Redesigning the FUN Lines

My rebuild of the FUN Lines (Fantasia, Utopia and Northern) O27 layout was about two-thirds complete when I came to a terrible conclusion: The redesign was all wrong for my needs. Actually, the redesigned track plan fit my goals for the future of my railroad perfectly. The problem was in satisfying modeling needs of my twin 7 year-old boys. I had attempted to quench their growing train desires with a 4' x 4' layout of their own, thus leaving the "big layout" to Dad and his plans - or so I thought - but as I watched them yearn to work and play with the FUN Lines more and more, I realized that a new design was in order - one that met THEIR needs instead of mine.

Setting Goals

One key to any successful model railroad is to start with the end in mind. One should determine as much as possible beforehand the type of railroad one intends to build. Will it be a "Tinplate" toy train layout, a modern scale-inspired "Hi Rail" layout, or something in between? Will it feature mainly loop running or imitate prototype operations? What type of track and power supplies should be used? What is the budget? All of these are important questions to ask before the first lumber is cut and the first screw is turned.

To make the FUN Lines more appropriate for my boys the following goals were set:

• Lower the table from 40" to 24" to be more child-friendly. A lower table means shorter arms can reach trains and accessories anywhere on the board. It also means shorter and less damaging falls for any equipment that might find itself leaving the table involuntarily.
• Simple track plan with lots of action.
• Mostly loop running with only a siding or two.
• Independent track loops with simple wiring and control schemes.
• Room on the table to incorporate a Carrera Go! slot car set and a K'nex roller coaster as well for more visual appeal. Our home is the gathering place for most of the kids in our neighborhood. I wanted a train/car/toy table that could entertain 4 or more little one simultaneously.
• Budget is tight, so recycle as much of existing benchwork as possible.

Construction Begins

The existing benchwork consisted of the "big layout" which utilized two 4' x 8' plywood sheets connected in an "L" shape with an extra 18" x 48" shelf attached to one side and a separate 4' x 4' table. The first step was to detach all sections from one another. The small table had 24" legs so I then cut the legs of the large layout down from their 40" height to match the smaller table. I reattached to original twin 4' x 8' tables in their "L" configuration and added the 4' x 4' section to one end, giving each side of the "L" dimensions of 4' x 12'. Meanwhile, I reinforced the entire perimeter with 2" x 4" x 12' studs because I anticipated the new 24" high table would be a tempting surface upon which to lean, stand or crawl. Also, the old 4' x 8' tables were originally constructed as a "temporary" layout more than 15 years ago and utilized only 1" x 3" and 1" x 4" framing which had begun to sag after years of use.

Next I temporarily set up the Carrera Go! slot car track. At its widest the slot car track is nearly 5' wide so I determined the proper location and reattached the "shelf" section to accommodate the slot cars. Then I removed the slot car track from the table.

Surface Prep

Now I had a hodge-podge of tables of varying ages and surfaces. One was only a few weeks old while two had seen the construction, destruction and rebuilding of nearly a dozen railroads over a decade and a half and featured remnants of several layers of scenery. To even things out I applied a coat of latex paint over the surface of all tables. With a limited budget I combined the remains of several household painting projects into one gallon. The resulting color is a bit more of a mint green that I desired, but this will all eventually be covered by other scenery.

Laying Track

I began with the slot car set. The Carrera Go! cars are scaled at roughly 1/48, so they work well with O scale trains. I reassembled the track, cleaned and vacuumed it thoroughly, and tested all electrical connections. This quickly gave me a means of occupying two boys while I continued work on the railroad portion of the layout. Also, I measured and located a suitable location for the K'nex roller coaster which also scales out to roughly 1/48 and provides added activity to the layout.

The inner loop plan of the redesigned FUN Lines.
Plan made using Anyrail software.

For the train area I envisioned two independent track loops. The inner loop consists of O27 curves and turnouts making a "figure eight" crossing with the turnouts providing the option of staying exclusively on the outside oval. One of the inner figure eight tracks features a turnout leading to twin industrial spurs. The main feature of this loop is the center 90 degree crossing - always a hit with the kids - which gives the engineer the thrill of watching the locomotive nearly hit the caboose of the train as it meets on the crossing. Also, the outside turnouts serve as double reverse loops so that train direction may be reversed at will. I also plan to wire some of the Lionel turnouts so that the non-derailing feature of the turnouts will produce a complex automatic train routing circuit.

