# Anyrail (fun) layout



## UP-Railroad (Apr 18, 2018)

I decided to play around with Anyrail, making a layout for fun, really just to get the hang of it. 

This is the staging level and i dont think im 100% done with it. but i thought i would post it here to get some reactions. I'm hoping i can receive some feedback whether it be positive or negative and recommendations and criticisms.

I would be happy to go more in to detail of my thinking behind everything if someone is interested and wants to know


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## DonR (Oct 18, 2012)

While the scale isn't mentioned, the first
thought that comes to mind is that many
of the curves seem far too 'sharp'. For smooth
running of most HO locomotives, you need curves
with a radius of at least 22". 

Further, there is no indication of spurs, yards or
any track where cars can be 'stored'. A layout
as large as your drawing seems to indicate should
have lots of switching capabilities. 

Don


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## UP-Railroad (Apr 18, 2018)

DonR said:


> While the scale isn't mentioned, the first
> thought that comes to mind is that many
> of the curves seem far too 'sharp'. For smooth
> running of most HO locomotives, you need curves
> ...


Sorry, the scale is HO.

As for the curves, I'm assuming you're mainly talking about the ones in the bottom left corner for being too sharp. The Largest radius is 40" and the smallest is 22". Every track descending from the 40" is 2" smaller I know the 22" is considered too small, but I thought I would just throw it in there as I had the space and it's possible that I could have a few small manifest trains that go in that track.


as for the indications, i have added indicators as to what everything is


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## DonR (Oct 18, 2012)

Wow...Now I see...had to enlarge the pic
to be able to read it correctly. I was looking
at the Slot car track...didn't even see the
the train diagram. The enlargement makes a big difference.
So that's just the staging area...the size
of it would indicate a very large layout in
the upper reaches. It'll be interesting to
see that also.

Don


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## UP-Railroad (Apr 18, 2018)

oh sorry about the picture. yes, the layout will be very large. It will have 3 decks.


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## sjm9911 (Dec 20, 2012)

DonR said:


> Wow...Now I see...had to enlarge the pic
> to be able to read it correctly. I was looking
> at the Slot car track...didn't even see the
> the train diagram. The enlargement makes a big difference.
> ...


I thought the same. Looked like the outline of some not well thought out state. Lol.


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## UP-Railroad (Apr 18, 2018)

I thought the same. Looked like the outline of some not well thought out state. Lol.
[/QUOTE]

😂😂 that's actually funny


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## UP-Railroad (Apr 18, 2018)

update- 

i started the main level. specifically with the locomotive storage maintenance area.

hoping i can receive some feedback and suggestions


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## prrfan (Dec 19, 2014)

sjm9911 said:


> I thought the same. Looked like the outline of some not well thought out state. Lol.


Make that three 🤣. Nice! What kind of slot cars?


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## sjm9911 (Dec 20, 2012)

Trainman40 said:


> update-
> 
> i started the main level. specifically with the locomotive storage maintenance area.
> 
> ...


Looks good to me, but its way outside my confert area. In other words , I have no clue. Carry on and ill watch from the sidelines.


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## UP-Railroad (Apr 18, 2018)

sjm9911 said:


> Looks good to me, but its way outside my comfert area. In other words , I have no clue. Carry on and ill watch from the sidelines.


oh, well i hope you do. Like i said im hoping for feedback.

This is where im at currently. zoom into the picture to see the details better


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## UP-Railroad (Apr 18, 2018)

prrfan said:


> Make that three 🤣. Nice! What kind of slot cars?


Well if this were to be real, then it would be Carrera 1/32 scale. Unfortunately, any rail doesn't have Carrera. Scalextric was the next closest thing they had in the library, so I just used that.


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## SF Gal (11 mo ago)

It just gonna be a shame to realize you should of incorporated the slot car track and model railroad together, intertwined into a coheasive diaorama making the whole concept a animated experience for all those who visit your work. 









Having the 2 separated will have you itching to wonder in the future why you didn't do it in the first place!
Well just my girly 2 cents for what it is worth. I love the idea and seeing other incorporated layouts makes me want to drain the bank account and add slot cars to my layout!!!!
Curious where this is going...subscribed....and thanks for sharing your concept! 🙂


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## UP-Railroad (Apr 18, 2018)

SF Gal said:


> It just gonna be a shame to realize you should of incorporated the slot car track and model railroad together, intertwined into a coheasive diaorama making the whole concept a animated experience for all those who visit your work.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


while i do agree having them intertwined would be very cool and stunning, it just wouldn't work out for what im doing. I really want the layout to be a high track density layout. The slot cars would take up a large amount of space that i would just much rather have for railroad/scenery. 

Saying that, it probably wouldn't be a bad idea to try to mess with another layout using that idea/design


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## UP-Railroad (Apr 18, 2018)

update-

yard is almost done. starting on scenery/extra detail and the other leg

misspelled maintenance... oops


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## UP-Railroad (Apr 18, 2018)

update- 

started one of the many large/main industries on the layout. The paper Mill. I've always struggled designing a Paper Mill in sufficient way. Hopefully i hit it this time though


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## OilValleyRy (Oct 3, 2021)

Will you be able to access more than one side of the helices? And at what height is the lowest level?

Reaching into helices either to clear derailments or just maintenance is problematic. Best to have access to 3 sides. So the end of a peninsula, or spaced in from a corner is best. 
Also, while most folks “box in” of cover a helix because it is not realistic, setting a backdrop at the interior edge, and leaving track visible/accessible from the aisle provides several advantages. Easier access/maintenance, you can see any problems, you can see where the train is if it’s taking longer than you’d prefer, and it can be a point of interest.

