Layout Design

I’m building an On2 layout representing the Sandy River & Rangeley Lakes railroad set in fall, 1919.  This time period allows for the inclusion of #24 which the railroad received earlier in that year.  I may not adhere strictly to the 1919 era, but in general, that’s the target.  I used the 1916 ICC track plans to guide the design of my trackplan.

While perhaps not the wisest choice I’ve ever made, the layout will be on two levels.  The layout is housed in a dedicated second floor room that is about 25 feet wide and 100 feet long giving a floor space of about 2,400 square feet.  The stairs from the first floor come up in about the middle of the layout room so I was able to avoid any duckunders etc.  However, when not operating, there will be one lift gate for entrance into the small shop area.  I’ve posted separate drawings for the two levels.

The lower level covers the line from Farmington to Rangeley with about 450 feet of mainline.  While going through the design process it’s always a challenge of what to include and what to leave out.  The lower level includes:  Farmington, Maplewood, Strong, Phillips, Madrid, Reeds, Perham Jct, Sluice Hill, Eustis Jct, Dead River and Rangeley including Marbles.  The lower level also has three branches represented.  Madrid will just be a short branch that disappears behind the backdrop and ends in a hidden staging area.  I’ve also included the Barnjum branch taking off from Perham Jct.  While the layout design has a peninsula that includes the mill and yard at Barnjum, I haven’t yet decided if I’ll build this section.  If I leave it out, the floor space between Farmington and Rangeley will be more open, less cramped.  But one of the other issues that comes up if I include this branch is the need for train crews (headed north)  to leave their trains at Reeds and walk around the Barnjum branch benchwork in order to meet up again with their trains before reaching Perham Jct.  Still considering…   The last branch included on the lower level is the Eustis branch leaving Eustis Jct and, on my layout, a short ride to Greene’s Farm.

Also included on the lower level is a loose representation in P48 of the Maine Central in Farmington.  Given Farmington’s location on my layout, the Maine Central leaves Farmington and starts dropping as it heads out of town.  Once clearance under the SR&RL bench work has been reached, the Maine Central tucks underneath the SR&RL and runs to a four track staging area underneath Strong.  This hidden area is not shown on the first level drawing.

The upper level covers the line from Strong to Bigelow with about 330 feet of mainline track.  This level includes: Starbird’s, Hillside, Salem, Kingfield, Spring Farm, Carrabassett, and Bigelow.  To transition from the lower level to the upper level, I rejected a helix because it used too much floor space.  While many advised against it, I finally chose to include a “train elevator” that raises an entire (short, 12 feet) train to the upper level.  By using torsion box construction and linear bearings I’m hoping that this approach will work out.

While I was able to arrange the included towns in the proper order, in some cases I had to invert features.  An example is the Madrid branch…  I’ve included it coming off the mainline in the wrong direction; headed east, not west.  Another example is trains arrive at Marbles station from the wrong direction.  All of these compromises are the result of trying to coil the mainline within the room in an effort to include as much of the railroad as I could.

The minimum radius on the layout is 48” and I’m using #8 turnouts.  I plan on using Precision Scale flex track.  The lower level ranges between 40” and 43” inches off the floor, and the upper level ranges between 60” and 63”.  I’ll be using radio control DCC from NCE.  I’m planning on operating using Timetable and Train Orders.  The Dispatcher’s office will be down stairs from the layout room and will be connected by phone.