I don't like that switch tree....it goes every which way but loose...if it were me, knowing that it IS hidden staging, and that access under there to 0-5-0 stuff is gonna be a little limited....I would lay that switch tree in a straighter line, and add rerailers at each end. Staging tracks are the working defenition of Murphy's law in MRing. If it can go wrong, it will. That said, I would tear out those switches and straitline the ends of the staging....you got the cars' trucks going every which way but loose down there....other than that, I like your plan, and like Hutch's layout, this is fun to watch. Just don't get it to the point he did and then tear it out..... And remember, this thread is NO GOOD without pics.......
You have a great point--but I am not making and breaking trains in this yard. I may not even back trains in, except in an emergency. This yard is simply a storage yard. Is rebuilding the throat really necessary? Rose-colored glasses.... The re-railers are a great idea, and I have plenty. Now, do I want to cut out sections, and cut in these rerailers? That's a lot of work. 11 rerailers in all...
Hemi, Having those two switches straight off the back of the first one is going to be problematic. I agree with CC the last thing you will want is an unreliable yard throat.
I dunno--I may have to pull it up/rebuild later, but it seems smooth. The real test will be the Kato PA-1's! I already had the tracks glued down, and not wanting to pull it up before testing seemed reasonable. We'll see. Anyways, staging is done! All 3 pics by my wife, Kristal! And my lil' engineer helped daddy test an autorack in the newly-completed staging yard:
Hemi Now those last two pictures bring back some memory's from 16 years ago when my little guy was about 2 or 3 years old. Those where good times, my advice remember them and take lots of pictures, they grow up real fast. If you are happy with the throat, leave it for now, and see how it performs, you can always rip her up.
That is cool....dad and is boy on the trains !! I agree with you, test it out before you rip it up. If in the future it does not work out....you can always rip it up then and rebuild that area.
Mike: "Awesome" was the right word...whether you were refering to the layout or to the father and son running trains together.:thumbs_up: Hemi: If you're satisfied with the staging throat(s), no problem. If not, then consider this information:
Hemi, I know your not building trains there, or breaking them up...BUT, if you look at the yard from the left to right of the shot...the track furthest from the right is track one...(for the purposes of this post...) track two comes off the straight rail side of that switch, and immediantly starts to curve out from the straight rail....big no-no. Replace those two switches with wye switches, get them around the initial spacing curve and then splice in the rerailers...I know you don't want to go backwards as you have glued it in, but in the long run, you will save a lot of time not putting stuff back on the rail. One last thing, model trains, just like model airplanes, are subject to the same types of forces the real ones are, just in different degrees. I have found that if you build with that in mind, things go easier. Even in N scale, an auto rack is a big car, they swing out back and forth going through those switches....making your trackwork condusive to those moments will help you a LOT in the long run....and BTW, your kid is a fine looking broth of a lad....talk to you soon.
Stupid mistake: I laid the turnback loop, without installing insulated joiners in 2 sections.... Talk about a hair-puller, when I checked, and re-checked all my feeders! I racked my brain, till I checked the polarity... Doh! On a side note, I measured my longest siding, and it's an astonishing 14 feet! I wasn't thinking I'd fit that much! The others are at least 12 feet apiece. I ran some F-units, and they ran fine. I ran the Kato PA's,a nd they ran OK, too. A few areas that need some tweaking, but no derailments. The CZ came out next, and other than a pesky baggage car that derailed only when being pulled (not backed) thru only one frog out of a half-dozen..... The rest of the train ran fine. I even laid a couple sections into the helix. I soldered some joints in staging, and tested clearances with autoracks. The inner tracks are off-limits for side-by-side 89-foot cars, but other than that, almost anything goes, except a 4-14-2 Russian steamer! Tomorrow, I'll test out some engines on the east ladder. The west staging ladder works just fine, and I don't forsee too many issues in east staging.
Great.....now you cant run any 4-14-2 Russian steamers....I would scrap the whole layout and start over! Of course I am kidding. Good to hear things are progressing well and testing is good to go thus far.
The real 4-14-2 steamer didn't fare too well on Stalin's rails either, and the experiment was deemed a complete disaster. Progress is slowing, but I like what I see. Next up, I need to build the wye to Plain.
Hemi, I've been viewing your progress from a far and my favorite photos are you with your son working on the layout. My wife is a teacher and the biggest problem she runs into is parents who don't take an interest in their children. I could tell you stories like the little 3rd grader who didn't sing in her Winter choral concert because her Mom didn't think it was important to go, she was the only one in her class who didn't attend. You're doing a great job not only as a model railroader but most important as a parent.
Shucks, Bernard! I spent the afternoon in the basement with my lil engineer again, this time I laid some track into the helix. I also set up his Brio/Thomas wooden trains. He and I had a ball! The east staging ladder works like a charm! Even ABA PA-1's didn't complain! Here's a look thru the wye to Plain, from staging: The wye to Plain was installed and corked-in tonite as well:
Another look at the wye: And looking fromt he Helix at one leg of the wye: Yes, Dave, nails only, around the turnouts! And the other leg:
Love those tracks to Plainview!!:thumbs_up: :thumbs_up: How about another pic of father and son with Thomas/Brio in staging or Plainview. I suspect you'll want to keep that one around a lot longer than those pics of your smooth trackwork through the Pecos!:teeth: Jog my memory, please...what did you decide on the Tortoises? Vertical through the hole in the support base panel? Vertically positioned but remotely mounted and linked with a brass rod?positioned sideways but remotely linked with a brass rod? Personally, I think sideways may be the easiest way to go if you have access to the outside of the helix on each side where you'll be mounting them, but I only have experience with vertical, upside down and vertical remotely mounted.
:thumbs_up: Jere,thats lookin excellent.The wye,will your auto racks clear the supports?Looks abit close from here,but prolly heaps of room.?
The tallest cars I have, MT 'racks, clear just fine. Doublestacks don't clear ont he real Moffat, neither on mine. Dave, the Brio tracks are on the floor... The Tortoises will be mounter underneath the helix, thru a hole I cut with my Dremel tool and a roto-zip bit.
"J" - Understandbly you wish to make this as proto accurate as possible - but why wouldn't you give that extra miniscule clearance for double stacks in case you get the urge to later on. Or if company drops in for a run session - (like the majority of us here on the board)
