North South layout orientation - is north to the left or right facing the layout

[Dave V]

My railroad generally has the operator facing east.  The Rio Grande Southern was a north-south railroad but--following Denver & Rio Grande practice--south was actually "railroad west."  So a train ran "west" from Ridgway to Durango even though it really ran 162 miles south to Durango.  So in my case when the operator is facing the track from inside the cockpit area trains moving from left to right are southbound (westbound by railroad timetable).  North is left, south is right.  But that's only because that's what made sense in my space.

[fcnrwy23]

Just my 2 cents.....

On the FCN, Looking at the layout is West.  To the Right is North and to the Left is South.. 

Jerry G.

[nkalanaga]

Mine is east-west, with west to the left, because the original had to have the main town at the right end, that being the only place in the bedroom with enough room.  It worked out fine later, as my narrow gauge is technically a north-south railroad, and the portion modeled is the south end, looking north. 

To me, it would seem more natural to have the layout with west to the left, like a "normal" map.  Also, that puts the Sun behind the viewer, so shadows from the room lighting will properly point towards the wall, and the viewed side will be well lit.  I have no idea which way I'd arrange a NS layout, never having designed one.  If I modeled a large part of my narrow gauge, the southern end would work best with south to the right, as it's (mostly) on the west side of the mountains.  For the northern end, north to the right would work best, as it's on the west side of a long narrow lake, which would make a good isle.  No point modeling the middle, as it's mostly wilderness, and the view is the same in both directions. 

Dave V:  And, from Dolores to Durango, the westbound train ran east.   

[unittrain]

Mines north/south orientation. South left, north right in the literal sense however the mainlines I model are largely east west orientation, the CSX former B&O Newcastle sub is east west, the NS former Pennsylvania Railroad Cleveland Pittsburgh line is more north south. Facing my layout east is left and west right, the part depicting the former Pennsy line north is left south is right, but I can also view this portion of the layout the mirror opposite.

[johnb]

Interesting question. I've always thought of west to the left. Since I model the Southern Pacific, there is no north or south. 

The SP was unique,  if you were heading towards San Francisco,  you were heading West, so, if you were on the Coast Daylight,  the Pacific Ocean is to your right,  the compass points south,  you are heading east.

[johnb]

As for Playa Desnuda,  the route is East/West,  I  set it up that when you are  looking at the layout, you are facing north, and the west end is to the left, like a map.

As long as you know what the orientation is,  it really doesn't matter. If it bugs you,  print a compass on the fascia

[djconway]

In looking at my rail fan photos, 75% or more are taken from the south side (east-west RR). So when I planned my RR it seemed only natural that I would be facing north when viewing the road.

[Cajonpassfan]

If you are modelling a prototype, the orientation of the operator to the benchwork with respect to direction of travel is dictated largely by the topography.  For example, if I was modelling the BCR's climb through the Fraser River canyon, I would be building the layout with north to south oriented from left to right as the railway is on a steep sidehill.

Orientation may also be dictated by available space and how the benchwork can fit into it.  Orientation can also change from one deck to another if the trains travel up a helix and reverse direction around the room on a new level.  Many multi-deck layouts have a change in orientation depending on the level.

My own layout was determined by the latter as the longest walls for the yards were on the left side of the room, so the trains had to travel north from left to right, and then the reverse on the upper deck.  Fortunately, for the area I am modelling, this orientation worked out well in terms of topography.

A good question, and one worthy of careful consideration when track planning.


Tim

This pretty much sums it up in my book...
Otto K.

[Maletrain]

The club I operate with back-fitted an existing layout to resemble a subdivision of a real railroad, and ended-up with the operator's viewpoint being looking towards the south when facing the layout.  This is a frequent source of confusion for newbie operators, even though there are signs all over the fascia that say "<- East  West ->".  One person suggested printing "East" and "West" up-side-down "to avoid confusion."

Once you know which way some place is compared to another place on the layout, there really isn't much issue with what direction you are looking to operate a train.  But, layouts are so convoluted compared to a real railroad, it requires some mental agility to relate the model track plan to the real world.  So, telling somebody to take a train from Point A "westward" (or to take a train with an odd number) to Point B, tends to get them trying to take a mental image from a map and transfer that to the layout.  And, things only get worse when dealing with intersecting railroads that may be running north or south but calling their directions "east" and "west", especially when the actual tracks of those roads are really slanted in the geographically opposite direction from their railroad direction at the point of intersection.

