HCDwhile room sized layout planning?

[645diesel]

i'm planning on building a layout in a 10x13 space in my basement.  i haven't had a layout in nearly a decade, i had a folded dog bone in roughly 8x12.  with other projects drawing to a close, i'm itching to run some trains but a realistic time frame for the first wheel to turn on the large layout is easily 6 months out.  an HCD would be practice, i can use it as a test bed for some techiques and electronics i'd like to explore.  i have plenty of material on hand - including the HCD! i was thinking of making it a standalone town, Cobleskill, NY.  there are several bulk car customers (grain, coal), a freight house, and a team track.  will it cause me to push the large layout down the road?  where do i put when i'm ready to build the large layout?  won't i just be wasting precious code 55?   talk me out of this 

[nkalanaga]

Build it so that it can be used as part of the larger layout!  One way, if you want a loop on the HCD, would be to design it so that one end goes against the big layout, making a peninsula.  When it's time to connect it, remove the curve on that end, connect the remaining track to the layout, and you have a ready-made town, industrial area, or whatever you've modeled.

The big drawback would be if you want larger curves than will fit on the door, as the remaining end curve will still be there.  If you model it as a branch, or industrial tracks, that might not be such an issue.

[MVW]

Build it so that it can be used as part of the larger layout!  One way, if you want a loop on the HCD, would be to design it so that one end goes against the big layout, making a peninsula.  When it's time to connect it, remove the curve on that end, connect the remaining track to the layout, and you have a ready-made town, industrial area, or whatever you've modeled.

The big drawback would be if you want larger curves than will fit on the door, as the remaining end curve will still be there.  If you model it as a branch, or industrial tracks, that might not be such an issue.

That's the approach I took (for the most part). Build something that can be incorporated into the larger layout. In addition to not wasting time/materials on a "disposable" section, it gives you something you can scale back to if a move becomes imminent. (This is the first layout I've taken to any serious level of completion, so don't fall into thinking your initial efforts may not be worth keeping.)

I have a peninsula comprised of an HCD and a slightly larger-than-HCD-sized table (it's slightly tear-dropped, to allow a 15"-radius on the turnback). On the other end of the peninsula is a small table built to fit my current space. If (when) we move, I can either create a different third table to fit the new space, or scale back by altering the layout into a 2-HCD roundy-round.

Jim

[Ed Kapuscinski]

I disagree with the idea of making it have to fit into a future layout.

https://conrail1285.com/its-a-door-not-a-domino/

I struggled with this many years ago and it kept me from JFRTM. Don't fall into the same trap!

[Dave V]

I disagree with the idea of making it have to fit into a future layout.

https://conrail1285.com/its-a-door-not-a-domino/

I struggled with this many years ago and it kept me from JFRTM. Don't fall into the same trap!

Ed speaketh the truth.

You can read my 100+ page thread about my old PRR N scale Juniata Division HCD layout where I kept trying to incorporate the original door into a new, larger layout.  The problem?  The HCD forces certain design constraints--the biggest being minimum radius--that will haunt any future layout.  The other bit is that most HCDs are self-contained little loops that don't integrate well into an operating scheme unless you rip open one end of the loop and turn the HCD into a peninsula.

Consider building your HCD with telescoping legs (like I did on the Juniata Division) so it can be lowered and kept underneath the benchwork of the bigger layout someday.

[Point353]

Do have any space upstairs from the basement, such as in a spare bedroom, where the HCD layout could be set up after you finish it and are ready to move on to building the larger layout?

[645diesel]

I struggled with this many years ago and it kept me from JFRTM. Don't fall into the same trap!

truth be told... i have an N-Trak module that has some industries and a set of crossovers from blue to the yellow making a run around track.   maybe to scratch the itch i add a wing to each end, test out some JMRI , car cards, and then i can JFRTM.  the mice were pretty brutal to the scenery, they ate huge sections the plaster and ground foam, so that will give me some scenery practice. 

maybe that's the "smart" play here so i can maintain my focus on the prize. 

[Englewood]

I built two 2x4 modules while I was waiting for space to build a room sized layout. They include the roundhouse and the lead tracks for the yard, the most complicated part of the layout. Now, when the space becomes available, I'll have that part of the layout already built.

[645diesel]

Do have any space upstairs from the basement, such as in a spare bedroom, where the HCD layout could be set up after you finish it and are ready to move on to building the larger layout?

while space is at a premium, i could manage a 30"x80" area in the dining room... it's not like anyone is coming over for dinner any time soon.

[CRL]

It’s a good sales tool to convince your wife, or yourself, that any HCD layout or module(s) you build can be incorporated into a future home layout, but it rarely works out that way. The best thing you can incorporate into a home layout from HCD or module construction is the experience you gain in the process. Maybe a few structures could be included.

One of things that isn’t mentioned much in discussing long term home layout projects is the effect the learning curve has on the layout, especially in the areas of track work & scenery. The early part of the layout can look & run worse than the part constructed later in the learning curve, sometimes necessitating a rebuild of the early section to make it “match”. It’s the old “what idiot built this” problem.

[Ed Kapuscinski]

One of things that isn’t mentioned much in discussing long term home layout projects is the effect the learning curve has on the layout, especially in the areas of track work & scenery. The early part of the layout can look & run worse than the part constructed later in the learning curve, sometimes necessitating a rebuild of the early section to make it “match”. It’s the old “what idiot built this” problem.

Man, that is some fantastic wisdom right there.

It's why I recommend following a progression to "the big one".

I've seen lots of grand plans fall flat because the builder gets to a certain phase, struggles, and says "f it".

[645diesel]

One of things that isn’t mentioned much in discussing long term home layout projects is the effect the learning curve has on the layout, especially in the areas of track work & scenery. The early part of the layout can look & run worse than the part constructed later in the learning curve, sometimes necessitating a rebuild of the early section to make it “match”. It’s the old “what idiot built this” problem.

this would be a PRO of building a HCD, getting some experience, avoiding the trail and error on the big layout... the CON would be the time and material investment as well has having the artifact.  i would not populate the HCD with anything more than trackwork, cardcstock mockups and only dabble with some scenery as a way to practice some skills.  there is merit in it, but i don't need a HCD to practice, dioramas are a thing. 

i'm not fooling anyone here, the goal is decreasing the time between now and when it is possible to JFRTM.  the layout room is serving a purpose and that requires relocating that to another room which requires more shuffling of things... and then i need to move the door to the furnace room over 3 feet (required to allow service techs access to renovate the furnace system even if i was not re-purposing the space).

[645diesel]

this is roughly what i'm working toward... not sure if it is the best use of the space, but it seems like a decent plan so far...

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[JMaurer1]

I am planning on a HCD where the loop is the return for the rest of the layout (the only thing 'further' is a yard that ends in a car float ramp).

[nickelplate759]

this is roughly what i'm working toward... not sure if it is the best use of the space, but it seems like a decent plan so far...

Looks promising.  What's your solution for access to the interior of the layout?