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What do you think of Noch preformed layouts for Z?!
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Offline KevinK54  
#1 Posted : 03 September 2010 18:08:51(UTC)
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KevinK54


Joined: 11/07/2010(UTC)
Posts: 7
Location: NY, NY
As a newbie to Z, what do you all think of the Noch Preformed layouts? As a beginner it seems easier than creating a layout from scratch at first. Kinda like getting my feet wet before I jump in. The layout can be added to with extra scenery and buildings. Wiring seems like it would be OK. Anyone out here in Marklinland ever try or use one of these layouts? I've seen a coup;e of videos on Youtube using these layouts. They look good. Thanks for your input, just trying to get an opinion.Huh
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Offline ozzman  
#2 Posted : 03 September 2010 23:31:13(UTC)
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ozzman

Australia   
Joined: 23/11/2007(UTC)
Posts: 1,828
Location: Sydney, Australia
Hi Kevin and welcome to this great forum. There's a bit of snobbery out there about Noch preformed layouts, but in your post you encapsulated the advantages. They're also good for people, like me, whose carpentry abilities stop at or just short of driving nails in straight. The main disadvantage, apart from costing more, is that before too long the operational possibilities no longer give the sense of fulfilment you'd get from a scratch-built layout. I looked seriously at getting one, but in the end decided to go with a scratch-built layout to get the type of operation that I really wanted.
Gary
Z Scale
"Never let the prototype get in the way of a good layout"
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Offline steventrain  
#3 Posted : 04 September 2010 00:13:46(UTC)
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steventrain

United Kingdom   
Joined: 21/10/2004(UTC)
Posts: 31,707
Location: United Kingdom
Hi Kevin,

Welcome to the forum.Smile
Large Marklinist 3- Rails Layout with CS2/MS2/Boosters/C-track/favorites Electric class E03/BR103, E18/E118, E94, Crocodiles/Steam BR01, BR03, BR05, BR23, BR44, BR50, Big Boy.
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Offline MikeK  
#4 Posted : 04 September 2010 01:10:55(UTC)
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MikeK

Denmark   
Joined: 15/09/2009(UTC)
Posts: 176
Hi Kevin,

First of all, welcome to the forum!

I don't have any experience with the preformed Noch layouts, except from looking at them in the catalog - they do look nice - I would imagine that they are a bit hard to modify if you want to change anything - but I guess it depends on what your goal is, if it is to run the trains, or to create something :)

It might be a good starting point thou - you will probably get a lot of ideas for the next layout - like after using it for some time you would think, ohh... wouldn't it be nice if that was like this, and this like that, if there were space for a factory here, and an extra branch line there.

Or maybe you will be satisfied with the enjoyment of having a complete layout, and not one that never gets finished - guess it really depends on what you like :)

^__^
Mike

A single track on the floor is better than no track at all...
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Offline H0  
#5 Posted : 04 September 2010 10:11:37(UTC)
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H0


Joined: 16/02/2004(UTC)
Posts: 15,467
Location: DE-NW
I don't have "hands on" experience with those layouts.
But when I saw the trackplan of one of their suitcase layouts (Blumenau) I thought it couldn't fit. Tried it with WinTrack and it didn't fit.
Asked Noch and they told me the plan was correct and they always did it like that.
Below the trackplan they note: "Beim Befestigen der Gleise müssen die Schienenstöße ausgeglichen werden."
Sounds as if you must bend the rails to get reliable operation.
With four larger radius curves it'll fit without bending (but may not fit on the layout).
The same note can be found on the Tessin track plan.

I hope this doesn't apply to their larger layouts (haven't checked them).
I wouldn't order one without testing the trackplan in WinTrack.
Regards
Tom
---
"In all of the gauges, we particularly emphasize a high level of quality, the best possible fidelity to the prototype, and absolute precision. You will see that in all of our products." (from Märklin New Items Brochure 2015, page 1) ROFLBTCUTS
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Offline KevinK54  
#6 Posted : 04 September 2010 18:47:01(UTC)
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KevinK54


Joined: 11/07/2010(UTC)
Posts: 7
Location: NY, NY
H0 wrote:
I don't have "hands on" experience with those layouts.
But when I saw the trackplan of one of their suitcase layouts (Blumenau) I thought it couldn't fit. Tried it with WinTrack and it didn't fit.
Asked Noch and they told me the plan was correct and they always did it like that.
Below the trackplan they note: "Beim Befestigen der Gleise müssen die Schienenstöße ausgeglichen werden."
Sounds as if you must bend the rails to get reliable operation.
With four larger radius curves it'll fit without bending (but may not fit on the layout).
The same note can be found on the Tessin track plan.

