First layout advice

[shed16]

I'm brand new but keen, so I thought i'd seek some advice before going in too deep.

Was going to start with a small N gauge layout as I think that's the right scale for the space I have assigned for the project and as much as I like the look of OO gauge i'd like to fit more on to keep me "engaged" on a small board.

I did some reading and feels like i should avoid 1st radius for a few reasons so was going to go with a 1250x700 so i can have a 2nd and 3rd radius loop and some space in the middle for a yard.

I had a play in SCARM and this what I came up with. I still need to have a think about the scene and era. I don't know if its a limitation of SCARM or if this genuinely wont work, but I can't make it join up after the curved turnout. This is based on the Peco Set Track Code 80.

Advice welcome on whether this is too ambitious as a starter project and how i resolve the layout issue.

Many thanks, I'm looking forward to learning

[Rog (RJ)]

Probably best to use flexi track to get the track to join up properly.

[508035]

Hi Shed16

Welcome to the forum, I completely agree with the flexi track suggestion, curved turnouts are great, they leave the straight track areas open for stations, level crossings etc but they are well known for throwing off track connections particularly where there is going to be more than 1 mainline track but also because lengths of flexi track can significantly reduce the number of connections made whoch further helps if there is a power issue to rectify.

Once again welcome and I look forward to reading more from you as you progress.

[Brian]

The plan looks feasible and should offer some good running sessions. I think I may have moved the siding entrance point to the right of the cross over pair, then you can come out of the sidings and over to the outer loop without having to go around the inner loop. Or replace the cross over pair with two curved points, as per the right-hand pair.
Just be sure you can reach the rear and ends of the track all around as you're bound to need to clean the rails and replace any derailed stock - It will always derail in the most inaccessible place!

[shed16]

Thanks for the feedback.

I originally tried having the turnout for the yard further round but then it makes each section much smaller and i was worried about trains being too long to fit, I have no idea how the length of each train will equate to the length of the yard without having stuff in my hand or knowing what i'm going to be running, so i thought i'd make them as long as possible.

As for moving the turnout to the curved section, that's an option, i had considered it but wanted to avoid the layout being too symmetrical.

BTW, it sounds like i'm being told to use flexible track wherever possible in place of set curves. I can see it saves on cost a little and reduces the number of joins, but are there not downsides of using curved track? I feel it would be more effort to get it all concentric.

[Walkingthedog]

I always use set curves where they will fit and flexi elsewhere.
When it comes to getting track to join up correctly and fit into a space, as far as I am concerned, you can’t beat actually laying the track on the board. Make a rough sketch of what you require then build it.
While you are faffing about on a PC you can get track down and run a train.
9 days from somebody taking away my OO stuff to running O gauge.
Just my view.

[cheshire lines]

I too used set curves at either end of my layout, but have used flexi in some places with gentler curves.

It may be just my skill level, but I've sometimes found it difficult to get consistent curves with flexi, particularly when trying to get tighter radius curves.
Another thing to bear in mind when using flexi for curves is that the inner rail will need to be shorter than the outer one, so you will need to cut the rail to the correct length.

[shed16]

I too used set curves at either end of my layout, but have used flexi in some places with gentler curves.

Can you complete a loop with curved turnouts without the use of Flexi if you use the same on each end and still get it all connected?

I think my issue is the use of ST-5 and ST-6 1st radius turnouts which is causing the wrong gap between 2nd and 3rd radius, I think i should be using ST-240 and ST-241 turnouts from 2nd radius to 3rd should i?

SCARM doesn't have these parts so tricky to see without buying a few packs and seeing what works I guess. No doubt not an issue once I have some track to play with for future layouts.

[shed16]

I always use set curves where they will fit and flexi elsewhere.
When it comes to getting track to join up correctly and fit into a space, as far as I am concerned, you can’t beat actually laying the track on the board. Make a rough sketch of what you require then build it.
While you are faffing about on a PC you can get track down and run a train.

I agree and would normally do this but this a project with my other half and she has limited funds so wants to save up and doesn't want me racing ahead, otherwise it'll become a me thing and not an us thing. This does mean progress will be slow, so I thought in the mean time i'd faff around on the computer and watch some youtube to start some learning.

[Walkingthedog]

Fair enough. Might be a good idea to get a few bits of flexi though to give you an idea of what’s what.