My New Layout
- Thread starter Johne230
- Start date
Hey Johne230, looks good what will you do there with the coal mine for me I think it would be a way to make it pass thru I like the Freight Yard don't get me wrong I really like the way it set up just thinking of some other way to make it where you could go thru either way. Hope I didn't make you mad just something to thank about buddy.
Chris,
Chris,
Johne230
Member
Not mad at all the coal mine is up on a flat spot carved into the mountain that wraps around the notch in the bench there is also a wall at the end of the bench on that side so I am sort of stuck with the dead end.
Johne230
Member
OK Chris 2 heads are better then one.
Motley
Active Member
Those coal mine tracks look very long. How many cars do plan on having there? I would shorten those a bit. And it will give you more room for some scenery there. Maybe a roadway, river, lake, etc.
Instead of using the double crossover at lower right. Just create two single crossovers along the top there. It will also server as a passing siding.
Double crossovers save space, but they are hard to maintain and always troublesome with derailments. Avoid when possible.
Then on your freight yard. It looks like way too much wasted space in between them. Squeeze those together, and get another 2 or 3 tracks in there. Just make sure you can get your fingers in between the cars.
Instead of using the double crossover at lower right. Just create two single crossovers along the top there. It will also server as a passing siding.
Double crossovers save space, but they are hard to maintain and always troublesome with derailments. Avoid when possible.
Then on your freight yard. It looks like way too much wasted space in between them. Squeeze those together, and get another 2 or 3 tracks in there. Just make sure you can get your fingers in between the cars.
Motley
Active Member
No the crossovers on the top. Put those crossovers closer to the each ends near the curves. And keep the double track mainline all the way through.
Then where the label 87" number is in the middle. Put a river that winds from the town, and off the edge of the layout there. And put a double track truss bridge over the river.
The coal mine run-around track you added. Extend that all the way down to the left, where concrete plant is. That tail on the end there for the escape, it could be shorter too. It only has to hold a small switcher.
And the siding on the lower right. Create two tracks there for staging trains. Just extend them to the right some.
Then where the label 87" number is in the middle. Put a river that winds from the town, and off the edge of the layout there. And put a double track truss bridge over the river.
The coal mine run-around track you added. Extend that all the way down to the left, where concrete plant is. That tail on the end there for the escape, it could be shorter too. It only has to hold a small switcher.
And the siding on the lower right. Create two tracks there for staging trains. Just extend them to the right some.
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There are NO Xovers anywhere in this plan. Those switches on top are just a LH & a RH. If there was a track "below" them, then they would be Xovers. But a big problem is there's no way to make up a train using a siding. So any Xovers should be on either side of the yard lead. Or put a siding parallel to the yard lead. That very long switchback off the yard makes no RR sense. First of all any those tracks would never go under another track unless it were a gold mine. :-( Also the lead to it is only long enough to hold one short loco & maybe 2 cars. What's called a "siding" on the bottom is really a "spur". In the US a siding has switches on both ends & a spur has only one switch. The only siding at the coal mine looks too short to be of much use. A siding left of the mine spurs would be more practical. But then what kinds of switching do you foresee that a siding is needed there?
John, I was looking at your design.
Your trains will run in one direction only.
Starting at the top, if you run a train to the left you will have to back all of your cars into the freight yard and freight station.
You will not be able to get you switcher out of the lumber yard.
If you run your train to the right then you will have the same situation with the freight area and the lumber yard plus you will have to back your cars into the coal and concrete plants.
If you have any cars at all going to the coal and concrete plants you do not have any place to spot the loco and may be stuck in the coal area.
This would not let you get out to spot the cars for the next load of cars coming in.
Just a few of my thoughts.
Your trains will run in one direction only.
Starting at the top, if you run a train to the left you will have to back all of your cars into the freight yard and freight station.
You will not be able to get you switcher out of the lumber yard.
If you run your train to the right then you will have the same situation with the freight area and the lumber yard plus you will have to back your cars into the coal and concrete plants.
If you have any cars at all going to the coal and concrete plants you do not have any place to spot the loco and may be stuck in the coal area.
This would not let you get out to spot the cars for the next load of cars coming in.
Just a few of my thoughts.
Mike_Arnold
Newbie Modeler
I'm really surprised no one has hit on this yet. Your lumber yard, the tracks are so long but the way it's set up it looks like it would be VERY tedious getting 2 cars down there at a time. The tracks are so long but the way you have it set up you can't bring many cars back at once. I'm not sure what to do with it exactly but I'd take a look at changing it to allow easier access with more cars at once.
bklynman01
Active Member
Okay, so this doesn't "fix" any problems, and please understand this is merely a suggestion. I in no way intend to hijack your design, and do not expect you to use the suggestions. Simply food for thought.
Excuse my excellent MS Paint work, but it was the easiest way to show my ideas.
From the top
- I added a track next to the blue. This can be either a staging area for your coal cars, or a locomotive run around. For the same reason you added the runaround at the coal mine, you'll need one at the bottom of the hill. The idea is to never interrupt the main line when moving cars around.
- I shortened the lumber yard rails. Since there really isn't a way to get more than maybe two cars out at a time, there is no need to be able to store 8 on each line. In fact, the lines are probably still longer than needed. Save your money here and don't lay the extra track when it can't be used.
- I connected the lowest yard track to the main line. This is your staging for the freight yard. A train traveling on the main can drop of cars here and go about it's way. Then the switcher can do it's work in the yard without interrupting the main line. Again, all operations should not interrupt the mainline.
- Going along with the aforementioned mainline interruptions, the passenger station is on the mainline. Is the outside main only for passenger use? If so, this may not cause any problem. If not, maybe a siding there for the station would help.
- I see that most of the track is sectional in the design. My suggestion would be to use flex track as much as possible. It will minimize the number of joints, thus minimizing the possible locations of problems. This completely up to you though, as many people do prefer the sectional over flex.
Again, only my two cents. Take or leave it - I can use the money if you don't want it!
Excuse my excellent MS Paint work, but it was the easiest way to show my ideas.
From the top
- I added a track next to the blue. This can be either a staging area for your coal cars, or a locomotive run around. For the same reason you added the runaround at the coal mine, you'll need one at the bottom of the hill. The idea is to never interrupt the main line when moving cars around.
- I shortened the lumber yard rails. Since there really isn't a way to get more than maybe two cars out at a time, there is no need to be able to store 8 on each line. In fact, the lines are probably still longer than needed. Save your money here and don't lay the extra track when it can't be used.
- I connected the lowest yard track to the main line. This is your staging for the freight yard. A train traveling on the main can drop of cars here and go about it's way. Then the switcher can do it's work in the yard without interrupting the main line. Again, all operations should not interrupt the mainline.
- Going along with the aforementioned mainline interruptions, the passenger station is on the mainline. Is the outside main only for passenger use? If so, this may not cause any problem. If not, maybe a siding there for the station would help.
- I see that most of the track is sectional in the design. My suggestion would be to use flex track as much as possible. It will minimize the number of joints, thus minimizing the possible locations of problems. This completely up to you though, as many people do prefer the sectional over flex.
Again, only my two cents. Take or leave it - I can use the money if you don't want it!
bklynman01
Active Member
So Cajon posted at the same time as me. I like his better...