I really don't see any solution for this issue that would fit all manners of thinking from the variety of people that might come to operate for the first time on a layout.  There are lots of cues that various people can use to get oriented geographically in the real world, and some of them are more subtle than others.  Some people use some of those factors, even subconsciously, while being oblivious to others. And some of those factors have different effects on different people.  For those of us who have lived our lives in the northern hemisphere, having the light coming from high behind us tends to make us think we are looking north, while the folks who grew up well south of the equator tend to think the opposite.  And, those of us who grew up near the oceans tend to think we are looking north when the ocean waves are coming from our right if we grew up near the Atlantic or from the left if we grew up near the Pacific.

I think we just need to learn a layout to be comfortable (and reliable) when operating on it. 

[dougnelson]

I am not sure that I agree with your premise.  My east-west railroad is oriented as you are looking north, so east is to the right and west to the left.  This is typically how maps are experienced with north facing up.  When looking at a map of the PRR Middle Division, Philadelphia (east) is to the right, and Pittsburgh (west) is to the left.  Not a hard rule, but facing north puts the sun to your back, lighting the railroad subject and probably the majority of prototype photos are taken facing north.  Also, FWIW, the PRR numbered its tracks 1-4 south to north.

As for a north-south railroad, I would say you could choose which ever way you prefer.  I would agree that topography would be a larger determinant, for example whichever side of a n-s river a railroad was located on, you would likely put the river in the foreground and the upland in the background.

[nkalanaga]

djconway:  "75% or more are taken from the south side"  Makes sense - one usually wants the well-lit side of the subject, unless it's an "artistic" photo.  I imagine the other 25% were because that was the side you happened to be on, or the only side you could get to?

[GaryHinshaw]

Like some have already mentioned, topography and room geometry may trump other factors.  I tried to design the major scenes on my pike so they would be visible from vantage points that were similar to what was possible when rail-fanning the prototype.

[drift]
In the summer, the sun is north of east in the early morning and north of west in the late evening, so the north side of an east-west train could be illuminated under these circumstances. 
[/drift]

[daniel_leavitt2000]

One of the biggest issues I have with the Boston Line layout is that the area modeled is all over the map. While the mainline was all B&A, several yards and branches are ex NH. So while it is an East-West road, two major yards are North-South. That... Complicates things. I excitedly settled on a south facing view (east to left, west to right). But only because that's the only way Framingham North (the centerpiece) can get its own peninsula.

No one has mentioned this yet so maybe I'm the only one... But I have areas of the layout that are mirror images of the prototype. There is a section of Framingham that will be modeled on reverse (where south is actually north, but east is still east.) Likewise, Westboro yard is also mirrored because this provides the best view and topogrape for the area. I'm my case I don't want the observer looking over landmark buildings to see the trains, but to be framed with them.

[djconway]

djconway:  "75% or more are taken from the south side"  Makes sense - one usually wants the well-lit side of the subject, unless it's an "artistic" photo.  I imagine the other 25% were because that was the side you happened to be on, or the only side you could get to?

A lot of the 25% would be on the west side for afternoon shots and east for morning.  I find myself following the Boston & Albany line through western Mass, (it's almost in the back yard) or the Boston & Maine from East Deerfield to North Adams.  When I do get to NY it was the Selkirk yard, west side view of the hump and engine terminal or Voorheesvil where the D&H used to cross the NYC line north/south line.  You have to switch sides since you find yourself shooting into the afternoon sun if you stay in the park/bike path. 

[MVW]

My layout is "backwards." Left is eastbound, right is westbound. So it's as if you're facing south as you operate the layout, as opposed to the northern orientation of maps. It had to be that way for me to make the most of the space.

I was kicking around layout ideas with my brother a few weeks back. He's thinking of doing a layout based on our hometown. Naturally, he had been approaching it from the position that the operator faces north. I pointed out that if he did that, the largest industrial buildings would be between the operator and the spurs that served them, hindering access. By changing orientation, so that the operator faces south, the spurs would be between the operator and the industries, making uncoupling much easier (and showing off the rolling stock more).

"Facing south" may not be your first inclination, but if it provides benefits, why not?

JTG