I would swap locations of the 40”R helix and the turntable, giving you better access. That is assuming the helix is in a corner. It might require shortening the race track peninsula by 6 inches. In any event, I’d flip the angle of that race track peninsula end so that you have a more even aisle and no squeeze point at the right side as shown.


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## UP-Railroad (Apr 18, 2018)

OilValleyRy said:


> Will you be able to access more than one side of the helices? And at what height is the lowest level?
> 
> Reaching into helices either to clear derailments or just maintenance is problematic. Best to have access to 3 sides. So the end of a peninsula, or spaced in from a corner is best.
> Also, while most folks “box in” of cover a helix because it is not realistic, setting a backdrop at the interior edge, and leaving track visible/accessible from the aisle provides several advantages. Easier access/maintenance, you can see any problems, you can see where the train is if it’s taking longer than you’d prefer, and it can be a point of interest.
> ...


yes, i would be able to access them from more than one side. The helix located in the top left would 4 possibly 5 different access locations. For the helix located under the roundhouse, it is in a corner and it would have 3 access locations. Because of this i wont move it.

The lowest level i think is set at 30". It's an ok viewing angle if i were sitting in a chair. The main level is set 18" above that, so its at 4 feet. With the main level being at 48", If i were to put my arm down on the table, it would make about a 90% angle. The main level is the level i care most about, so i want the viewing and access to it to be the best it could be.

I do see what you mean about the isle space for the slot car peninsula. That peninsula's bench work outline specifically is not entirely correct. It needs to be changed into a better shape and it's length needs to be decreased. Although i do not care much for tight isle space (i probably should), as of now it's about 2.5 feet wide. After the necessary changes it will become bigger.

thank you for the questions and feedback. it really made me think more about the layout and planning.


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## OilValleyRy (Oct 3, 2021)

My three deck heights are at 30”, 42” and 56”.


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## UP-Railroad (Apr 18, 2018)

OilValleyRy said:


> My three deck heights are at 30”, 42” and 56”.


while deck heights are mainly dependent on your height, I actually think those heights are nice and would work well with me. 

im going to implement those heights into this, possibly adjusting each by a few inches.

would it be possible for me to see a picture of your layout to get a sense of the viewing angles with those heights. I've never seen a multi deck layout in person, so im unaware of what is really needed for it baring the deck heights.


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## UP-Railroad (Apr 18, 2018)

update- 

started the 2nd large industry, located on the 1st peninsula. 

It's an Oil industry for oil tank cars. 

the question marks are areas where industries could be i just not sure what to put. Im open for suggestions in those areas.


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## PRR1950 (Oct 26, 2013)

With no model railroad construction experience, I offer the following two comments.

1. It would be prudent to have a roundtable exit track directly across from each roundtable entry track ("entry" meaning from the yard or mainline). That way, if an engine enters the table with just a little too much power, it will not end up "on the ground" before it can be stopped. You can rotate the roundhouse clockwise some and place more garden tracks across from the entry tracks or you can rotate the roundhouse slightly counterclockwise to allow a direct line-up of each entry track with an exit track that leads into a roundhouse stall.

2. Most engine service facilities are much closer to their associated yard than yours is. As it now stands, a movement from your yard to the engine facility would have to be treated like a train movement on the mainline. To mitigate that situation, at the minimum, break the existing engine service facility connection to the mainline and, instead, run that connection all the way over to your yard lead. Even better would be to move the whole facility closer to the yard (or maybe run the yard around the corner) and put a town with a few industries where the facility currently sits.

Chuck


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## UP-Railroad (Apr 18, 2018)

PRR1950 said:


> With no model railroad construction experience, I offer the following two comments.
> 
> 1. It would be prudent to have a roundtable exit track directly across from each roundtable entry track ("entry" meaning from the yard or mainline). That way, if an engine enters the table with just a little too much power, it will not end up "on the ground" before it can be stopped. You can rotate the roundhouse clockwise some and place more garden tracks across from the entry tracks or you can rotate the roundhouse slightly counterclockwise to allow a direct line-up of each entry track with an exit track that leads into a roundhouse stall.
> 
> ...


i added the tracks you were talking about. 

as for the yard and the engine service facility, i dont really ant to move either. Moving either would result in having to downsize them which i dont want to do. unless there are other options


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## UP-Railroad (Apr 18, 2018)

I had some free time recently so i thought i would continue working on the layout.

I worked on the 2nd leg with a coal mine, auto rack yard and a intermodal yard. I'm sure its not prototypical to have one side of the leg to be in a more of a mountain setting and then have the other side with an auto rack yard right next to a intermodal yard which is right next to the sea. I started thinking of how I could make it a little more accurate, and came up the idea of possibly putting the auto rack yard on the 2nd leg at the top question mark. its a sufficient amount of space and probably a better spot to put it.

I would have liked to make the coal mine loading tracks bigger as there is an actual live loader on it. The more cars i could have fit on the loading track to fill without having to impede the main line, the better. I'm also implementing that exact area on my personal layout.

i would like to get others opinions and feedback


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## CTValleyRR (Jul 26, 2014)

Looks like you have some kind of backdrop or view block down the center of that peninsula, which means that opposite sides could be hundreds of miles apart in the real world.


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## UP-Railroad (Apr 18, 2018)

That's correct. I just don't know a good way to transition from a leafy mountainous area, to a more industrialized intermodal facility next to the ocean


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## SF Gal (11 mo ago)

One way is to use a curved backdrop for that specific scene having the backdrop transition abruptly at the ends of the curved points for that specific scene. You could also put a wall between the two scenes and transition through a tunnel, using the wall as a backdrop for that scene. The wall could be as skinny as a sheet of styrene but tall enough to allow focus of the viewer. Otherwise like I do on my layout, is to just allow the viewer to use there imagination and plant suggestions of transition on the layout "facia" of city or town names.


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