# The Vertigo Railroad



## /6 matt (Jul 7, 2015)

So those who follow the HO scale forum may remember my thread about an outdoor HO scale railroad. Well I finally found the time and energy to get it done. I settled on using an old ping pong table we had on hand. I took the table top off of the metal frame and built a new frame out of some wood from some old pallets I had laying around.

Here's what I came up with. The track plan has changed a little to eliminate the S-curves. sorry for the crappy cell phone pictures.

























I'm using all Nickel Silver track and so far having no corrosion issues. Ill be putting up a curtain soon on the side near the opening to block the sun from hitting the track.


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## /6 matt (Jul 7, 2015)

Eventually I will be moving the table into a 10'x12' room whenever the space opens up there. In the meantime I have been playing around with track plans for when I can. This is the first track plan I've been tinkering with and it uses the ping pong table plus a 4'x7' sheet of plywood I have on hand already. This layout has an 18" minimum radius and uses atlas snap switches. I plan to handlay my own turnouts using the snap switch dimensions.


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## /6 matt (Jul 7, 2015)

The next one I came up with combines a plan called the Laurel and Highland Railroad with John Allen's famous Gorre and Daphetid Railroad (the first one). it has an 18" min radius and uses peco turnouts. Max grade is 3.5%. Tell me what you all think.







This is John Allen's Gorre and Daphetid layout. I mirrored it and rotated it 90 degrees counter-clockwise and relaxed all curves to 18" minum vs the original 14"







And this is the Laurel and Highland. All I did was rotate the layout 180 Degrees to make use of it.


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## DonR (Oct 18, 2012)

You have two very different operational layouts. The first
one has a number of yard tracks and spurs that would
give you switching operations in addition to continuous 
operation in various routes. Those 18" radius curves will
limit the type of locos and long cars you can run. You might
consider adding to the ping pong table surface to widen your
curves to a minimum of 22".

The second design, however offers little switching opportunities
but a lot of continuous running routes.

Your choice depends on your interest in switching or 
continuous running. 

Don


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## /6 matt (Jul 7, 2015)

to be honest I don't plan on running anything much bigger than my bachmann 2-8-0 and it handles 18" fine so I would rather save the space.

With the exception of not having a yard would the second layout really be that much different? it has a total of 8 siding while the first one actually has 7. I wish I could find the room to add a small yard to the second layout honestly but I don't know where I would put it without putting track over the spaces I have planned for drop out scenery/access holes.

Here's a good question, how do you decide what to build if you have no idea whether you prefer operations or continuous runs?


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## DonR (Oct 18, 2012)

How to decide...continuous running or switching operations:

Let me put it this way. You have your layout complete. You
start a train going round and round and round and round.

That would be great for the first 20 or so minutes. Some do
like that...just lay back with a cool one and enjoy. 

Or would you enjoy preparing car cards with post it notes
attached telling you where to pick up a car and where
to spot it or build a train. You are actually interacting
with your layout, starting, stopping and reversing your
loco, throwing turnouts, moving cars out of the way,
using a 'run around track' so you can push a car into
a spur, or back it in. Usually, I can enjoy 2 or 3 hours
of switching using a train of 15 cars. It can be as
intriguing as chess moves.

It gets more interesting and more fun if you are DCC and
have a continuously running train that interferes with
your switching and, as happens on the real railroad, your
switch has to wait for a clear track.

Don


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## /6 matt (Jul 7, 2015)

Well to be honest with you, I've played with trains for years. I'm almost 22 and this is the first time I've ever had a turnout (most exciting $12 purchase ever!). But even still I can usually pull an hour of enjoyment out of continuous running.

I do know I like a lot of scenery. I like continuous running but it does eventually get boring, but some aspects of operations seems like overkill.


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