The 90 degree crossing requires that I abandon my usual practice of using only Marx turnouts on the layout because, while I have figured a means of modifying Marx turnouts to accommodate Lionel electrical pickups, Marx crossings are totally incompatible with Lionel pickups and Lionel crossings are incompatible with Marx "fat wheel" locomotives. Therefore, I am using Lionel turnouts on the inner loop and my small fleet of incompatible locomotives are relegated to the outside loop only.

On previous layouts I had always utilized O42 curves for both their aesthetic value and the ability to "crank up" the speed of trains with less fear of derailment. However, to add some operating interest to the outer loop I have included a long passing siding so that the operator may easily switch between two trains on the loop. The necessary turnouts for this plan precluded the use of O42 curves in favor of Marx O34 curves on one end of the loop and O27 curves on the opposite end as the loop must detour around the end of the K'nex roller coaster. Still, by using only smaller O27 locomotives and cars most problems associated with tighter curves will be avoided.

Each loop has a separate control panel with a conventional power pack and necessary turnout controllers. The outer loop will use Atlas electrical controls to switch power between the siding and the main line.

As of this time, the inner loop is complete and basically operational, although I have not added the remote turnout controls yet. Track is laid for the outer loop but it is not yet wired.

Eventually, operating accessories such as the classic Lionel cattle car, milk car and operating dump cars will be added. In the mean time, the boys are having fun with the cars and trains, and also with the various Hot Wheels and other vehicles delivering freight from the trains to various points on the layout. So far, the plan for the kids' layout seems to be a success!

- Happy Railroading!

How Non-Derailing Turnouts Work

One of the advantages of trains that use a three-rail track system is the ability to use the third rail in clever electrical circuits. Under normal circumstances the center rail is used as the "hot" power of the electric train circuit while both outer rails serve as the "common" side of the circuit. However, when one of the outside rails is electrically isolated from the other it may be used as an electrical switch when the metal wheels of locomotives and cars complete an electrical connection to the isolated rail. A common use of this feature is the non-derailing turnout.

Finding Common Ground

A Lionel service diagram showing the internal wiring of
a #1122-E turnout.

Since the introduction of the #1122 turnout in 1952, all Lionel O27 remote turnouts have been pre-wired for non-derailing operation, and it was a feature in Lionel's Standard O turnouts long before then. The wiring schematic as seen to the left is still the standard in today's Lionel remote turnouts. The two outside rails serve as the common "ground" of the track circuit. The inside rails however are electrically isolated by the frog on one end and by an insulated fibre track pin on the other. 

When the metal wheels of a car or locomotive complete the circuit from the outside rail to the insulated inside rail the turnout throws in the direction of the train to avoid a possible derailment. This operation works only for trailing point maneuvers [from diverging route to single route]. Since these turnouts are wired to receive power directly from the track this operation occurs even when no turnout controller is present. One should be certain that a train does not sit for long periods of time on these activation rails as continuous use may burn out the switch motor.

Other Uses

In addition to the safety of avoiding unnecessary derailments, the electrical properties of non-derailing turnouts can be used for other purposes as well. In the example on the left two turnouts are wired together so that they throw simultaneously either with a switch controller or by train activation by connecting the electrical posts controlling switch motor movement to one another. 

If connected together identically, throwing one turnout will result in identical motion from the other turnout. In this scenario one can select either Track A or Track B by simply throwing one turnout and the other will snap to a safe exit automatically.

For a bit more excitement the turnouts can be connected opposite one another so that when one turnout throws straight the other goes to curve. Looking at the diagram above, a train traveling from the top of the track layout reaches a curved turnout at the right side of Track A. Initially the passing of the train activates the opposite switch to throw straight for Track B. However the arrival of the train at the left turnout throws it safely back to the train on Track A and simultaneously throws the right switch to straight toward Track B. After completing the loop the train now finds the right turnout thrown towards Track B and its exit on the left side returns the right turnout to Track A for the next loop. In this way the train continuously and automatically switches between the two options on each loop.

Once this concept is understood it may be used for a variety of purposed in various track designs. The uses are limited only by your imagination! Layout visitors will be astonished at how the train automatically changes routes with no operator input. 

Happy Railroading!

New Posts Coming Soon!

Fellow modeler railroaders...

Things have been very busy on the FUN Lines this month. While my posting has been sparse many new and exciting updates have occurred on the Fantasia, Utopia and Northern and a flurry of new posts and videos will be coming soon.

Look for:

• Kid-friendly layout design tips
• Fun layouts using non-derailing turnouts
• Examining the MPC Spirit of '76 set
• and much more!

Stay tuned and Happy Railroading!