4x8 track plans

[jbrock27]

R123, re: the 15" radius curves-how many axles are the locos you run?  Scale length of cars?  The reason I ask is that the short stuff runs well and looks good on on 15" radius, but when you get up to 50ft cars and 6 axle locos, there may be some trouble a brew-in.

[jward]

jerry is right. 15r is only suitable for the very shortest locomotives and cars and even then, just barely. if you have 2 loops of track, at 18r and 22r, you have almost enough room to put a third track between the two. insert a couple of short 1 or 2 inch sections of track midway around the 22r end curves. then you can lay the center track using alternating 22r and 18r sections to make an approximately 20r curve. by doing so you'll eliminate the problems of 15r curves. without having to widen your layout for larger curves.

[Doneldon]

rookie-

Think twice or three times about adding a 15-inch radius oval inside of the existing one. Such tight, tight curves are only negotiable by the very smallest steam locomotives, four-wheel truck diesels, 40- or some 50-foot freight cars and shortie passenger equipment. The 18-inch curves are already very tight and you could wind up with trains sideswiping one another if they pass through the curves at the same time. I think you will experience a lot of frustration if you add this loop. It might work better to have a few spur tracks for industries or even a small yard inside of your loop.
                                                                                                                                                                             -- D

[rookie123]

Thanks very much for the recommendations. Let me consider them and i'll likely get back to you.

Happy New Year,
Rookie

[jbrock27]

Happy New Year to you and yours as well!

[rookie123]

So I plan to put all three trains on three oval tracks on a 4 x 8 piece of plywood and then build in different levels including tunnels and mountains. My 4.5 and 3.5 year old grandson like to have all the trains they can get. Based on what you all have shared I need to have the outside oval be made of 22 inch radius with maybe a 3 inch straight insert so i have a 47 inch oval curve. I would plan an inner oval made of 18 inch track so it would be 36 inch oval. What would I need to put an oval between the two? Based on what you suggest the 15 inch oval would be a problem.

Thanks for all the help,
Rookie

[Doneldon]

rook-

It's your railroad so you can do whatever you want. We're just trying to point out that most model railroaders find 15" curves to be too sharp for rewarding operation.

Perhaps you need to revisit what I think is your main premise, that you should have separate tracks which will allow you to run three trains simultaneously. You can certainly do that with three concentric circles or ovals but you and your children will tire of that much sooner than you perhaps understand. You can do that with 15" curves as long as you only put small locomotives and rolling stock on the innermost circle. But ask your self this question: If a series of independent, concentric tracks is desirable or interesting, why do so few model railroaders (almost zero) do that? The answer is that just watching trains go around and around quickly becomes boring so the hobbyist must either tear everything up and start over or just put the trains away and forget them.

Now I understand that you feel some pressure to get trains running for your children and, dare I speculate, yourself. So use some EZTrack to set up a couple of loops on the floor (I can't believe I actually suggested putting trains on the floor!) and have fun while you look into alternative possibilities. Heck, you can buy some inexpensive piers, or make your own for next to nothing, and have one track climb a grade and cross another track. Get some suitable boxes and make temporary tunnels. The little ones will love that. You can even buy a product called "tunnel paper" which you can apply to the boxes and make them look like an approximation of hills or mountains. Or get some cheap spray paint in camo colors at a home store and paint your own version of the great outdoors. The EZTrack will let you assemble and disassemble your layout as needed. That won't work at all well with non-roadbed track. Once you have congealed your permanent plans you can use the EZTrack as part of the final set-up.

No one here is trying to give you a hard time or discourage you. Quite the contrary, we are trying to help you have an experience with model railroading that you and your children will enjoy and possibly decide to pursue as time goes by. Welcome to the hobby.
                                                                                                                                                                                                -- D

[jward]

for your third loop, use these formulas:

180 degree turn, 22r-18r-22r-18r-22r-18r-22r-18r-22r

90 degree turn: 22r-18r- 1/2 18r-22r

[historymuseum2000]

Greetings all! New to the forum but have been involved with model RR'ing to some degree or another most of my life. I started out in the usual way with an HO scale loop set and grew from there. Eventually Pop and I had built the "Central Midland" from the classic Atlas layout book Six HO Railroads You Can Build. Anyhow time marches on and on a whim I got out my son's old Bachmann EZ track set that I had bought him for Xmas when he was 4 or 5 and set it up under our tree an my 11 year old daughter took an avid interest as well . That was all it took and I started looking for more permanent space and ideas in our house. 4x8 is the perfect size for the space I have available and this thread has been very informative on to the many possibilities I can go with there.

Anyhow enough of my life story! Just wanted to say I've found the thread very useful and it has been great to share with my daughter! Here is what I ended up with under our tree. Thanks all and Happy New Year!

Lee[/URL]][/img]

[rookie123]

Jeffery, thanks so much for this information on the formula. Starting with 3 oval loops for the grandkids but I know it's going to grow into something else by next Christmas.

Again thanks and Happy New Year,
Rookie

[show33]

Having fun experimenting with a 4 x 8 layout. Have tried a few different things...nothing that strikes me as being my permanent set up yet.

jward, do you have the track list for the verdant valley layout you posted on page 2 of this thread?

Have checked out a couple of the Atlas plans online...is the Atlas track similar in radius/length to EZ track? Would an Atlas plan translate to EZ track

Thanks

[jward]

here is the track list for the verdant valley:

Track
44501, H0 Bachmann E-Z Track 44501. Curve radius 18", angle 30º   11
44503, H0 Bachmann E-Z Track 44503. Curve radius 22", angle 22.5º   16
44511, H0 Bachmann E-Z Track 44511. Straight 9".   10
44512, H0 Bachmann E-Z Track 44512. Straight 3".   2
44513, H0 Bachmann E-Z Track 44513. Straight 2.25".   4
44514, H0 Bachmann E-Z Track 44514. Straight 4.5".   7
44561, H0 Bachmann E-Z Track 44561. Left turnout 9". radius 18"  (remote)   2
44562, H0 Bachmann E-Z Track 44562. Right turnout 9". radius 18"  (remote)   5
44591, H0 Bachmann E-Z Track 44591. Buffer/Bumper 2.75".   3
44592-2, H0 Bachmann E-Z Track 44592-2. Straight 1".   3
44592-3, H0 Bachmann E-Z Track 44592-3. Straight 1.25".   3
44592-5, H0 Bachmann E-Z Track 44592-5. Straight 2".   2


as for the atlas plans translating to ez track, most of the switches have a completely different geometry than atlas, making it impossible to build them without modification.

the atlas and ez track straights, all 18r curves, and the full 22r section are the same. the Bachmann 18r switch is similar to the atlas snap switch, except that the Bachmann has a 30 degree curved side, and the atlas 20 degrees. adding a 1/3 section of 18r to the atlas switch gets you a direct replacement to the ez track one, but most atlas plans use the 20 degree arc. all the numbered ez track switches take upf ar more room than their atlas equivalents.

[show33]

Awesome jward, thanks for the response

[Len]

Almost all of the plans in the Atlas "True-Track" plan book will work with EZ-Track.

And if you really want a second loop using 15" radius curves, consider using it for a trolley line. Most 4-wheel trolleys will operate down to 9" radius, so 15" radius curves are actually pretty broad for their use.

Len

[show33]

In the same vein as an earlier post regarding 18 and 22 degree curves, could you do an alternating 18 degree, 15 degree curve oval? Would that be small enough inside an 18 degree oval?