here is a plan for my planned layout Givens: room size: 13'x13' must be small and portable in case i decide to keep it when i move out Druthers: N scale relatively easy to build mainline connecting 2 towns and a coal mine branch expandibility coal trestle tunnel bridge so here is the plan: so the 2 tracks at the top left go to staging on a shelf on the wall. the other track on the top is an interchange. the 2 spur industry is a coal yard/machine plant, the last track on that side of the layout is a freight/passenger station. on the bottom we have the branch line (the layout will eventually be expanded). the 3 tracks on the bottom will be an interchange yard. the spur above that is a team track. so here is how the operations work: the branch produces about 10 hoppers of coal a day, the branch loco brings them down and puts them in the yard. it then picks up a string of empties and brings them back up. the local then comes down from staging and switches the industries at the top of the layout, then moves on to switching the lower town before going to the other staging yard. another train comes out of staging and drops another set of empty hoppers in the yard and picks up the loads before going back to the other staging yard. there will probably also be a few through trains. oh, minimum radius is 10" train lengths will be < 12 cars era:mid-1950's no specific prototype and locale is around pennsylvania somewhere. any problems with the layout and operating scheme? im open to suggestions. any ideas to make it better? thanks, Kyle
here is a lebelled version wo the river (someone on another forum made me realize that it seemed too narrow and i couldnt make it work any other way.
I like it. The only change, (and this is very minor), you might want to make is the direction of the interchange track. As it is right now if a train leaves the yard it can drop cars anywhere else with no run-around move but to use the interchange it needs to use the nearby passing siding as a run-around. This is nit picky and over all that works just fine. I would put industries on the "staging leads" to the upper left, (unless the staging area will be in place soon), but you have probably already considered that.
i put the interchange that way to make operations more interesting (always a plus an this small of a layout). i havent thought about putting industries on the staging leads. i guess it would help, my only concern is that the cars may get in the way but there may be a way around that. any other ideas or suggestions?
I like the layout as well. Looks like it would be fun to operate. My only suggestion is to continue the interchange off the side of the layout in order to simulate "continuation" once you do your scenery, etc. Very nice plan.
ok, ill do that. by the way does anyone see a spot to put a river that goes under the tracks? i really want to have at least one bridge over a river but i cant find a spot to put the river and make it believable. any help is greatly appreciated. thanks, Kyle
not to throw a wrench in the plas because I like your plan alot, but I was looking at it and thinking that the branchline that goes off the main on the lower right and circles around the backdrop could be connected to the siding on the other side to allow a long passing siding--it goes behind the backdrop, so you wouldn't see the connection. As far as a river crossing, what if there was one on the brach line on the lower left of the plan as it goes off the layout? If you want one on the main, you could make it more of a dry creek type scene as you originally had it drawn, but only have your outer track on the bridge, trestle, etc. That would give you room to do a tree viewblock along the river edge to seperate the branchline from the main. Just a couple of thoughts. As I said, I like the plan so they're just observations to maybe help operations and get you the river you want.
txronharris, the passing siding idea wouldnt work because the branch is at a 3% grade and i cant lower the end any more by the way i am in the process of updating the plan this time to use 2 HCD's. ill post a plan for you guys ASAP.