I hope this doesn't apply to their larger layouts (haven't checked them).
I wouldn't order one without testing the trackplan in WinTrack.

Thanks for the advice. The tracks do fit the layout. The Noch "Cortina" layout is fairly large, so the tracks work. I'm not sure or surprised that it's a problem for the briefcase layouts. I don't have Trackplan or Wintrack, so I can't test track plans and sizes. I need a track program for a MAC. Any suggestions? Most of those programs are for Windows. Anyhow, thanks for the input and advice.
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Offline KevinK54  
#7 Posted : 04 September 2010 18:52:00(UTC)
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KevinK54


Joined: 11/07/2010(UTC)
Posts: 7
Location: NY, NY
MikeK wrote:
Hi Kevin,

First of all, welcome to the forum!

I don't have any experience with the preformed Noch layouts, except from looking at them in the catalog - they do look nice - I would imagine that they are a bit hard to modify if you want to change anything - but I guess it depends on what your goal is, if it is to run the trains, or to create something :)

It might be a good starting point thou - you will probably get a lot of ideas for the next layout - like after using it for some time you would think, ohh... wouldn't it be nice if that was like this, and this like that, if there were space for a factory here, and an extra branch line there.

Or maybe you will be satisfied with the enjoyment of having a complete layout, and not one that never gets finished - guess it really depends on what you like :)

^__^
Mike


Thanks for the welcome and advice Mike. I'll let you know how the layout comes out when I'm finished. I'm trying to get my signals and turnouts to all work properly. Maybe I can post some pictures when I'm all finished. Thanks again.

Kevin
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Offline KevinK54  
#8 Posted : 04 September 2010 18:55:20(UTC)
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KevinK54


Joined: 11/07/2010(UTC)
Posts: 7
Location: NY, NY
steventrain wrote:
Hi Kevin,

Welcome to the forum.Smile


Thanks for the welcome. I hope to get some great advice and ideas from this experienced group of Marklin users.
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Offline KevinK54  
#9 Posted : 04 September 2010 19:07:24(UTC)
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KevinK54


Joined: 11/07/2010(UTC)
Posts: 7
Location: NY, NY
ozzman wrote:
Hi Kevin and welcome to this great forum. There's a bit of snobbery out there about Noch preformed layouts, but in your post you encapsulated the advantages. They're also good for people, like me, whose carpentry abilities stop at or just short of driving nails in straight. The main disadvantage, apart from costing more, is that before too long the operational possibilities no longer give the sense of fulfilment you'd get from a scratch-built layout. I looked seriously at getting one, but in the end decided to go with a scratch-built layout to get the type of operation that I really wanted.


Thanks Ozzman for the advice and welcome. For me this is not as easy as it looks. I will be putting this layout in a coffee table once it's complete. I'm just trying to get the signals and turnouts to work now. The scenery will come next. I'm not sure that ballasting the tracks on this kind of layout will work. It would definitely add to the realism. I looked at ready made trackbed (ballasted and non-ballasted) by Noch, just a thought. The Noch (Cortina) layout comes with grass and water, but not too good for my liking. I want to add as much scenery (grass, bushes, trees, flowers, roads, water, figures) as possible to make it more realistic. Definitely a work in progress. I'll post some pictures when I'm done. Thanks again.

Kevin
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Offline ozzman  
#10 Posted : 04 September 2010 22:51:05(UTC)
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ozzman

Australia   
Joined: 23/11/2007(UTC)
Posts: 1,828
Location: Sydney, Australia
A good track planning program for the Mac is Railmodeller. You can find it here:

www.railmodeller.com
Gary
Z Scale
"Never let the prototype get in the way of a good layout"
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Offline KevinK54  
#11 Posted : 05 September 2010 07:38:46(UTC)
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KevinK54


Joined: 11/07/2010(UTC)
Posts: 7
Location: NY, NY
ozzman wrote:
A good track planning program for the Mac is Railmodeller. You can find it here:

www.railmodeller.com

Thanks Ozzman, I'll give it a try.
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