Hi,

I use a CAD program to design my layout and it allowed for printing full size templates that I was able to lay on the sub-roadbed (in my case 2" rigid foam) and mark the center-lines of all the track.

I don't know how I could have done it any other way and gotten things correct.

Frederick

 

For those of you that have designed your own layout using flex track, when you were ready to lay track did you first place your turnouts where they needed to be and then cut the flextrack to fit within that parameter?

YES

The only exception I can see is if you have a large layout and are OK with moving the turnout location a few inches to save cutting flex track.

 

I used my scale track plan, yard stick, and trammel to lay out all the centerlines on my layout surface.

Then I put in the foam roadbed. Then the track itself. In one or two places, I had to tweak the location of the roadbed, but by and large this worked extremely well.

 

Ditto to what the others have said. Mark track centerlines. Split trackbed and glue down following track centerlines. Tack in turnouts. Then install flextrack and cut to fit.

 

This was my approach as well.

One tip, if you expect to have a flex track joint that falls in the middle of a curve, solder the 2 pieces of flex track together while straight before positioning it. That will prevent any kind of kinking of the flex track in the curve.

Mark

 

OK. Thanks. Turnouts then track.

 

Well, not for my custom built turnouts that are on curves. I do the track without the turnout then that becomes the model for the curved turnout.

 

I just started building my railroad and did exactly what you mention. I carefully measured the position of a switch on the mainline and started laying out the railroad from there.

I found it much more beneficial to mark on the table top with a sharpy, not the center line of the track, but the outside rail. That way, when laying the flextrack on curves, I could visually ensure the track was going exactly where I wanted it as I could look down and see if the rail was directly over the line or not.

 

There is more than one way of doing it for sure. Important thing is getting to the end point.

Most people will mark the centerline because that is where the radius of track is measured. Once the roadbed is cut in half and glued down following the centerline, the centerline is automatically there on top of the roadbed - no additional line to draw. Line up the holes in the ties with the centerline and tack it in place or pin it until the glue dries.

 

My roadbed is already down so I'll be using that centerline for the track as on my last layouts.

 

outermost curves first

With the layouts I have built, the first track to be fitted (not necessarily fastened down yet) is the outermost curves. Everything else has to fit inside that. If there is a yard ladder or other group of turnouts, they can be assembled as a unit before connecting other track.

I started using SCARM some years ago to do accurate track planning first. Sometimes it's easier and neater to use sectional track in key places.

 

Don't forget that you can buy curve radius templates made of plastic, metal or wood to help you form good curves.

 

Centerlines for straight sections were drawn in first. The centerlines for curves to match up to them taking into account easements.

The turnouts were lined up on the centerlines at the ends of the easements, then flex track cut to fit from turnouts into the curves and the other direction along the straight portions.

Here is a photo of my last layout when I was laying out turnout positions on the centerlines where they should go:

Here it is filled in with track taken from the opposite direction: