Please let me know what you think. The upper level is the working level, lower level is for parking main line trains.
The layout is a freelance area modeling current day Norfolk Southern. The basic idea is to have a yard to do the switching, classification, and set outs. A GP38 or GP40 head out and pickup the mornings full cars from the various industries, and place them into the yard for classification and to make up the out bound set out. Empties will then be run out as needed to whichever industry needs them. Meanwhile, there is a busy mainline. This creates traffic to lookout for while doing the days local stuff. There is also an intermodal yard. The mainline trains are staged on the lower level, and when I want traffic, one is dispatched. The through trains exit the helix and continue in a clockwise fashion around the layout. A loopback track is used to turn the through train around and send it off layout, when I'm ready to get rid of it. I also utilize a wye, thereby creating a second "diverted" mainline to bypass switching operations as necessary. I can run the through train either direction with this setup (turning around on the loopback if that's the case).
I did it like this for a couple of reasons. A) I like BIG diesels B) I like LONG trains C) I love switching. This is able to give me the flexability of running a coal drag, or auto rack, without having a destination on the layout for them. I can dispatch a through train at my whim, let it roll around the layout until I'm tired with it, then send it away. All the while, I can run switching ops, with traffic to lookout for and create solutions for.
Please look over the layout as I have planned it. I drew it on XTrkCad, and have not begun to build, so I have some flexability with changes. All opinions appreciated.
Glenn
The layout is a freelance area modeling current day Norfolk Southern. The basic idea is to have a yard to do the switching, classification, and set outs. A GP38 or GP40 head out and pickup the mornings full cars from the various industries, and place them into the yard for classification and to make up the out bound set out. Empties will then be run out as needed to whichever industry needs them. Meanwhile, there is a busy mainline. This creates traffic to lookout for while doing the days local stuff. There is also an intermodal yard. The mainline trains are staged on the lower level, and when I want traffic, one is dispatched. The through trains exit the helix and continue in a clockwise fashion around the layout. A loopback track is used to turn the through train around and send it off layout, when I'm ready to get rid of it. I also utilize a wye, thereby creating a second "diverted" mainline to bypass switching operations as necessary. I can run the through train either direction with this setup (turning around on the loopback if that's the case).
I did it like this for a couple of reasons. A) I like BIG diesels B) I like LONG trains C) I love switching. This is able to give me the flexability of running a coal drag, or auto rack, without having a destination on the layout for them. I can dispatch a through train at my whim, let it roll around the layout until I'm tired with it, then send it away. All the while, I can run switching ops, with traffic to lookout for and create solutions for.
Please look over the layout as I have planned it. I drew it on XTrkCad, and have not begun to build, so I have some flexability with changes. All opinions appreciated.
Glenn