4 by 8

[RAM]

I have only seen a few 4 by 8 HO layouts that I liked.  I got a copy of 8 Great Track Plans for small spaces by Model Railroader magazine.  They sent this because I renewed my subscription.  Anyway I am sure that they are reprints of what has been in M.R.  The Loleta & Mad River.  The plans are for a point to point railroad. I would make a few changes. One major change would be to run across the river so you could have continuous running. 

[mhampton]

To allow for working space around the railroad of 24" on each side, a typical 4'x8' layout requires up to 8'x12' for access to all sides.  If you're willing to think a little differently and carve up the 4'x8' sheet of plywood, the Heart of Georgia (look up HOGRR in Yahoo! groups) offers an intriguing alternative that may take up a little less floor space.

[ebtnut]

The bottom line is that there isn't a whole lot of choices with a 4x8 in HO.  If you're brave, you can use 22" radius track for the outside curves, but that leaves you very little table edge.  The continuous run is going to have to be some form of oval (or nested ovals) or some kind of over-and-under arrangement.  The point-to-point layouts aim at doing some degree of operation on the layout, not just running in circles.  OTOH, the 4x8 is a good stepping stone to get your feet wet in the hobby.  It's not so big as to be overwhelming, and you can pass it on to your kids (or grandkids) if and when you move up to bigger, more sophisticated designs.

[rogertra]

4 x 8 feet.

Probably THE worst size for a model railroad, even if it is the most popular.

If placed in a corner, you can't reach half of it.

If centred on a wall, you still can't reach the back centre part of the 4 x 8.

If in the middle of the room, it takes up a minimum of 8 x 12 feet.

If you are going to place the 4 x 8 foot the centre of a room, why not just build a better model railroad around the outside wall of the room?

[OldTimer]

Great answers, guys.  You fellows RULE!  Moving to the edges opens up sooooo many more possibilities including being able to use much larger curve radii.  Then the trains look and run better.  And the track plan can be more linear. 
Old Timer

[orangeman]

I was going to do a 4 x 8 layout until the local train store recommended a 5 x 9 layout so as to accommodate a 22 degree curve, necessary for the longer passenger cars. They said to look for a used ping-pong table which is 5 x 9. Well I couldn't find a reasonably priced used ping-pong table so I built a 5 x 9 frame and used 3/8 plywood. Then I saw this shunt puzzle design and my space was ideal for the addition of the shunt puzzle(~ 2' x 7) to the main layout. I can run a switcher on the puzzle and a regular engine on the main line using Bachmann's DCC controller. Or I can isolate the puzzle and run it separately with another controller I got on ebay. Grand kids are having a blast with it!

[pipefitter]

Here's some examples of cutting and reassembling a 4X8 sheet to create a donut shaped layout thanks to Joe Satnik:

Look at reply #44
http://www.bachmanntrains.com/home-usa/board/index.php/topic,11785.30.html

Look at reply #47
http://www.bachmanntrains.com/home-usa/board/index.php/topic,11785.45.html

[ABC]

You meant 22" radius curve right, a 22 degree curve would be a section of curved track that makes up just over 6% of a 360 degree curve. It is one of those shorter lengths of curves, not the standard length for a given radius.

[ebtnut]

Some technical reference.  Railroad engineers measure curves in degrees of curvature.  What this means is the degree of angle created by a 100 foot long chord along the circle.  The broader the curve, the smaller the angle.  In railroad practice, a curve of more than about 10 degrees on a main line is considered sharp.  The formula for converting from degrees to radius is:

5730 divided by the degree of the curve. 

Therefore, a 10 degree curve would have a radius of 573 feet.  This equates to about an 80 inch radius in HO scale. 

[ABC]

Some technical reference.  Railroad engineers measure curves in degrees of curvature.  What this means is the degree of angle created by a 100 foot long chord along the circle.  The broader the curve, the smaller the angle.  In railroad practice, a curve of more than about 10 degrees on a main line is considered sharp.  The formula for converting from degrees to radius is:
5730 divided by the degree of the curve. 
Therefore, a 10 degree curve would have a radius of 573 feet.  This equates to about an 80 inch radius in HO scale. 

So going by the formula 5730/22=260.5 feet which is 36 inch radius in HO, are you sure you can fit that on your 5' by 9' layout. That'd put you at 72 inches across, which is 6 feet and you only got 5 feet to work with.

[ebtnut]

ABC:  I was pointing out how the real civil engineers work with curves.  Getting back to the original point, model railroad curves are always measured in terms of radius in inches, i.e., 22 inch radius, 18 inch radius, etc.   Typically, EZTrack or SnapTrack comes in 12 segments of curved track to make a full circle, meaning each piece is a 30 degree segment of the circle.  That is not the same as the degree of curvature done in the field.   Using the formula, a 22" curve (which scales to about 159 HO feet) would be equal to a 36 degree engineer's curve.

[ABC]

ebtnut: I'm aware of that, it is more than likely that orangeman intended to say 22" radius curves, which makes more sense than 22 degree curves (36" radius). I was just joking.

[Jim Banner]

Just to confuse the issue, the standard length for a 22" radius E-Z track curve is 22-1/2 degrees.  Thus each section is 6.25% of a full circle and 16 sections are required to make a complete circle.

Jim

[ABC]

Just to confuse the issue, the standard length for a 22" radius E-Z track curve is 22-1/2 degrees.  Thus each section is 6.25% of a full circle and 16 sections are required to make a complete circle.

Thanks, Jim, just what we needed more confusion.

[mikec069]

Well sine I don't have the ability or the space to build a 5x9 I purchased 3 30"x72" tables.  Two of which are together in the center of the room. So that's 60" across and accessible from both sides.  The third table is perpendicular to the others and up against the wall. so it gives me 60x(72+30=102) or 5x8.5. 
And by using bridges, girders, etc, I can separate the tables a little and get a little extra around the edges..

Just me .000000000002 cents worth.

MikeC069