Layout Sketch - Revised Japanese Door-Layout idea

[scott]

Here's a revised sketch of my idea for a door-sized Japanese layout.


 * Green line = "local" line
 * Blue line = express/scenic line that parallels the local line at the station and through the scenic section, but appears to appear from/diverge to another route
 * Red lines: scenic dividers; the uncovered area at the right would be "out of view", and would provide access for changing which express/joyful train appears in the main scenes. As with the old version of this sketch, the main layout would have a "town/station" side and a "scenic" side
 * Gray shading: hills
 * [ = tunnel portal
 * Black line = road

I know this may not be very realistic, and even if one line did temporarily parallel another like this, there would be lots more connecting turnouts, etc. But this setup simplifies DC operation while still getting some trains running past each other and making the station interesting.

[Krackel Hopper]

hey hey,

I like the idea - here's a couple of my thoughts..

Do you really need the siding on the "scenic" side of the layout?  I think that could be left out, save you the cost of a few turnouts.  I don't think it really adds anything.  Unless you were planning to stage a train there while viewing from the "town" side?

The right-side divider to swap trains - why not extend that just a little further to allow you to swap the local line too?  You could cut in with a V shape like  < so you don't take away from any scenery, but it provides open access to the inner tracks while they appear in the tunnel from either side.

The challenge of a loop layout is the scenery.  The scenery needs to spark the imagination.  Your station needs to tell a story of the rural/small town surrounding it.  If it feels like something is happening in the scene, the train has a purpose.  If it is a generic station with no character and no life, it will feel like all that is "happening" is a train going in circles.

I think your sketch is a solid first step in making your layout come to life.

Jon

[scott]

Thanks, Jon--I like your suggestions. I'll post again once I get this neatened up in RailModeller.

[KenS]

This looks good, and I don't think it's unrealistic not to connect the lines. Crossovers won't exist at every station, and you can pretend there's one off-scene.

And I'll second not having the siding on the scenic section. You lose a bit of flexibility in operation by omitting it, but I think it will make the scenic side look less like a mirror image of the other side.

[CaptOblivious]

If you really wanted a crossover worked in somehow, I would change the turnouts in the station to three-way turnouts: One diverging track makes the siding, as per your design, the other diverging track connects with the blue line on either side of the station. Of course, Kato doesn't make a three-way, but Tomix does.

Just a thought.

[scott]

That might work--I'd just have to use adapter tracks, since I already have most of the Unitrack for this layout. Thanks for the idea!

Unfortunately, I realized that I had the proportions of the rectangle wrong for a door. So I'm redrawing it onto 82x36" in RailModeller.