I have played with the idea of a carfloat on an oNetrak module. Problem is the length of the carfloat. If I remember correctly: it should be around 2ft long... But with sharper curves and a larger module (= Ntrak), there are more possibilities. You have the book 'New York Harbour Railroads' by Thomas Flagg? I have vol 1. Great book with beautifull pictures of carfloat operations!
Thankfully, since this layout will not be modeling a specific prototype of a location, I'm going to be using a condensed version of the standard car float. For this size layout, the maximum size I could fit comfortably was 1 foot 4 inches. With three tracks of cars I think it'll look pretty good. Also, originally this wasn't planned to be an actual N-trak module. I was just basing the N-scale dimensions on a layout plan I was designing for another TBer here (a Z-scale shelf layout). And without some seriously complicated, hand-laid crossings, you wouldn't be able to get the three N-trak lines across it. BUT, since I was thinking last night about putting an elevated subway line across the front, there'd be nothing stopping you from having that be the three tracks for an actual N-trak module. It would be prototypical for trains to run elevated in a New York City scene. I think the complicated thing would be figuring out how to transition from the sides into the lower scene (maybe some block walls with tunnel entrances for the left-to-right street?). Wow, this just keeps getting neater! :tb-biggrin: No I don't but it sounds great. Also, while searching around the net for information about it I found a great book from Kalmbach Publishing called Building City Scenery for Your Model Railroad that has great information about doing city scenes from the era I'd like to model (50s through 1980). The street railroad scenes are precisely the views I was thinking of as I was putting this design together. If you follow the link to Amazon above, it will actually show you the first chapter with lots of neat photos and tips. Anyway, this layout will be great for someone to build, maybe even me!
The only general observation I'll make is that the really, really miserable tight curves in urban settings usually evolved because the streets and buildings were there first and the railroad had no other choice than to build right down the street and try to swing sidings into buildings that were already there. No other choice. That's true of Baltimore and Philadelphia, parts of Brooklyn. The wildest trackage I've ever seen with tight clearances, sharp curves, and gonzo bridge engineering is Lowell, MA, because it evolved before railroads - in the1830's - and the railroads had to build around canals and narrow streets. If you look at the 'trolley' tracks in Lowell, most of those were actually B&M freight spurs down the alleys. I've also see situations in the fields where MULTIPLE yard and siding tracks were in the street; First St. in Petaluma, CA was 3 tracks wide (essentially a sorting yard in the street) with sidings taking off in all directions. So I'd look at combining part of all of that street across the front with the trackage running through it. And your sidings - other than the actual delivery docks - should probably also be in the street.
N-trak Version So I went back to XTrakCad and imported the N-trak module to see where the tracks would go: So you'd need to move the buildings back a little bit (or maybe just shrink a few), but the three tracks for an actual N-trak module would be a GREAT elevated line across the front! Now again, the big problem is figuring out the transition from the lower level to module mainline level. Maybe you use two half-modules, one on each side, to handle that? Or since 6-foot N-trak modules are allowed, maybe a pair of 1-foot removable extensions could do the trick? Any ideas?
The "L" sounds like an awesome idea; you wouldn't even have to put a train on it. I personally like the idea of no backdrop. Seriously, the way this is set up, it is worth viewing from all sides. Imagine That N Scale "L" platforms Build Your Own Chicago paper "L" tracks On the topic of carfloat; if you make it moveable, it could be used as a visible staging yard/fiddle yard to get cars on and off the layout. Andy Tetsu Uma
That's precisely what I was going for. Otherwise there'd be no reason for the tight curves and street trackage. That's what I think makes this layout work so well. For the most part, that's the plan. The one thing I've been avoiding though is putting the switches in the street. I don't think I want to deal with the complexity of getting the switches to work correctly with streets running through them, though I'll more than likely be widening the street in front to as close as possible to the switches. And if I make this into an actual N-trak module, I think that'll look even better, with part of the road covered by the elevated line. Lots of possibilities!
Could you have the switching portion of the module be "below grade" so the elevated portion would match the level of the other modules?
That's exactly what I was thinking. And if I used the removable 1" module on each side, it'd be really easy to use buildings, a block wall, and whatever other theater tricks I can come up with to make the transition realistic. It'd be tough to make it work in the 4-foot standard module, but not impossible! We're totally on the same page here. I was thinking of building two car floats, and just swap them out to add/subtract cars.
Two foot would be better, I think. That way the whole complex would be two standard modules long. Couldn't you just turn it around?
The Ntrak concept of three main tracks is not of any use, I am afraid. Therefore, I was thinking about integrating it in an oNetrak layout. You only need one mainline, and that can run on something elevated, or have a connection with the carfloat operations. Other option: cut the area in two halves, and make a shelf layout of it. After some searching, I found my 'design'. Very rough... The book I mentioned shows all carfloat operations from the 50's and 60's, but also some later carfloats from the 70's and 80's. When you look at the Bush Terminal, you see that the tracks run through the corners of the warehouses, otherwise they would not be able to make the turn.
Makes sense to me. Plus more space for buildings and stuff. :thumbs_up: Well, for starters, most car floats enter and exit from a single side. And since you'll mostly be seeing just freight cars on them, there's no real reason to turn them around. But if you had two floats, it'd be easy to load one up, then pull it out and swap it with another loaded one, ready for more operations. Obviously not necessary, but a nice excuse to build two car floats.
With the addition of two two-foot half-modules on the sides, this would make a perfect N-trak module. Run the three-track mains across the elevated line, drop the main scene below grade and there you go. Ha! I've seen buildings like this before, but only after the tracks were long gone. Awesome! This opens up tons more possibilities and makes it much easier to put tracks wherever they need to go with curves that work nicely. Thanks!
Oh, and I wouldn't use a traditional backdrop anyway, but instead put a backdrop on the wall (perhaps on two walls in a corner) showing a harbor scene with city visible in the background and maybe a tugboat image slightly off the wall for some depth. Then imagine the layout sitting with a few feet between it and the backdrop. This way when you move around looking at the scene through the viewblocks the city buildings and scenery provide, the background harbor will also move in a more realistic way, yet allow you to go all the way around the layout. This could be a portable backdrop that sets up on stands for use at shows and stuff.
Three tracks, hm, won't it take too much space? And is it prototypical? Well, I don't have to think about this issue, since our Ntrakclub only has oNetrakmodules.:tb-biggrin:
I know two-track elevated lines are prototypical, and so are four-track ones. So somewhere there must be three tracks. If not, I'll let it slide. Speaking of that, here's a version with the N-trak elevated lines: And here it is with the elevated line hidden: I think it works very nicely. Oh, and I also narrowed the layout a little bit to make space for the transition to the standard elevation. :tb-biggrin:
Only because I "need" two. Yeah, that's the ticket. Also, if I do it this way, I figure that I'll build the car floats exactly the same way, weathered slightly differently, and use removable furniture dowels on the bottoms that plug into matching holes in the water area. I'll also have plugs for those holes if I ever want to have no float there (not likely, but hey, who knows). This will ensure that the tracks line up perfectly each time. Now I just need to find the time and the money to do it...
The New York City subway "7" line has 3 tracks through a large part of Queens, where it runs as an overhead elevated line. The middle track is used to provide express service.
