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| Last updated on November 20, 2020
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Model Railroader 2026 Calendar
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David, _please_ use a straightedge or a triangle to draw a straight line. A drafting scale is a fine instrument and it is not straight. It’s bowed in the middle so that only the ends sit on the paper which keeps it from rocking.
Just a question… Do you have a background in drafting? I was a drafting instructor for a post secondary technical school in SD. It is great to see the “old” equipment being used. Really enjoy the series. I am currently doing the same thing with my home town in SD. Milwaukee Road all the way:).
David, I finally got back to watching this series. So far I’m enjoying it. I was glad to see you use the NMRA RP for track spacing. Given that you did that, I was surprised you didn’t use RP-11 to talk about track radius.
When using the architects scale, why don’t you use the zero index, with feet to the left and inches to the right? No guessing about where 14″ is on the scale that way.
[As a humerus side note, I cringe every time I see you or Cody use a scale as a straight edge to draw a line. My drafting instruction was a LONG time ago. We were not allowed to use scales as a straight edge. We’d pick of a distance, then use a steel straight edge to draw the line. Saved having to replace scales quiet so often. 🙂 ]
David
So far, this is my favorite MR Video Plus series. Thanks very much, and please keep up the great work.
I see your graph paper your squares are bigger that what I have… on mine with the 1″ to a foot I have 5 squares. Anyway, back to the store.
The series is a plus for me I am track planning the UP Chester sub from East St. Louis to the Thebes railroad bridge on my lower level. Looking forward as you proceed.
Just imagine how much easier it was for the RR planners and surveyors to lay out that interchange, sidings and turntable?? Just a chain, a transit, a rod and stakes.
Much harder in model railroading, confined in a room or fitting into a van. Thanks David.
Very Insightful and informative!
David, I’m with you, about drawing on paper, I’m just more comfortable with it, having been a Tool and Die maker/designer back before Cad programs where more affordable. When designing a layout, I save all the iterations I go through to get to the end design. That way I can incorporate the good parts of all the versions together. It’s possible this is doable in CAD, too! Don’t know as I don’t know CAD. I strongly agree that there is no right or wrong way to design, you like CAD, go with it, you like pencils and paper, go with them!
Thanks, David, for taking the time to go through this so thoroughly. For most of us, planning our layout is entertaining, rewarding and (at times) frustrating, but it’s easier to change a line on paper than to change a section of track.
My issue with hand-drawing has always been that the track lines are not representing the width of the track. When I draw a section with a couple of turnouts it’ll look like I have plenty of space for staging or parking cars. But when I try it in CAD (or, my favorite method, using snap-track to test small sections) that space rapidly disappears. And it’s always the turnouts that present the biggest issues, because while an HO #6 may be only 8 inches long, you have to add another 5” or so before there’s enough space between the two diverging tracks to have the clearance to park a car. On my Dutch-prototype n-scale shelf layout (to be built someday) the 20” space that I thought I had between the station and the freight yard ended up being only 10” in reality.
I find that track plans that have tracks drawn as single lines skew reality. You can mentally compensate for that, but I still fall in the ‘narrow-track’-trap occasionally. I’m thinking that perhaps that’s why some people prefer to draw in CAD.
That being said, it’s always easiest to draw on paper first, because that will allow you to define what you can and can’t do before you commit to anything.
That is for this series – can’t wait for the next episode!
David, when planning your turntable “garden tracks”, wouldn’t it be best to separate them by degrees rather than inches. This would be especially true if you were putting a roundhouse in. Also, most indexing systems tend to want to have it that way.