# laying out the tracks and terrain



## swimmer_spe (May 3, 2016)

I am not using any computer software to figure out my track layout.

I plan to simply lay out track and put ramps and blocks to raise or lower the track.

Once U have a design I like, I will want to put the scenery on. The first will be the terrain.

So, How do you lay everything out so that it looks right and works?

Also, I want a lake and some rivers with flowing water. How can I do this?


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## Brakeman Jake (Mar 8, 2009)

With the space I have,I definitely wouldn't have achieved the design I have now,and that's with the knowledge that I'll have to cheat here and there to have everything to fit.I must have drawn,tore and re-drawn around twenty plans to reach the "final" design.

Sooooo...if you want to build anything more than an oval without a plan....good luck.

Keep in mind,it's easier (and cheaper) to tear a plan than rip down a layout to start over.


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## traction fan (Oct 5, 2014)

*Software no? Accurate plan yes! Real water no.*



swimmer_spe said:


> I am not using any computer software to figure out my track layout.
> 
> I plan to simply lay out track and put ramps and blocks to raise or lower the track.
> 
> ...


Swimmer_spe;

I didn't use computer software to design my layout either. However, I did draw many revisions of an accurate, to scale, track plan in order to make sure that things would fit. Physically laying out the actual track pieces is fine for a rough concept. If you don't follow that up with a much more accurate scale drawing. (analog paper, pencil, and ruler) or (digital software, computer and printer) your choice. Without such a plan, you are likely setting yourself up for some problems. Turnouts, especially multiple turnouts,like those at the entrance to a yard, take up a lot more space than rough sketches typically show. This is where your idea of using the actual track pieces is smart. That does not mean you don't need to have an overall plan though. 
Major scenic features like rivers and hills need to be planed right along with the track. Many "Newbies" do what your planning to do and build the railroad first and then, as an afterthought, "add the scenery." that usually ends up with not having enough space for something you want or finding that something is unexpectedly in the way of a feature. ie. You cut a riverbed in the plywood, and find out that a major support beam is in the way. 
You say you want "flowing water." If you mean fake water, shaped and painted to look like rapids, that's fine. If you plan on using real water that is pumped to the top of a hill, and then allowed to flow down the riverbed that is a bad idea. It has been tried, but there are several problems. First, it's not easy to make the riverbed actually watertight. Leaks have been common when real water was tried. Second, water gets stagnant and starts to smell really bad! Third, ironically real water on a model railroad doesn't look very real! Painted, glossy simulated water actually looks more like water than the real water.
You can, of course, do whatever you wish. My advice is just that, advice. However, it is based on decades of experience, and a lot of reading about what other people have done/attempted.

Good luck with your layout;

Traction Fan:smilie_daumenpos:


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## DonR (Oct 18, 2012)

You can simplify your layout plans by reviewing those
posted to our Layout Design Forum. There are proposed
layouts and actually built layouts.

Most layouts are one of a kind. You may not like any
one design, but you can gain ideas from a yard here,
an industry spur there and scenic main lines from
another layout.

Once you have benchwork, you might find it easier to
use templates. Paper cutouts of actual tracks, turnouts
and crossings. You can move them about and use stick
pins to hold them in place.

Don


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## swimmer_spe (May 3, 2016)

OP here.

Thank you for the comments about not doing things the way I plan to do them.

See, All the track will be laid out on the board first. That means there will be tracks on top of each other. That means there will be all the switches, all the curves, everything.

Once I know what I what my tracks to do, I will plan out my terrain. Where do I want my mountain, where do I want a river, where do I want a lake, where is my cites going to be.

So, once I know my track layout, and once I know where the terrain will be, how do I go from blank board to that being built?
As far as water, I would like to try. I have a few tricks that might work that I will test elsewhere first.


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## Eusjim (Dec 16, 2014)

You can get really simple software and do a bang up job or go the hard way. I have done both. Now believe in software for windows.


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## Eusjim (Dec 16, 2014)

*Works for Mac also*

I did Ho without software, and my first n was without software layout tools. Now there is software for Mac and windows machines and it is so great. Really shines in switching yards.


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## sachsr1 (Mar 3, 2016)

I've had track held down with just nails into foam for months, because I'm too concerned I'll want to change things as I learn more. Trains run just fine, and I'm in no hurry to finalize things. I have a foam bed for my layout, so I've been testing small scenery things on foam pieces, and if I like the way it turns out I just cut a section of foam out and drop in the finished piece. I'm working on a pond now after my river attempt failed miserably.


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