Pike Planner (page 1)

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HOW TO USE YOUR AMERICAN FLYER

PIKE
PLANNER

THE PIKE PLANNER - WHAT IT IS.
As a result of hundreds of requests from model railroad fans throughout the world, the PIKE PLANNER was developed by the Engineering Department of the A.C. Gilbert Company, which manufactures world famous American Flyer scale model electric trains. Without previous model pike experience of any kind, you can now plan and draw your own track layout in a few minutes, using the PIKE PLANNER. If what you have in mind, for example, before you put pencil to paper, is a loop of track, plus a modest series of spurs, or sidings, the entire business to go in an area no larger than 6 x 8 feet, you can quickly tell how many straight and curved track sections you will require plus many pairs of switches.

Click here to see a scanned image of the 'Pike Planner'

USING THE PIKE PLANNER
SCALE. Your PIKE PLANNER has been scaled one inch to the foot. That is, one foot in length of American Flyer track scales down to one inch in the PIKE PLANNER. All track sections and switches, etc., will be laid out to exact scale and the line drawn will be the center line of the track.

GRAPH PAPER. You will notice that it is divided into one-inch squares and each of these squares is, in turn divided by 12 lines. The one inch squares represent one foot in the actual layout and each smaller square signifies one inch in the actual layout. It's a goof idea to mount the graph paper to a piece of cardboard with rubber cement or Scotch tape to prevent tearing and wrinkling. Once this is done, make the actual drawing on a piece of tracing paper, laid over the graph paper, so that you can use the graph paper over and over again.

SIZING THE LAYOUT. Before you can Pike Plan your layout on graph paper you must first, of course determine how big a table you will have. Will it be 4 x 8 ft.(standard plywood dimensions) 8 x 16 ft., or some other size? The answer rests with you and depends on how much space you can devote in your attic, cellar or some other spot. If you select a size of 8 x 10 ft., for example, the layout drawn on graph paper would be 8 x 10 inches.

Pike Planner (Page 2)
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