# The gods must be crazy



## [email protected] (Jul 5, 2016)

hello
I am going to hit the big 60 years in September. My wife ,, out of the blue,, told me that i can finally build my dream layout in the spare room. (reason for the title). And to make this even more crazy he said she would help with the scenery... anyway..... 
The room is L shaped. 
.................18'
......___________________
......|................................|
19'..|............... _________|
......|............... |6'
......|_________|
...............9'
my questions is as follows
i want ho scale, yard with turntable, mainline 
do i use code 100 or code 83.
are there any track plans of this size.( i am not good with cad programs)
do i start with the yard first or mainline.
i will post my progress and can really use your help.
also forgive my English it is my 4 language..lol
please help.......:dunno:

Thanks
Robert...


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## Mark VerMurlen (Aug 15, 2015)

Are there any doorways into the room that you need to contend with? They could affect your planning.

I doubt that you will find any existing track plan that will fit your space exactly, especially if you want it to hug the walls of your room. There are a lot of books out there with track plans to look at. I would suggest that you look at the larger plans and take bits and pieces from several and string them together to fit your space.

As far as code 100 vs 83, that's a preference I think only you can answer for yourself.

Mark


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## [email protected] (Jul 5, 2016)

*thanks for the quick reply*

thanks Mark,
as for the door ,,, there is a sliding glass door in the center of the 9' side.
my question on the code was really which would be better For dcc;
i have read in some places that code 100 requires a lot of work to get dcc ready. other than maybe turnouts, i do not see where track would be a problem.


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## Guest (Jul 25, 2016)

I would suggest looking at track plans that are a little smaller than your space. It is much easier to expand a plan a little (or a lot) rather than to try to shrink a plan a little. If you find one you like a lot you can make a copy, cut it into sections to fit your corners, and add track to connect the sections.


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## CTValleyRR (Jul 26, 2014)

There are literally hundreds of track plans out there, so many that the problem usually isn't finding one but in deciding which of several you want.

In the first place, look at the two sticky threads under this thread. You can also buy books of track plans and Model Railroader magazine has an online database of them (although these are NOT build-ready plans -- they're more for inspiration).

Code 100 track differs from Code 83 track only in the size of the rail (Code = 1/1000 of an inch). I think what you probably read is that older, BRASS track is hard to get DCC ready, which is true. DCC is very picky about track cleanliness. Modern nickel silver track, in either code, will be fine in DCC.


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## DonR (Oct 18, 2012)

I think I am seeing a room that you can fully
use for your layout.

First, I would assume that you would 'lock down'
the sliding glass doors and use only the door from
the rest of the house.

As mentioned, there are two stickies in this forum
with actual or proposed layouts of various sizes.
You likely won't find THE ONE that you hoped for.
But, you will see ideas for yards, ideas for industrial
spurs, ideas for tunnels and bridges, and mainly
ideas for the main line. Mine is DCC with a single
track mainline that basically follows the walls but
with 3 passing sidings so I can run two trains at
the same time, one clockwise, the other clockwise.

But also, I have 2 fair size yards and a number of
industrial spurs, most with more than one 'industry'
on team tracks.

I have a room size layout, the FIRST in the LAYOUTS
of members sticky. The space is a bit smaller
than what you have. 

One strong suggestion; Plan on a 'lift out'' or 'fold down'
bridge to allow access to the center control area. Don't
even think about 'crawl under'.

One other suggestion; Use modular bench work. Variations
of 4' X 4', all screwed together (no nails), the tables are
bolted to each other. The reason: You probably will want
to make changes later, and all you would need to is then
rearrange the modules.

The choice of track code depends on which you like
better from a scale standpoint. Most of us use code 100
because it and it's accessories, turnouts and crossings,
are more widely available. Code 83 is thought to
be closer to HO scale.

Don


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## flyboy2610 (Jan 20, 2010)

DonR said:


> Most of us use code 100
> because it and it's accessories, turnouts and crossings,
> are more widely available. Code 83 is thought to
> be closer to HO scale.
> ...


Plus code 100 is easier to work with as we get older!


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## [email protected] (Jul 5, 2016)

*thanks for the quick replys*

thank you all for the great response.
So far i have decided on code 100.
in one of the responses it was recommended to close the sliding glass door on the 9' side and use the other door in the house.
the thing is that that is the only door to the room. That door leads to the living room. there are also no windows in the room. It was originally going to be the TV room but we moved it to the second floor. Also can someone give link to the sticky for the plans..

Robert.....


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## highvoltage (Apr 6, 2014)

There are two. Here is the first:

http://www.modeltrainforum.com/showthread.php?t=66578

This is the second:

http://www.modeltrainforum.com/showthread.php?t=66818


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## DonR (Oct 18, 2012)

Robert

If the sliding doors are your only entry that would
seem to simplify your choices. You'd plan to have
access to the center of your layout there. Since
they slide you wouldn't lose space to door swing.
You would need to use only one of them.

Don


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