Help with Transition-era Shelf Layout

Matthew Roberts Nov 2, 2007

  1. Matthew Roberts

    Matthew Roberts TrainBoard Member

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    Hello, y'all. I'm moving into a new house, and have a layout space in my room roughed out. It's approximately 8'-1" x 10'-10", with the left wall space available measuring 4'-6 1/2". The left, top, and right boundaries are walls, while the bottom line is the limit the layout can encroach upon the room.

    There needs to be a path btw. the rest of the room and the door. There is a possibility for hidden staging in another room that shares the upper left wall with my room. I'd like this layout to be a depth of somewhere between 18" and 24".

    Givens:

    N-scale shelf layout in prescribed space (above)

    Prototype:

    Era: early to mid-1950s
    Region: Central Texas
    Railroad: shakily the freelanced "Austin, Texas, & Northern" read here (inspired by Mopac Texas Lines, ATSF, Texas & Pacific, Fort Worth & Denver, Espee in Texas)

    Governing Rolling Stock: 60' flats, 40'-50' boxcars, full-length passenger cars

    Relative Emphasis:

    |______________________V__________|
    Track/Operations

    |___________________V_____________|
    Mainline Running

    Operation Priorities:

    1. Local Freight Operations
    2. Small Yard Operations
    3. Mainline Through Train Operations
    4. Passenger Trains

    Typical Operating Crew: 1 or 2
     

    Attached Files:

  2. Grey One

    Grey One TrainBoard Supporter

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    Matt,
    I am very envious.
    When I was 16 I had it simple: I was in an 8x8 with a 2x4 cornor for my layout.

    Oh, could you do this old fogey a favor and draw out the space. I am having a hard time picturing it.

    Good luck!
     
  3. Matthew Roberts

    Matthew Roberts TrainBoard Member

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    Thanks, Grey One. I have an appox. 11' x 16' bedroom. :teeth:

    The drawing attached has a shadow of where the edge of the layout could approximately be if it was 2' deep. The grid is a 1' grid.
     

    Attached Files:

  4. Grey One

    Grey One TrainBoard Supporter

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    My First Impressions:
    I feel you have an ideal space for a shortline. I envision quite a few industries along the way. A short local freight pulling into sidings as the passenger and through freight go by.
    • A yard where the staging comes in
    • Industrial section to the left of that
    • Rural transitioning to mountains around the rest of the room
    • One small town mid way.
    • Small town at the far end
    Figure out a short term and long term budget
    Decide which track type you are using - Unitrak - Peco etc...

    I suggest Kato as you are likely to be changing, re-changing, and changing again.
    I'll try to get a sketch up.

    More later

    Oh, and try to work it into your schoolling such as history, math, and English. Even computer science.

    11" Radius is pretty tight for 80' passenger cars. you would have to conceal them with adroit use of scenery.
     
  5. Matthew Roberts

    Matthew Roberts TrainBoard Member

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    Well, I already have some of that figured out. I'd really like to model part of a freelanced class 1 I've dreamt up that streches from Denver to the Texas Gulf Coast: in the Texas Hill Country, which is sort've like some of the foothills of the Appalachians in elevation, but drier.

    As well, I am pretty much already decided on ME Code 55 flex with Atlas Code 55 turnouts, as that's what I have the most of. The curves are not totally restricted on the layout by the diagram I showed, they could be something like 24" radii on the end if I decide to not go point-to-point. And I don't even know how much passenger I'll run...

    BTW, I don't take CompSci, but I am in CAD. ;) ;)
     
  6. Mark Watson

    Mark Watson TrainBoard Member

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    Perhaps My lil' N Scale Plan could be of some inspiration/help to you. I wish I had as much room as you to stretch my layout out! One thing I could suggest is making one side of the layout 4-5 feet deep. As in my case, that makes for a great spot for a "roll-away" bed. (If I leave my bed set up, it drives me crazy as I try to maneuver around the remaining 3sq ft of my room :p )
     
  7. Dave1905

    Dave1905 TrainBoard Member

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    What you are talking about is the Ft. Worth and Denver-Rock Island Joint Texas Division. From Denver to Houston via Pueblo, Amarillo, Ft Worth. It did not however go to the Hill Country. Most of the Austin area wasn't too developed in the 1950's. The big areas were along the Rio Grande, perishables and along the Gulf coast, perishables and oil/chemicals. You also had lots and lots of stock yards.

    The MP used lots of smaller steamers on those lines 4-4-0's, 4-6-0's with bigger engines on the reefer trains out of the Valley (2-8-2's, 4-8-2's). 60 ft flats would be very, very rare. Most flats would be in the 40 to 53-6 ft range. Grain would be in boxcars. Reefers (ART) would be the hot commodity. Plus stock cars. Boxcars and tank cars of oil would be common. there were some gravel businesses, but not as many as today. If you are post steamers, it would virtually all be GP7's in blue and grey with FA's and FT, F3, F7's on the through freights.

    As a concept I would go with one of the branches, picking a junction such as Waco or Taylor or Austin and model the interchanges with the MKT, SP, ATSF, FWD (CBQ) and CRIP.
    Plus the junction activity and then the local operation on the branch.

    Dave H.
     
  8. Grey One

    Grey One TrainBoard Supporter

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    Dave H. - Any inbound freight? or was it all outbound type of stuff.

    Matt - on a layout the size of yours and the paramaters / history / location I'd figure one "main yard" with a few tracks and two or three interchange yards with two tracks. I'd pick a few out industries which would require local movement and export. Gravel might go to a crusher plant.

    I can’t really help with an exact track plan but in my mind I see a large loop. One leg running around the front with the various industries and one along the back semi concealed.

    I guess an option is that the oval go as far as the last turn of your shelf. From there a main line goes to a “city” served by one of the biggies.

    Just some thoughts.
     
  9. Matthew Roberts

    Matthew Roberts TrainBoard Member

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    Mystere, nice plan, though I'm going for a bit more operational action (i.e. switching, etc.)

    Dave, it does follow part of the route of the FW&D, but this is not the FW&D, it is a seperate freelanced road with a heavy MP influence. And yes, I know much about MP traffic, as I've researched some on the MoP in Central Texas; thanks for some of the extra info. The hardest thing for modeling the MoP in N-scale is that there's not a regular GP7 in Eagle colors, and the F7s are all sold out. 60ft. flats were a generalization.

    Grey One, thanks. Though I don't know about loops.
     
  10. Dave1905

    Dave1905 TrainBoard Member

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    Sure, but what specifically would depend on where, which branch.

    Actually the gravel comes FROM the crusher plant, it goes to concrete plants and for highway projects. Most of it would move in short two bay hoppers or short gons.



    I see a loop with the one side having a 4-6 track, double ended staging track, plus 2 tracks for the MKT and two for the ATSF. there would be a small yard and junction with a branch, plus a connection/interchange for the ATSF and one for the MKT. At some point the MP would run over the MKT or ATSF or vice versa, maybe over a bridge.

    From the junction yard would be a branch line that would climb up out of the river valley where the main was and go around the room (almost lapping the room). You would run MP through freights on the main plus the MKT and ATSF trains, then run locals up the branch, with a stock extra, fruit extra, or rock train depending on what specific area and customer mix you choose.

    Dave H.
     

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