# Looking for starter layout



## Kelpieflyer (Jan 9, 2012)

Hey All,

I'm an S and O gauge guy, and my wife likes N gauge. We recently got her some N gauge stuff and I was looking for small, door sized layout suggestions. I have SCARM and most of the example layouts they have are too large.

Anyone have an example she can look at? She wants more than an oval.

Thanks,


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## traction fan (Oct 5, 2014)

Kelpieflyer said:


> Hey All,
> 
> I'm an S and O gauge guy, and my wife likes N gauge. We recently got her some N gauge stuff and I was looking for small, door sized layout suggestions. I have SCARM and most of the example layouts they have are too large.
> 
> ...


Kelpieflyer;

There are several members here who have door size N-scale layouts. Queen of the GN, Aqualungs, and Wookie Choo_Baca, are three of them. Have you looked in our Layout Design Forum? There is a thread called "Here are the layouts of some forum members" that might help. There are also several books from Kalmbach publishing Co. on layouts for small spaces. You should also be able to find N-scale track plans online that use hollow-core doors as a layout base. I made a small N-scale layout for my grandson. Its shown in the photo below. 

Good Luck & Have Fun;

Traction Fan 🙂


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## Chaostrain (Jan 27, 2015)

There is a person I follow on Instagram called nj.nscale.on.a.door that is an N scale on a door in NJ. Do a Google search of "n scale on a door" and it will give a plethora of listings for videos, images, and websites. Enjoy the hunt.


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## CTValleyRR (Jul 26, 2014)

Kelpieflyer said:


> Hey All,
> 
> I'm an S and O gauge guy, and my wife likes N gauge. We recently got her some N gauge stuff and I was looking for small, door sized layout suggestions. I have SCARM and most of the example layouts they have are too large.
> 
> ...


Unfortunately, a door, even in N scale, doesn't leave too many options to "fancy up" that basic oval arrangement.

That said, I Googled "n scale door layout track plans" and got dozens of results that should work for you.


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## Kelpieflyer (Jan 9, 2012)

Thanks for the replies. Doofus me didn't think of the basic internet search. I'll have her look and see what she likes. Tractionfan, I do like the stub track on yours that helps in railing the cars. We will need that for sure.


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## traction fan (Oct 5, 2014)

Kelpieflyer said:


> Thanks for the replies. Doofus me didn't think of the basic internet search. I'll have her look and see what she likes. Traction Fan, I do like the stub track on yours that helps in railing the cars. We will need that for sure.


Kelpieflyer;

Yes, the railing ramp is handy, though my six-year-old grandson has no problem putting N-scale wheels on the track with only his agile hands, and eagle-like eyesight.
His 73-year-old grandfather (or "Papa" as he calls me) can do the same based on his decades of N-scale experience, but the ramp can certainly make things easier.

The "more than an oval" your wife wants can take more than one form, depending on the total space you two have available, and how you choose to use it. (Now that may spark some vigorous "marital discussion!" 😄) 
Most model railroads are built on rectangular tables just because wood, including doors, comes in rectangular shapes. Not a wonderfully logical reason, in my opinion.
A layout constructed on narrow shelves, along the walls, often occupies little more, or even less, space than the more common rectangular blob, of a 4' x 8' sheet of plywood, or a 7' x 3' door. A shelf layout typically leaves a lot more of the train room available for non-railroad purposes, and is a much more realistic representation of the shape of a real railroad, namely long and skinny.

The files below are some I wrote for new modelers. Look through them if you wish. They outline the possibilities of a shelf layout built in sections. Along with other possibilities. My current model railroad,( the seventh I have made) is built this way. The other six were all rectangular blobs, including two built on doors. I'm a lot happier with this railroad than I was with any of the others, though each of them served as a learning experience. Whether or not you want to adopt any of these concepts is, of course, strictly up to you. Also, I don't know if you have any more space than 7' x 3' available or not. Perhaps you have a Christmas Village type layout in mind, or some other very simple display layout. That's fine. Our moto on this forum is "Your railroad, your rules."

Good Luck & Have Fun with whatever you choose;

Traction Fan 🙂


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## QueenoftheGN (Dec 10, 2019)

Kelpieflyer said:


> Hey All,
> 
> I'm an S and O gauge guy, and my wife likes N gauge. We recently got her some N gauge stuff and I was looking for small, door sized layout suggestions. I have SCARM and most of the example layouts they have are too large.
> 
> ...











Layout Evolution


The evolution of my layout (s?) over the past year give or take a few months. There was some others in here but I forgot to take photos, sorry.




www.modeltrainforum.com





Here are a few I’ve done, my current layout and the one before this are not included, they have some electrical issues but with time your wife should sort them out fine, these are just a few examples, there is plenty more on this website alone of you do some digging.


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## bewhole (Dec 31, 2016)

CTValleyRR said:


> Unfortunately, a door, even in N scale, doesn't leave too many options to "fancy up" that basic oval arrangement.
> 
> That said, I Googled "n scale door layout track plans" and got dozens of results that should work for you.


Err this one looks nice on a door








found here.








Track Plans for N Scale - James Model Trains


Top 3 Track Plans for N Scale including videos and photo galleries of n scale track plans that utilize many shapes including horseshoe and shelf track plans.




www.jamesmodeltrains.com


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## CTValleyRR (Jul 26, 2014)

bewhole said:


> Err this one looks nice on a door
> 
> found here.


Err I don't think you understood my point. I didn't say you can't make a nice layout on a door. I said that the confined space is a very significant limitation on what you can do, specifically with variations on a basic oval of track you can make.


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## bewhole (Dec 31, 2016)

CTValleyRR said:


> Err I don't think you understood my point. I didn't say you can't make a nice layout on a door. I said that the confined space is a very significant limitation on what you can do, specifically with variations on a basic oval of track you can make.


That is true you can not get a lot of track on the door like you would on a 4x8 sheet of plywood. It all depends on the space you have to build it in.


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## timlange3 (Jan 16, 2013)

First I would ask what type of operating does she like to do? Just watch trains run around in an oval? An oval with some switching interest, a few sidings? Or a point to point with many sidings? Take a look at the Gum Stump and Snowshoe (do a Google search). This is all hands on operation and to move a couple cars from the mainline sidings up to the industry sidings and bring back empties will take a good part of an hour. In N scale this would be a desktop railroad.


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## CTValleyRR (Jul 26, 2014)

bewhole said:


> That is true you can not get a lot of track on the door like you would on a 4x8 sheet of plywood. It all depends on the space you have to build it in.


So a door, being smaller than a 4x8, is correspondingly more limited. But even a 4x8 is still too small to do much more than "variations on a theme" of the loop, even in N scale.


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## scenicsRme (Aug 19, 2020)

Just adding a couple inch wide strip along the edge(s) of the door can add a lot of room for track. Watch tho, the latch side edge is not square to the face. Glue a 1-1/2" thick sheet of blue or pink insulation foam to the top of the door allows her to cut into and/or add to/sculpt the foam to create terrain that is not flat which can also break up the basic oval toy train look.


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## scenicsRme (Aug 19, 2020)

Mike has done some interesting N scale layouts here that would fit your space, Mike's Small Trackplans Page A couple things that can reduce the simple oval of track look: turn the oval so it does not parallel the edges, use an arrangement meant for a 30" door on a 36" door and skew it diagonally. Use flex track rather than sectional track allows for more variation in shape and use of easements when transitioning from straights to curves to eliminate the amusement park thrill ride path. Use 2 layers to be able to develop more interest and room for scenery without adding to the footprint.


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