Layout ideas for 1.8 x 0.9m area

[MrLinderman]

So I've been tinkering with anyrail the last few weeks.

 

Have a very basic and somewhat plain idea going so far, all using unitrack and simple curves, but I'm working it make it a little more "exciting" 

 

Theme is obviously a busy city scape, below are some shots of the initial idea, will post as the plan progresses into something a bit more fluid.

 

Complete overview

Lower Tracks

Unitram

upper track

[bill937ca]

Well, number one it is very big and very busy for a small table.  Lots to buy and lots to set up. It might be a good idea to do this in stages. Run some trains and see if the plans actually works in the flesh.

 

Sometimes the plan on paper ends up differing from reality. On the lower level the outer loop is touching the ends of the Unitram.  Will it be that forgiving when assembled?

 

You show the upper level directly over the lower level and right at the table edge. Where are you going to place the upper level support pillars?

 

You're plan brings trains right up to the edges of the table which could lead to nasty spills if there is a derailment.

Edited yesterday at 06:04 AM by bill937ca

[cteno4]

Looks like a good start for your city layout. I agree with bill get some track and start playing before locking a design in, things can look very different in real track and buildings than in 3d cad when you also add in running the trains.

 

As bill notes you will have to come up with some custom support structures for some of the elevated rail, but with some playing around I’m sure you can figure out something.

 

Running on the edge is not super dangerous unless you go wild on the throttles. You can always put a small piece of removable plex along those areas like 20mm high to prevent any derailments from potentially going over the edge. But in 20 years of our club setups and layouts we have had track near the edge and never had a train go over from it (but not to say it’s not a possibility). I assume you plan to make some sort of viaduct track with walls for the upper level track and that will stop any cars from going over. We have had some spectacular Shinkansen derailments with trains running Shinkansen speeds on club setups and cars never go over the edge of the viaduct wall.

 

Do take a look at the other unitram layouts on the forum and get a loop to play with. I’ve found the bigger streets and sidewalks tend to make a small city block of buildings in the middle look pretty small. City scapes have this problem as when you scale things down and only do a small portion they tend to not give the same as 1:1 feel. So usually if folks want that heavy city feel they will make the streets and sidewalks a bit narrower than prototype so as to visually pack things in more. The unitram curves also take up a lot of space and make those big Ttrak intersections. It’s one of those odd things with our minds eye when you scale things down. Also we are looking at the model at a not usual 1:1 angle and from hundreds of feet pulled back and up some. Usually with city scapes we are inside them with them surrounding us or looking at them from way far back. Just good to play with some to see how you like it for the feel you are going for.

 

Just playing with track train and buildings is super valuable, especially when starting out in the hobby. It really gives you a feel for what works best to your eye and how you like to run trains. It’s a complex interplay so requires a lot of back and forth to get it just right for you.

 

Great start here! Looking forward to seeing it come alive.

 

cheers,

 

jeff

[tossedman]

Kato has layout plans here. Near the bottom of the page are some Unitram plans, the rest are all Unitrack. 

 

Todd

[MrLinderman]

I snapped up an E235 Yamanote line starter kit from amiami today, will play with that see how i feel with scale on my table and go from there, I appreciate the feedback and will take it all onboard.

 

Also want to learn dcc-ex and work with that in mind as im a fan of ardunios and coding so could be fun to look into.

 

I think your right in actually playing with the track and layout atleast on a single level will get me a much better understanding of how the track flows and trains move on certain designs. 

 

Can't wait to start.