model railways,

[V40Vinnie]

looking to build a railway set up and am thinking maybe 6x4 would be a sensible size. does anyone have any tips? it also has to be easy to pack

[AppleJuice]

Thread resurrection.

A 6x4 baseboard would give you a decent twin (or triple you prefer) track oval layout with space in the middle for marshalling sidings. This might help and give inspiration:



The outer oval with R609 curves will fit within the 6x4 constraints of the board.

Code help:
CURVES
R604 1st radius curve - half the size of R605 below
R605 1st radius curve (0-4-0, 0-4-2, possibly 0-4-4T, 0-6-0 (with flangeless (stop sniggering at the back) middle wheels), 4-2-2, 4-4-0 and 4-4-2 locomotives)
R607 2nd radius curve (as above, plus: 2-6-2T, 2-6-4T, 4-6-0 and 4-6-2 (flangeless 'Cartazzi' rear axle) locomotives)
R609 3rd radius curve (as above, plus: 0-8-0, 2-10-0 locomotives)
R628 'Y'-point curve - for use with R8076 'Y'-point below
R643 'Half Curve' 2nd radius - quarter the size of R607 above

STRAIGHTS
R600 168 mm | 'Standard Straight'
R601 335 mm | 'Double Straight'
R610 38 mm | 'Short Straight'
R620 168 mm | 'Railer / Uncoupler' - useful for uncoupling (I find it useless for ensuring that wheels on the track correctly ('railing'))
R8206 168 mm | 'Power Track' - analogue only - you can use any old straight (pretty much) as Power Track if you use a R602 Power Clip and a R965 Controller
R8241 168 mm | 'Digital Power Track' - digital (DCC) only
ST202 | not in production - could be replaced with R610 'Short Straight' above
You could replace two R601 'Double Straights' with one R603 'Long Straight' if you wish | 670 mm

POINTS
R8072 168 mm | 1st radius 'Left Hand Point'
R8073 168 mm | 1st radius 'Right Hand Point'
R8076 'Y'-point

Depending on the locomotives you run, these might be useful (and save precious time re-railing):
R8074 'Left Hand Curved Point' - for use with R8075 'Right Hand Curved Point' below
R8075 'Right Hand Curved Point'
R8077 245 mm | 'Left Hand Express Point' - gentler point for locomotives with higher driving wheel counts
R8078 245 mm | 'Right Hand Express Point'

DIAMOND CROSSINGS
If you want trains to cross the track next to line they're currently on without faffing with multitudes of points, consider these:
R614 168 mm x 181 mm | 'Left Hand Diamond Crossing'
R615 168 mm x 181 mm | 'Right Hand Diamond Crossing'
Then there are Single and Double Slip Points, which combine points and diamond crossings - much fun! (more expensive though)

Enjoy yourself OP!

Edited by AppleJuice on Friday 24th November 13:30

[W124Bob]

I'd be tempted to loose the inner most oval, the top double crossovers and siding fit exactly the same and on the bottom it's just a matter of moving the cross over to the left. Think about what sort of trains your going to run. Big modern stuff and large steamers will run on the inner most track but wont look to good. It also gives you a touch more room for the odd building and road (will children be involved at all?) Stretch to an extra foot or 2 in length and it would give mor room for couple of platforms , add a point in any one of the corners for a future branchline extension.

Edited by W124Bob on Wednesday 29th November 22:01

[Yertis]

Out of interest is the geometry of this modern track the same as Super 4?

[98elise]

I have a 009 gauge train and track that I really must get round to building a layout for.

009 is N gauge track running OO size narrow gauge trains.