10 X 11 Foot room Layout Ideas

I am building a 10 x 10.

It will be different......Around the room.

I am viewing each of the four directions as a panarama. Mountains will go over the four curves.

I grew up in northern new jersey. We had industry and alleys, if you know what I mean. Pennsy was the road, although there was a nice assortment of the other coal haulers.

So, the design will be a major passeger station. 4 tracks, plus two tracks for services (Post office, REA, Commisary) GG1's power all those tuscan and black varnish. Big power generator and substation. (COAL) Catenary. Areas with fill and overpasses like Penn mainline Ny- New Brunswick.

Tracks come from under hill, stop at station, leave through other underhill. CITY on top of flattened hills. Main work of railroad is getting trains made up and broken down. (Penn Station in NY handled trains through four tunnels at one per 36 SECONDS during rushour (Trains Jan 1941) One additional loop for through freight, but sidings mainly store passenger cars behind false fronts.

Double track main around rest of layout allows 4-6 passenger trains to be enroute....Trains will be 4-8 cars. 3 cars can be at platform allowing

12 cars to be loaded. Station building is up on top of hill. Subway walkways provide entrance to train platforms. One line is added for through freight.

Freight Starts in lower level. K4 and A5s. Pull out 20 inch wide drawer(drawer is 6' long) with 8 tracks (no turnouts) for staging. Runs onto a loop and backs into the staging area. services heavy industry Coke plant, slaughterhouse, steel mill, and casting house. on opposite sides of the room. Runs hidden under passenger station. Risers to freight and passenger tracks on second level. Freight runs through here to losue up the passenger schedule. no locals, no shunting. This is pennsy mainlines, the conveyor. loop through city and third level. Cattle servicing pens, icing for through freight (and some servicing specials for passenger front end revenue). locals for sidings in city, coal for electric plant, and a loop around the 4 side. Perhaps a coalmine here....City sidings will have 3-4 industries on each. lots of shunting, local passenger up mountain, through trains with Bigger steam power.

Period 1943 Some war stuff, (troop trains for Fort Dix, war industry) lots of nostalgia....

The layout is going on portable tables 36 inches wide and will be light weight foam. 2" foam will be mounted to center sandwich of 1/4 inch plywood. These will be stacked with track running through or on top of like a hamster habitat.

Track is code 100 ( prototype for only this road, I believe) and code 70 or 75. Lots of fancy trackwork (double crossovers, slip switches, three-ways to conserve space. But non prototypical 18 inch radius in tunnels and snaptrack to gain space. Little of the curves will be visible.

Catenary, PRR signals, lots of big passenger cars, GG1's, K4s, what more could you want?

Well, plan what you want to do then make it look like that is what had to be done was the way I have read prototypical modeling.

But, then, do what you find is fun....

Jim Stewart

What scale and gauge? What era? What locale?

Where's the door? Does it open out or in? Are you willing to bridge it?

Do you want access to one or more windows? Where are they?

What kind of operations do you like?

Lots of room for scenery and structures or the greatest possible amount of track?

I'm not trying to be pedantic, but to show you that you're asking a question without sufficient data for an answer.

And also that you're asking a for a great deal of help.

Do a web search. Go to the library. Get some of the applicable Kalmbach books. Or hire someone to design your layout.

Iain Rice authored a book, put out by Kalmbach (ISBN 0-89024-416-2) called Small, Smart & Practical Track Plans. It has information on what to think about for a small layout, plus several track plans. You can use it as is, or as a point of inspiration for creating your own.

Good luck and let us know how it turns out.

Jeff Hensley Sugar Creek RR Greenfield,IN

Flyboy wrote: Looking for a good layout that would fit this room size. Would buid a Helix if needed for a two level idea. Please answer if have any ideas here.

------------------------------------------------ I agree with Jeff Hensley. "Small, Smart & Practical Track Plans" by Iian Rice offers a wealth of good ideas and plans.

Bill Bill's Railroad Empire N Scale Model Railroad: History of N Scale: Links to over 700 helpful sites:

Good Morning All,

Mr Rice has a second book out with slightly larger railroads that may also be of some help.

Bob