Seaboard Central 2.0

[DKS]

DKS,

That looks great.  Alright, I'll admit it.  Your plan beats the tar out of my design.

But, I have been without a layout for sooooooooo long that I don't want to spend months building turnouts and hand-laying track just to get the loop running, let alone the rest of the trackage.  Remember, my wife and I have a three-month-old daughter, so my hobby time is now extremely limited.  I'll have to stick with code 55 on this layout, and you know how I feel about Atlas' curved turnouts.  Unless they redesign them, I'm not going there.

That said, I won't have much invested to pull up the A&R trackage and redo that in code 40 one day, which only requires building one #6 turnout at the furniture manufacturer's siding.  The layout could still be operational while the A&R is down.

Thanks so much,
DFF

P.S. I'll make you this one promise, though.  If you'll keep that plan available, I'll reconsider once we sell our townhome and buy the next house.  That's when I plan to start the layout.  Who knows?  By that time, I may change my mind, because your plan offers a lot.

Dave, honestly, I wasn't trying to "beat the tar" out of your plan; just trying to tweak it to get just a little bit more out of it. Here's essentially the same thing I did, but without curved switches.

[davefoxx]

DKS,

I was looking at your plan again today.  I'm really liking the last curved-turnout-free version.  I'm still weighing the loss of that small fourth yard track, though.  However, that could be easily resolved, because I may consider expanding this to a 36" x 80" HCD layout!  I'll have plenty of space for that at the next house, which by the way, folks, IS ONLY 26 DAYS AWAY!!!  Settlement is May 29th!  I'm gonna be a homeowner again!  Woo hoo!

Thanks,
DFF

[vt_railroad_guy]

Congrats DF!  It will be great to see you building again.

JDB

[davefoxx]

Tell me about it.  Thanks, JDB!

[eric220]

Congrats, Dave! Look forward to seeing this come together!

[DKS]

Dave, here it is with four yard tracks. It wasn't much effort to do because the plan was based on a 36-inch-wide door all along, so all you need to do is follow through with the right size door.



One nice thing about this version is that the enginehouse isn't crammed into the corner; it's got more room to breathe, not to mention it can be quite a bit longer.

Give the word, and I'll spin off a 1:1 plan when you're ready for it.

[Bsklarski]

Dave, here it is with four yard tracks. It wasn't much effort to do because the plan was based on a 36-inch-wide door all along, so all you need to do is follow through with the right size door.

Can anyone convert this to Unitrack?Id love to toss something like this together while I make the bigger one

[DKS]

Can anyone convert this to Unitrack?Id love to toss something like this together while I make the bigger one

How's this?

[Bsklarski]

Thank you DKS, this looks interesting. Not sure if I will put in all the sidings, but it looks like something I can bang out in a few months. Do you happen to recall the details of the kitty hawk central? Im wondering if I should go even smaller, and just use 4 axle power and smaller cars. It would look good fit in the New Haven era of the 1950s

[DKS]

Do you happen to recall the details of the kitty hawk central?

The plan in the upper left of this image?



I tinkered with it a little, but Unitrack doesn't have enough variety to pull it off. So I just made something up with vaguely the same flavor--



It measures 54 by 30.

[Bsklarski]

Thank you for posting the plan. Yes, it is the one in the upper left. I remember that issue from when I was young.

I have a pile of code 80 atlas flex track also that i can use to make a small layout. Just need to go pick up some of the switches, good thing they are cheap. Of course this would someday be tied into the main layout, and that is code 55. Then again I can also let the kids have it to play with too when I am far enough along with the main layout.

[bc6]

Thats a really nice plan, I think that there may be a Seaboard Central in my future

[davefoxx]

Well, approximately ten days from today, I should be able to measure up the space in the new layout room.  I'll be dealing with an unfinished (but dry) portion of the basement.  The only challenge will be a hot water heater that the seller installed within the last year.  I wish it wasn't in the layout room, but it's in a spot that I will work around it.  If it weren't new, I would consider replacing it with a tankless hot water heater, which would allow me to move it.  But, since it's new, I'm not going to touch it for now.

So, the fun part is the clean slate.  For many years, I have dreamed of an RF&P layout, which allows me to run all sorts of run-throughs depending on the era I choose (ACL, SAL, SCL, SBD, B&O, CR) with an additional interchange with the C&O.  The challenge is doing this justice, and it really is only a double track racetrack with few online industries (i.e., minimal ops potential).  I do love running long mixed freight trains, passenger trains, and piggyback trains, though, which is what the RF&P principally ran.  I have collected a lot over the years that fit this plan, but now I also have the option to start with something else.

O scale is cool, and I have watched what Bernie Kempinski has done.  Incredible.  Even HO would allow sound that just isn't possible in N scale at this time.  Either of these scales would require significantly scaled back trackplans (due to space constraints), but that is truly more in line with what I am capable of doing.  I could never build the complex and massive layouts like Lee and seusscaboose have done.  Their layouts are so much fun to operate, but I would spend a lifetime even getting close to what they have done in many less years.  A simplified plan may be more plausible for me.

I am still seriously considering building the Seaboard Central on a HCD, which would allow me to use my N scale SBD, SOU, and A&R equipment.  That would be the placeholder until I finish the layout room and figure out and design the next layout.  Whatever I choose must be the last waffling; this layout is going to be around for years.  This is going to be fun!

DFF

[davefoxx]

Yay!  We're in the new home!  The train room is clean and dry, but unfinished.  I may add another humidifier (or replace my existing humidifier with a larger unit) to lower the humidity in the basement.  I think we're down to about 55-60% humidity, but my humidifier has been running for two days.

Anyhow, the RF&P ran its first train in the new room.  As you can see, we're running twenty-car freight trains already.    Seriously, it feels really good to finally have a space for my trains again.  After a few years with no permanent home for my trains, now I don't have to put them away when I'm finished "playing."



Sorry about the poor quality image from my cell phone, but I don't have the slightest idea where my camera and tripod are.  We have stuff all over the house, and I expect it to take several more days to just set up the basics, let alone find a home and organize everything.  Cyn and I slept on our mattress and box springs on the floor the first two nights, because I couldn't get to the bed frame.  Thankfully, we finally were able to set up most of our room last night.  Oh, and we finally found our silverware last night, so we can eat again.   

When I get the time, I'll get measurements and better pictures of the new railroad space.  I actually do know where my tape measure is.  However, it's going to be a long time before a layout will be operational.  I have a lot to do, and that's not just finishing off the layout room.  I'm off now to set up Tyler's room, and the new washer and dryer are due here any minute.

DFF

[Philip H]

Congrats friend!  Its always a huge weight off the old shoulders when you finally get there.  While we are willing to grant an extesnion on the time frame for measuring and photographing the basement, please be aware tha the A$$HAT Committee on Layout design, Frog Gigging, and Vitamin Y testing has a submission in it's in-box from Sizemore - and he managed to measure it before he bought it.  We hereby deduct 173 points from your House Total for this serious omission.