s it turns out, designing a model railroad trackplan is a great deal more difficult than it seems at first. Once you have a concept, turning it into a working design would be easy, one would think. And one would be very very wrong, as I was.

I highly recommend getting some model railroad cad software early on the process. It makes revisions a lot less painful, and easier to do. I personally use XTrkCad, but regardless of which software package you use, I really do recommend getting one.

Specifications
Scale: HO (1:87.1)
Size: 6' x 15'
Prototype: Freelanced, based on the RF&P
Period: 1963
Locale: Roanoke, VA
Layout Style: Shelf
Layout Height: 54"
Benchwork: 1 x 4 framing, cantilever to the wall.
Roadbed: Cork
Track: Atlas Code 100 Flex
Minimum Turnout: Atlas #4
Minimum Radius: 22"
Max Grade: 0%
Control: Dual Cab

The Plan (click here to view - opens in new window, 674kb, .jpg)

Compared to my original plan (see below), the plan I am actually building is probably a thousand times better, just in terms of operation. It meets all of the concepts I wanted for my railroad, especially the functional part. Switching operations in the yard don't foul the mainline. Arriving and departing trains don't interfere with yard classification work. And I have more industries than the previous plan allowed for, in the same amount of space, meaning I get more bang for my operating buck. It allows me to have twin staging tracks, and to actually hold more rolling stock than the old plan as well.

The Original Plan (click here to view - opens in new window, 221kb, .jpg)

My original track plan was designed on paper, using a plastic template made for HO scale. Unfortunately it suffered a wide number of design flaws that, as I learned how to recognize them, I reealized would have made me very frustrated with the layout, especially since the layout is so small. I cannot stress enough how important good design is in building a yard.