I got the model railroader's guide to frieght yards. Worth every penny. Now I just have to make up my mind about the double mainline vs. single and decide if want to make it a continuous loop by spanning the door with a liftout or if I should build out so I can make two areas for the trains to turn around for a continuous loop. Stay tuned. I may be starting over with the benchwork construction... As always, suggestions, criticism, opinions, comments, etc. are welcome.
Finished the book Well, I have finished the book and I have a lot better understanding of freight yards and how to design one. The only problem is that there was very little to no information on how to configure a yard for a double main. Can anyone help me out with that. I am still looking for more ideas for my layout room. I am almost positive I am going to have to rebuild some of the bencwork but I have no problem with that.. I think I am going to try to come up with a plan that I can do without having to span the door. I have seen a few nice u shape, e shape, etc. layouts. I have a lot of room (approx. 11' x 19') so I am flexible.
Amazon.com: Track Planning for Realistic Operation: Prototype Railroad Concepts for Your Model Railroad (Model Railroader)(3rd Edition) (9780890242278): John H. Armstrong: Books Is another good book. I have a older edition. It doesn't have as much detail on yards, but it does address more the integration of the yard into the layout. As well as advantages to loops, point to point, dogbones, and combinations of each style. This book has been helpful. <no this is not a supplier recomendation, buy it wherever you want, just easier to show the book this way> Yard Design discusses incorporating a double main to a yard, not sure how useful for that specifically. Appalachian Railroad Modeling - Trackplans A bunch of larger trackplans. While all are very prototype based, I find studying the method of design and reading what the author does and doesn't like about them is helpful in studying my space. Some have very detailed explanations of track operation / use. Insightful for those early on this journey. (me)
idea for eliminating drop down Here is an idea I had for the layout. If i do this, I could use the one wall for staging,etc and have two turnarounds for a continuous loop. Sorry for the crude paint drawing but the red line will show what I want to accomplish. I think I could still do the double main and possibly another small line that is elevated. The turnarounds would be in the upper left corner and to the right of the door opening. What do you think? Please post any questions, comments, suggestions, advice, criticism, etc. Thanks.
I didn't think about doing that. I will have to see what I can come up with. I am going to have to redraw the layout on xtrakcad as much as I hate messing with that program
G shape drawing I finally got the mac to work with me a little better with xtrakcad. Here is a basic drawing of the room with the benchwork in more of a G shape as Specter3 has suggested. What do you think? I am still trying to decide between double or single mainline.
layout You have 4 feet between the top of the lower turnaround and the upper benchwork. I would shorten the aisle up to about three feet and give yourself a foot more of layout space. Plus you could balloon it out a bit to make the curves a larger radius.
Hey Kirt! I finally got some time to catch up. It seems the decision to make right now is whether to go single or double main, yes? Here's a quick breakdown of some of the pros/cons of each. Take a look and compare them to your wants/needs of the layout. Lets start off with the single mainline... You can still give the appearance of a double main by simply running the return main next to it on the way back. (This can be for all or part of the layout) Gives you about twice as much room for scenery as it will take up half the space for trackage. (A double main will cross any given part of the layout twice... making it 4 tracks from front edge to wall) Max operating capacity would probably be three short trains on the main and a switching operation on the side. (Regardless of the number of operators) More freedom to cheat things when designing your yard and less space will be eaten up by cross overs. Ok, now here's some thoughts for a double main... Layout capacity would just about double, but you'd probably need a 2nd operator to handle more than 4 trains. With the current depth of the bench work, your scenery possibilities would just about be eliminated. With the current depth of the bench work, your yard possibilities would be very limited. Double Mainlines do look sweet. If the overall setting is an urban theme, the crammed look of double mains could work. (Though in a more rural setting, single mains look sweet too (better even in mountain settings)) I would have to recommend a single mainline on this one. Since you can imply a double main by folding the single back next to itself, I would just do that. Then once you're through the yard and have some space, you can even split them up some and have one run the foreground and the return follow the background. