My Very Own N Scale Layout

Based on Some Novel Concepts

Before I start, nitpickers are requested to click here.

The layout represents a fictitious branch of DB, the German Federal Railway (Deutsche Bundesbahn), and is set in the spring of 1972. Why 1972? Because the DB roster for that year allows me to run all my favorite engines. As the layout construction progresses, and its operating possibilities evolve, I hope to be placing more info on it on these pages, including some photos. But allow me to describe the design process I followed. Hopefully, you will find some ideas that you can use also.

The design evolved over several months of working, drawing and re-drawing, and inventing new concepts as I went along. Let me start at the top.

What We All Want: A Huge Layout In Zero Space

I wanted a layout that will have three modes of operation, listed here in increasing degree of complexity:

The demonstration mode, which would allow me to run two or more trains continuously and simply sit and watch them.
The switching mode, to permit a light operation session, for those days when I don't have time for serious action. A train arrives at a station, picks a car up, spots another one at the freight station, and leaves. No schedules, no clocks.
The full operation mode, for a full timetable operation with multiple trains, short-haul passenger, long-haul passenger, and freight, all running betwen several stations. This mode would allow me to run trains based on one of several timetable scenarios (for variety).

These modes would feature several characteristics:

Long trains: Passenger trains of at least five 85' coaches, freight trains with "tons" of two-axle freight cars.
Long distances: I wanted to simulate at least the distance between stations, in terms of running times.
Unlimited expandability: I needed to find a way to add stations to the layout (and the timetables) with no limit. That way, the layout would never be done, and boredom would never set in.
Busy look: I wanted to model a double mainline, to simulate the busy European railway mainlines, with complicated trackwork and lots of catenary.

All that had to happen in N scale and in an extremely small space.

Keep On Dreaming!

With these thoughts in mind, I started to look for a solution. The idea of an around the walls, shelf-type layout seemed attractive, but I had no room. And then, I came across MR's Model Railroad Planning 1996 magazine. In it, on page 78, there was an article on small layouts. The author took an Atlas layout that features a double loop, and modified it to allow trains to enter from a yard, proceed around the loops, visiting no less than four stations along the way, and finally ending up in a city, stub-end station (terminus). Its operation depended on commuter trains coming in, stopping at stations, and arriving at the city, during morning rush hour. The reverse would work in the evening. All that in a SMALL, tabletop layout!

Well, there I had it! I could have several stations, I could simulate running distances by going around the loop several times before "reaching" a station, and the trackwork looked pretty busy.

I began working on the layout, to bring it closer to my needs. I included a double crossover switch between the loops, to permit easy interchange. I increased the size to 2'x7' to fit a door frame that I was going to use as a base, which then allowed the end station to be some 4' long, thus permitting loooong passenger trains! I added a small siding off the entrance to the terminus yard, to allow switch engines to wait for trains. I also added a side exit off the yard leading to a small engine facility.

But what about the infinite expandability? With a shelf layout, you can expand the ends, going up, like a giant helix, or even to other rooms, until you have taken over the entire house. But with a loop layout, the number of stations had to be fixed.

Tiles: The Missing Puzzle Piece!

And then it hit me! I could add new stations by replacing stations with new ones as the train moved on! I quickly resurrected a concept of layout tiles that I had been working on for years, and I had my answer: As the train left a station, and while I was going around the loops for a while, to simulate the distance between stations, I could lift the station tile out and replace it with a new one.

In the final design, my tiles have no track in them, although there is no reason why they couldn't. I simply chose simplicity. The tiles fit beside the track, like puzzle pieces.

The layout features two intermediate station LOCATIONS, where the tiles can be placed. Let's say that tiles A and B occupy these locations. Now, a train eneters the layout, runs around the loops, and stops at station A. It the departs toward station B, and while it is running around again, I replace tile A with tile C. After stopping at station B, the train departs for station C (in the location where A was), and while it runs, I replace tile B with tile D. And so on.

Now I can simulate any number of stations around a given stretch. I can even simulate multiple branches, by having, say, train X go through stations A, B, C, D, and end-station, while train Y branches off at station B to go to stations E, F and G, and so its run would be A, B, E, F, G. All that on a 2'x7' layout!

All About Tiles

A tile is basically a small piece of "layout" that can simply drop into place on a layout. In essence, it is a small diorama. The key idea, however, revolves around the notion of the layout having empty locations, holes if you will, into which several, properly sized tiles can fit. Thus, by interchanging these tiles, the layout changes.

For my purposes, tiles can be of several distinct types. For each hole, I can have:

• Station tiles, to represent stations;
• Industry tiles, with a factory diorama, that I can use for stops along tha path of a local freight train;
• Scenery tiles, to be used for the inbetween stations runs; and
• People's backyards tiles, also for inbetween station runs.

You can think of even more possibilities, such as tiles with their own additional track (although, that would not be trivial). Your imagination is the limit!

Et Voilá!

In parallael with the mind work that I explained above, I moved towards realization. I chose to work with Kato's Unitrack, for reasons I explain here. I started to slowly buy used track, but I quickly realized its benefits, and bought the rest of the track brand new, which allowed a quick realization of my dreams.

Here, then, is the final track plan:

ZZZZZZZZZZZZZ TO BE PROVIDED ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ

For a variety of reasons, the top tile location features a by-pass siding, while the bottom one has a double spur. The former allows me to simulate train waiting for each other, or connecting passenger traffic. The latter lets me do some switching, for my switching mode of operation.

There have been visitors to the various parts of the museum since 6/27/96.

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© 1997 karayan. To send me email, click here.

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