Layout Design and Track Plan

Using the AutoCAD drawing programme, i have drawn my attic to scale, showing the full area i have to build my layout in.  As i was wanting to see if i could fit a football stadium in, i thought this was a good idea.  So once i had a plan of the stadium drawing up i worked out the best place for it to go, then designed the track plan around it.

 

I have a display shelf that sits about 400mm above my baseboard height.  I used to keep war gaming models there, but i sold them all off, to buy more N Scale stuff, so the shelf was going to be coming down, but i have decided to give it a new lease of life, as my fiddle yard or sidings.

 

 

 

The track layout will be one massive loop, the track will be a double line running through the scenic sections and at each end there will be a loop.  The plan is to have the trains run over the layout on one side of the track and return on the other.  This will give the train the impression of going somewhere then coming back, (an idea i must say i have taken from a Club Layout, Ausfarht Sud - designed by John Bowman (http://www.thistle-modelmakers.com/ausfarht%20sud.htm)).   And it will also allow me to have trains running and not worry about them,  I am not planning to chip all my locos to run DCC just now, but that will be the plan once i have the money for all the chips.  In the workshop area i am planning to have a Helix to take the track from the baseboard level to the yard level. The yard will have a loop around the outside with the sidings off points in the middle.   The other loop will be under the Helix.

 

 

 

This will limit me to just a few loco's running at the same time as they will all be on the same piece of track, but i am happy with this, as i have said before there is not much scoop for shunting or switching.  I prefer to just see trains running, i will put a siding in the Industrial area and in the station.

The double shelf will loose a level and become my fiddle yard/Siding.

____________________________________________________________________________

I have picked up two buildings from eBay and Plazajapan.

The first is this multi story car park, which i am going to place near the football stadium for parking, I have 3 bags of N gauge cars with around 100 cars in each, so i will be filling this with cars, lights and fans.  The kit was £35 with £10 postage form Japan.

Aoshima Parking Garage in Blue W 213mm x D 226mm x H 141mm

The Second building is an Industrial Plant Factory, i am planning to have an area of the layout turned over to Industry.  So i have a reason to run the Freight i have bought.  There are a lot of nice industrial buildings by greenmax, So this area will have a mixture of different plants and factory's, with lots of pipe work.  This Kits was £15.00 and the postage was combined with the car park for a total of £16.  So i got everything for about £76 which i was very happy with.

 

 Plant Factory - Greenmax No.2144 (1/150 N scale)