How to use templates to save time when designing a model railroad layoutA great timesaver when designing and building a model railroad is the use of templates. Some of these devices are commercially available but sometimes it is easier to make them yourself. When drawing a track plan a set of radius guides made to your drawing scale are much more convenient than having to use a compass for every curve you draw. 
The above drawing shows a 36” radius curve pattern at a scale of ¾”=1’. The radial arms show the circumference of a 36” radius circle in 1 ft. increments. As shown, the distance from 0 to 180 degrees of this circle is 9.4 ft. You will need to make separate patterns for each radius you intend to use in your track plan. The construction of these patterns is fairly simple. They can be made of thin wood, plastic, or cardstock. Using a compass, draw a semicircle of the scale radius desired and (using the above example) mark a length of wire in ¾” increments(or your chosen scale), bend the wire to conform to the circumference, and mark the semicircle using the wire increment markings. These are your scale 1 ft. sections. Use a sharp #11 knife or a new razor blade and carefully cut out the drawing. Now when you draw your track plan you will also know how much track the curve will require. If you enjoy doing the math, here is the formula for the circumference of a circle: C=π x D, D = 2R, C=3.14 x 6’ for the example above. C=18.8ft. A complete circle with a radius of 36” has a length around of 18.8ft.
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