Going indoors

Well it's certainly easier on the back and you can play trains year 'round.
 
My G scale is indoors, I went to G from a OO layout in 1993. What was a fair size OO layout in my small second bedroom became a a very small G layout with a single line a station with loop, three sidings & Loco Depot. A halt was added later on the single line. I operate it as I always have, my job on the railways was working out train drivers/guards workings (diagrams) So on my layout on the basis of 3 or 4 circuits per mile/km I can drive a train on any line in real time. This week I am doing the Waidhofen to Ybbsitz NG line in Austria to the 1998 timetable. In a few minutes I will be driving the 0922 Waidhofen to Ybbsitz & 0950 return with one of my LGB Rhb Railcars the nearest I can get to a 5090 unit. It will be 34 circuits & take 27 mins. I do lines from all over Europe many which have closed years ago to get a feel what it was like to drive those trains. Doug
 
DougLN said:
My G scale is indoors, I went to G from a OO layout in 1993. What was a fair size OO layout in my small second bedroom became a a very small G layout with a single line a station with loop, three sidings & Loco Depot. A halt was added later on the single line. I operate it as I always have, my job on the railways was working out train drivers/guards workings (diagrams) So on my layout on the basis of 3 or 4 circuits per mile/km I can drive a train on any line in real time. This week I am doing the Waidhofen to Ybbsitz NG line in Austria to the 1998 timetable. In a few minutes I will be driving the 0922 Waidhofen to Ybbsitz & 0950 return with one of my LGB Rhb Railcars the nearest I can get to a 5090 unit. It will be 34 circuits & take 27 mins. I do lines from all over Europe many which have closed years ago to get a feel what it was like to drive those trains. Doug
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Sounds like an excellent idea. Can you give a bit more detail? How long is your loop? When you do the timetable do you stop at all the stations (using the only station on your layout to represent any station). Do you include leaving and returning to depot? Do you simulate having to refuel (coal or diesel)? Thanks, Dave
 
Thanks for post Dave, My station loop takes about five LGB bogie coaches. Mainly my station is used for each station on the line & the halt for the halts on the line. Because of my BR knowledge I allow for Coal/Water for steam, diesel for locos & units. I use books or internet to get line info. With the Ybbsitz branch I am doing today I was lucky to get a Cab ride video which gave me all the speed restrictions, & History book which gave me the gradient profile & exact Km for stations & halts.I then use that info on my runs. I like looking at old timetables & working out the workings (diagrams) for locos, units & coaches. Which was my job for over 30 years on BR. I then use nearest LGB loco/unit I have to work the train. For example It sometimes has to be a Corpet tank & coach to be a GW Pannier tank & coach as a train on the Newbury Lambourn branch line which closed in 1959. Now off to work the 1522 to Ybbsitz finishing for the day at 1647 at Waidhofen! Doug
 
Thanks Doug. I meant what was the length of your entire layout loop (I assume it is continuous loop) not the station loop. Sorry for not being clearer.
 
My main loop (circuit) is 8.5 ft X 7.5 ft One circuit taking 30 secs works out 25mph/40km normal speed for most NG lines Doug
 
Thanks Doug, that's about the same size as mine will be when I finish the extension.

There's a nice cab ride view of the Zillertal from Jenbach to Mayrhofen on YouTube if you want to try another Austrian NG route. It doesn't show the cab controls but you see all the signals. There's a mix of scheduled stops and request stops on route.
 
This is the extension to my indoor layout I mentioned. Currently it is a meager 7ft6 by 5ft (average), soon to be 7ft6 x 9ft6 which should give me over 30ft continuous run. It means having some removable track sections to let me into the shed, although I can duck under easily as it is above waist height, and occasionally into the rear section of the shed where all the normal shed junk is stored. Civils are done, waiting on permanent way team to come along and lay some track once budget is approved, then the electricians can move in. Some pictures below.

Existing layout (left hand half) about 4ft wide at this end
2017-04-25 19.12.05.jpg
Rear extension tunnelling through rolling stock storage shelves:

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Run over desk and workbench, which is permanently in place; you can see the holes for the dowels used for attaching the side piece.

2017-04-25 19.12.44.jpg

Run in front of door with some initial track in place:

2017-04-25 19.38.00.jpg
I use 68mm x 20mm redwood for the joists and 6mm MDF topped with 3mm cork tiles for the track bed.
 
Far too neat to be a shed!
Looking very good.
 
Thanks Alan. The messy shed is behind the door, but I do like to keep the loco shed neat and tidy.
 
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