HCD layout help

[davefoxx]

Cincinnati Kid,

This was my interpretation of the Carolina Central that I built several years ago.  I gave it away when I needed to move, and it still exists in a fellow a$$hat's basement.  Up front, as you hopefully can see at right in the following picture, I lengthened the passing siding and added a crossover in the middle to allow quick run-arounds.  I was able to run trains consisting of two locomotives and ten cars:


Here's the staging on the reverse side of the layout.  I added more capacity with some storage tracks in addition to the passing siding:


If you have room, the addition of a staging yard really makes this plan a lot more fun to operate:


Marty McGuirk did a great job designing the Carolina Central, especially considering he has made remarks that it was thrown together in about a month as a last minute MR project.  The changes I made really brought the plan to life for me.  I called my HCD layout the Virginia Central, and I learned a lot and had tons of fun with it.

Hope this helps,
DFF

[DKS]

Just to make it a little bit more interesting--

[davefoxx]

DKS,

Maybe you could dig up the Aberdeen & Rockfish HCD layout plan we came up with a few years ago?  I still really like that plan.  But for the development of the Seaboard Central evolving from a 3' x 5' plan to a HCD layout, I would have built that layout again.  That might help give Cincinnati Kid some other options and ideas as he develops his plan.

DFF

[ednadolski]

Just to make it a little bit more interesting--

David, if you could do something like that for a modern-day prototype, I'd be very tempted to give it a go!   

Ed

[DKS]

This one--the trapezoidoor (TM)?

[davefoxx]

That's it!  The parallelodoor.  Thanks.

[DKS]

David, if you could do something like that for a modern-day prototype, I'd be very tempted to give it a go!

What track planning feature(s) would distinguish it as modern-day?

[3DTrains]

What track planning feature(s) would distinguish it as modern-day?

Double track and abandoned industries. 

[DKS]

Double track and abandoned industries.

Funny, I might have said double track that's been singled...

[ednadolski]

What track planning feature(s) would distinguish it as modern-day?

Able to accommodate longer locos & rolling stock: longer turnouts, broadest possible curves (or scenic opportunities to disguise them), limited S-curves.   Yes, perhaps a double-track main, and the opportunity to connect to off-door staging (which you already have) for run-thru trains.

I'm not sure offhand what a good prototype would be.  Industries would have to be modest, as large would probably not work out very well.

I realize that's all a pretty tall order.   Perhaps it would help to add a second door...   

Ed

[Dave V]

On a 36" wide door, your curve radius will depend upon how close you want to get to the layout edge.  I would say a 16" radius curve is close to the upper limit whereby you still have a little scenery between the track and layout edge...  I used 15" for my outer curve.  There was enough room for scenery and safety.  16" might be better for the 89' stuff but it only gives you 2" from track center to layout edge...and that doesn't include any transition curves.

[DKS]

Perhaps it would help to add a second door...

Maybe instead of adding another door endwise, which would not help with curves, connect two narrow doors along their long sides, e.g. 20" doors side-by-side, for a 40 x 80 inch layout. Glue and screw a 1 x 6 splice plate along the joint on the underside to make a good solid assembly.

[davefoxx]

. . . or screw a 1" x 2" along the long edges of the door to push the width of the layout out to 37 1/2".  Add 1/4" Masonite as fascia, and you're almost at 38" width.  That should help with the scenery/safety factor.

DFF

[ednadolski]

Maybe instead of adding another door endwise, which would not help with curves, connect two narrow doors along their long sides, e.g. 20" doors side-by-side, for a 40 x 80 inch layout. Glue and screw a 1 x 6 splice plate along the joint on the underside to make a good solid assembly.

I think doing it in two halves (say with a double-sided backdrop down the middle) is an excellent idea, since once a single slab starts getting over about 36"x80", then the portability is reduced.

One could even do two 24"x96" sections.  It is possible to get HCDs that size (or even the 2" foam slabs), and the extra space would add a lot to the layout without all that much additional footprint.    I think tho that going any larger starts to lose the "small+achievable" appeal of the HCD approach.


Ed

[Lemosteam]

To expand on DKS's and the slpit backdrop idea, put two 36" piano hinges underneath two 20" slabs and you can fold and hang it from screw eyes  in the basement rafters (with the backdrop in between) using a toolblox clasp on the outer edge to keep it from unfolding.