtown table is pretty narrow and not alot of room for expansion, but I can at least get a run of 3-4 modular building and some small structures like the pizza shop and such -Industrial/port table is abit more interesting. The run of big red squares is actually the Tower Bridge. Basically I'm using the tower bridge as a walk-on ferry terminal. I'll use something like the creator ferry/hovercraft to dock at the end for minifigs to disembark -The bottom of the table has the raised port baseplates, so ships can dock and unload. I have a few cranes I can add. The right side is the train-yard and cargo transfer point. Back to the drawing boards..... Quote
eliminator Posted November 10, 2011 Author Posted November 10, 2011 I like this one, simple and effective. Dont think I have enough space for it though..... Quote
TaltosVT Posted November 10, 2011 Posted November 10, 2011 I tried laying the tables in an "L" shape to see what I could come up with. The L-shaped layout looks good. My layout from a couple of years ago (Flickr Link) started out as a smaller L-shape, then grew over the span of a couple of years. Another idea, if you have space and don't need to run in a loop, would be a point-to-point shelf layout along a wall. My layout was a point-to-point for over a year until I added the diagonal bridge to tie my tables together. -Elroy Quote
eliminator Posted November 10, 2011 Author Posted November 10, 2011 Another unpolished layout for the night. This one isn't too bad IMO. I'm still trying to get a cargo port theme happening as well as somehow integrating the Tower Bridge. This layout doesn't use any of my 32 pieces of flex track!! Quote
Chromeknight Posted November 14, 2011 Posted November 14, 2011 (edited) I like this one, simple and effective. Dont think I have enough space for it though..... You'd be surprised. A quick mockup in track draw show that an equivalent layout in l-gauge is 80"x40" (6'8" by 3'4") It's actually smaller than the O-Gauge inspiration! See picture here... loopback by ChromeKnight, on Flickr Edited November 14, 2011 by Chromeknight Quote
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