I need advice on building an 027 model railway, it needs to have shunting yards, big train station (4 track station), refuel stations, custom built sheds for 3 engines, rolling stock shed (passenger cars only), and ballast around the track. Pretty much a full blown railway. Also I'm just starting so thats why i need help with this, and yes I'm aware this will take a long time to do based on how I'm describing it. So I'd appreciate some help because I know that barely anyone has attempted this so this is going to have trial and error for me and my dad if he's wanting to do this. And I do have a nice marx 490 locomotive and set, so there's my start.
Good to hear your ambition! We've all been there. I too have a couple of nice Marx sets. The one thing I would caution you is to buy Marx turnouts. The "fat" wheels on the Marx engines will derail on the Lionel switches.
Well I'd say Bob gave some good advice as long as your staying with Marx.
With the size of the layout your planning I'd do some thinking about where you intend to go as far as loco and rolling stock.
If you go to the trouble to ballast track, be sure you have the track you want.
Yes size of your layout is helpful. Remember the height of the layout too. Don't want to be bumping your head along with getting all your wiring done. Make it easy on your body and get a good height for doing all the work on the underside.
Well, the size of the board (the layout base) I'm not sure about because I'm also going to add a slot car track on a seprate board. Adding a race way will give an extra scenic view. The railroad track I might not ballast due too the hassle I was told about, and the room I'm using is an upstairs bonus room. If this helps please give some more suggestions, thank you.
They make this thing called a tape measure.
It will measure the size. ?????
Like I said the size matters as to what you can build.
In a larger room you can use larger curves so your layout will be set to run larger trains if needed.
If you don't want to tell it's size, maybe a picture of the "bonus room" will give us an ideal of it's size?
Ty: In reading through this thread, it sounds like an interesting plan in your head. But as others have suggested, the approximate size of your proposed layout, not the room size, would be more appropriate before anyone could contribute any worthwhile ideas.
When I was a kid way back in the early 1960s and slot car racing sets were just taking off, my father and I made one layout with a Lionel 027 train and slot car roadway set combined and it turned out pretty well. It went right onto the ping pong table and we had fun racing the train with the slot cars, with the longer sections of the straight roadway right next to the train track.
Google, download, and install SCARM layout planning S/W. The free versions will accommodate 100 pieces of track. And if you use 37" Gargraves straight or 35" or 40" Lionel straight sections that will give plenty of track to plan. And that planning will tell you dimensions and basebaord sizing to fit it in your bonus room.
Looks like it will take up more room than you think. If you draw it to scale on graph paper, you will find the turn around loops will make the two sides about 4' wide. Leaving much less space in the middle clear area. I am assuming the smallest curves will be 31.
By the way, could you add some information in you forum profile please? I am wondering how old you are, what kind of work you do, it would help me give some better tips for building.
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