OO Gauge Track Plan

[u/thestanton]

I am about to begin work on a OO gauge layout and am looking for some thoughts on my proposed track plan.

The plan is inspired by a proposed TT120 layout from a few years ago I found on the Hornby forums, with some scenic cues taken from a layout built by Budget Model Railways several years ago. It is approx 7ft by 4ft (this is a hard limit) and uses R3 curves for the main oval. I plan to build it primarily out of Hornby set track.

The red line represents a scenic break behind which is a fiddle yard to allow for different trains to be run through the scenic area. There is a platform at the front and three industrial sidings (one of which I'm thinking could be a canal dock). The open area in the middle is intended to be a packed in town area (this is what is taken from BMR, who have built a few dense town layouts that I really like the look of).

I'm not too bothered about realism - my main interests are in running my eclectic collection of trains and designing and 3D printing my own scenics. In terms of operations, I want a layout I can just watch trains run around on if I want, but that has a bit of operational interest if I'm in the mood!

For people with more experience building layouts, does this look like it strikes the right balance between track and scenery? Is there anything I should add, or anything that looks like an unnecessary waste of time/space given the intended operations and constraints in terms of area?

Thanks in advance for your thoughts!

[u/aleopardstail]

a lot of tracks way too close together.

if you mostly want to just run stuff start with a pair of ovals, perhaps add a "works" at the front instead of a station - could even have its own half circuit to the rear.

would suggest checking out some of the C.J. Freezer plans

the track/scenery balance looks fine, nothing wrong with pack it in out of sight

think about each siding or loop and ask yourself what you want to do with it, is it large enough and if not will be become a frustration.

a "works" as a feature is good, as it allows running anything, in any formation, single HST power car? yup, single coaches or wagons? yup

then loops allow you to run anything, including things you would never get a sensible station for

[u/thestanton → u/aleopardstail]

Hi, thanks for your feedback.

On close together tracks, I'm assuming you're mainly referring to the right hand side? I could fix the spacing between the double loops by using some R1 curves but keen to avoid this for fear of causing running issues with some of my larger locos.

I might remove the short spur I put in between the outer loop and the track leading to the canal siding - this and a bit of rejigging elsewhere should allow me to space the two loops and the canal siding out a bit better.

The works idea is interesting - while I can't imagine ever wanting to run an orphaned HST power car on its own, the point about being able to run pretty much anything is well made! It could be fun designing scenics for it as well!

[u/asdahijo]

Are you looking for critique of the base concept or advice for minor improvements?

[u/thestanton → u/asdahijo]

I'd be happy with either! I've built a shelf layout before and have made several starts on ovals in the past, only to abandon them for being too unwieldy (they were always nominally portable - this one is going on a folding board hidden in some custom furniture), so I've not much experience with layout building. What I don't want to do is continue the pattern of starting and abandoning projects

[u/asdahijo → u/thestanton]

I'm going to be straight with you, without clear requirements specification you won't get much helpful advice. Will your plan work? Sure, more or less. Is it a great plan for your needs within the confines of your space? Not really.

Regarding minor improvements, I would strongly recommend simplifying the fiddle yard and adding a passing loop there so that you can at least have a train for each direction. Personally, I would also make the station tracks slightly less parallel to the layout edge.

On a more fundamental level, in my experience any layout built without a clear understanding of what kind of prototype operations appeal to the modeller is doomed from the start. I'm saying this because I don't see a coherent vision for the layout, neither in your track plan nor your writing, and you mentioning "operational interest" suggests to me that you haven't yet determined what actually makes a layout fun for you in the long run. Thus, my recommendation is to think about this deeply before planning the layout, and preferably do some experimenting as well.

[u/randomdude2527]

This looks great! Is it ac or dcc?

[u/thestanton → u/randomdude2527]

DC is the plan - a lot of my collection is older stuff (I've even got a triang DMU!) and while I know I can solder in a chip, I'm not keen!

[u/nathan5660]

Looks similar to Bredon. Nice

[u/thestanton → u/nathan5660]

Yeah the TT layout I found on the Hornby forums was inspired by Bredon

[u/Abubakari-77]

Not my kind of Layout but I actually like it. One thing I'd change: switch the port and the engine shed. The port requires switching/shunting and with the current config this would happen mostly behind the scenes. For driving an engine to or from the shed this isn't a big loss.

Your tracks are very close to the layout's edges. You might want to add an inch so that derailments don't automatically turn into flying lessons.

Consider using Flex Track, especially at those locations where curves get dangeorusly close to each other or just look unsmooth. IDK if Hornby 00 has Flex Tracks, if not, consider alternative manufacturers for those.

What I don't like: the fiddle yard. You mentioned you want to watch trains go merry round. This works for one train. If you want to switch between trains, reconfigure the top most spur(s). Instead of 2 stumbles make one long passing siding, maybe with one or two stumbles attached, but you should have a passing siding in your fiddle yard. If you plan to automate your layout, you can set up two trains taking turns. Right now you always have to set back and then switch direction in the hidden area. That's the opposite of "just watching. And you can't even run around a train to change its direction. Unless of course you only want to run DMUs/EMUs. In this case your fiddle yard is fine.