designing a intermodal free-mo module


railBuilderDhd

railBuilderDhd

Active Member
Guys,
I'm starting to build a intermodal module and I'm looking for ideas on how to layout the dock area. Since it's hard to get into a dock area I was looking for ideas on how to layout the area. I would like to know if there are common areas like forklift repair facilities or some lot office building. What about a power supple building on the property. I've looked at a lot of maps on-line and got an idea of thing but I'm not clear on what everything is so that's where I'm looking for help. Anything to help make the module look real would be a great help. Right now I'm only on the planning stage as well as acquiring intermodal items.
Thanks,
Dave
 
Boy, that's a broad question. Are we talking a big, medium, or small intermodal yard? Big ones can range up to 40 tracks and small ones can go as small as five tracks. In general, there's no dock are as such. The yard is normally paved with about 30 foot spacing between the tracks to allow trucks access to the cars. The containers are loaded right from the flat car to the truck by a big version of a forklift. The closest this to a dock would be a ramp to load and unload truck trailers using tow motors.

The containers leave the yard almost immediately after they are loaded on trucks. You'd need some parking space for truck trailers since they sometimes have to sit until a tractor shows up. The whole yard is usually pretty securely fenced with chain link and razor wire because many of the loads are high value. There would be a guard shack to check trucks in and out and a large yard would have a few patrol vehicles, usually pickups, to check the fence lines and truck parks.

All yards would have some sort of office building, which could range from a small office trailer to a large, two story building. A large yard would have repair and maintenance building but smaller yards usually contract that work out.

Again, a large yard might have a substation on the property but most are fed by substations remote from the property. The one common thing you'll see is that the wires are undergrounded, since you don't want moving equipment snagging overhead wires. Smaller yards that only work a daylight schedule would have some perimeter security lighting but larger yards, that work 24 hours a day, would have batteries of floodlights mounted on poles throughout the yard. Larger yards are lighted up like a baseball stadium and they are very bright. Planning for some lighting would be an important element for realism.

In terms of Free-Mo, you'll need a plan to have the lead lead track connect to the next module. The tricky part is that only the largest yards are double ended so the intermodal yard would normally not have a track running out the other side of the module. You could fudge it so both ends have connections to other modules but that extra track would steal space you probably need for the yard, since even small yards can be 300 yards long and 200 yards wide.

Hope this helps. Keep looking on-line and start doing some sketches for the space you have available. The main thing to remember is that intermodal yards contain a lot more space than track so you'll have to do some selective compression to make a believable yard. Good luck and keep us posted since intermodal yards are starting to become common model elements.
 
I remember an article in Model Railroader of a BN intermodel yard that was 1 or 2 tracks and had connections on both ends. Only drawback was that it was over 3/4 of a mile long.

Burlington Northern's Denver intermodal Center
Model Railroader, August 1991 page 72
 
Hi Jim,
Thanks for giving me some great points to think about. I know I asked a very open question but I wanted it that way so I could be a lot of feedback. Since I'm designing a free-mo module the yard will likely start out small but it will have the ability to end up large if I would like. I plan to start with a 2'x(4' or more) or 26"x4'(+) module as a start. I would like to design this as an entry to a large yard but have it as small yard for now. I'm thinking to get a good start I may make the fire module a set of 2 and that way it would be 26" (or 2')x8' - 2 modules of 4' each. I figure most yards are small to start with and grow over time. One nice thing about free-mo is the modules can go off to the sides as well. These modules are self contained but will help in making a large realistic yard. The reason I said dock was I would like to add a container ship later as a module but that wouldn't be for some time now. That would then incorporate a dock with the intermodal yard.

Gotta start out thinking big or else you end up with nothing.
Dave
Dave
 
For the single end yard problem I was thinking I can run the main lines to a side of the module and keep them out of the yard completely. I've noticed some yard have tracks running near the yard but not inside the fence. I would then have the yard branch of the mainline to the the side.
Dave
 
Model Railroader magazine ran a series of articles about building a LA port type scene including a intermodal setup. It was pretty slick, wish I could remember the year or issue it was from but it would have to be around 1990 give or take a year or two.
 
That's the one I was thinking of, Mark. It's not a true intermodal yard but combines some intermodal, other industries, and a dock and ship loading in a very small space. It would make a great Free-Mo module.
 
 
hpdrifter said:
Here's an aerial shot of the layout out of Dallas.
http://www.auicontractors.com/docs/cs/Union_Pacific_Case_Study_LR.pdf


main UPP site;
http://www.uprr.com/newsinfo/releases/service/2005/0919_dallas_intermodal.shtml

Here is a line drawing of the setup.
http://www.uprr.com/newsinfo/releases/attachments/dit_map.pdf

picture of loading;
http://www.uprr.com/newsinfo/releases/graphics/railroad/loading.pdf

BNSF site (6.77 mb) page 6 pictures of loading, gantry, and UPR locos
http://www.dallashub.com/uploadedFiles/PDF/DLHBrochureV320081023.pdf
Click to expand...

thats the big yard in wilmer, we have another one in Mesquite, TX. look up the intersection Forney Rd. @ Prairie Creek Rd. Dallas, TX 75227 on a map and its on the northeast corner
 
UP2CSX said:
That's the one I was thinking of, Mark. It's not a true intermodal yard but combines some intermodal, other industries, and a dock and ship loading in a very small space. It would make a great Free-Mo module.
Click to expand...

You can always expand the modual and have the siding connect to the main line on one side and extend the IM yard on the other. Also you can use the siding track on the right as a delivery track for intermodal cars. I think the BN article I mentioned was mainly Trailers and containers on chassis so it depends what you want to modal. Next to the RR I work for there is another railroad (Mass Central in Palmer, MA) and they use to do intermodal transfers with containers and trailers on their tiny property. It was fun to see an F unit pulling double stacks and the area would fit perfectly on a modual.

Here is the location.

http://www.bing.com/maps/default.as...0&phx=0&phy=0&phscl=1&scene=1726479&encType=1
 
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Thanks guys this is great stuff. I can see from the layout of the Dallas terminal it would work well as a free-mo module, nice long layout.

Dave
 
railBuilderDhd said:
Thanks guys this is great stuff. I can see from the layout of the Dallas terminal it would work well as a free-mo module, nice long layout.

Dave
Click to expand...

dont forget, in the dallas terminal only the inner 4 tracks are for loading and unloading the other 4 are storage tracks , there's a fueling facility on the north end of the wye, and the main is only single track. there's a yard lead about a half a mile to 3/4 of a mile long on the north side of the yard. u can see that if you look up dowdy ferry rd @ palestine rd in hutchins, tx.
 
That made me think how long would the modules need to be for a HO scale mile and I figured it's 60 feet or 15 4' modules. I'm not sure I'll be doing a intermodal yard that large.

Dave
 
Dallas Modern HO Scale said:
thats the big yard in wilmer, we have another one in Mesquite, TX. look up the intersection Forney Rd. @ Prairie Creek Rd. Dallas, TX 75227 on a map and its on the northeast corner
Click to expand...

Yeah, I saw that on an index of all intermodal yards for UPR I found, but didn't find any pics of them. Got any?
 
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The BN Denver intermodal yard refered to at the beginning of this thread is featured in Model Railroader August 1991 page 72

Cheers, Simon
 
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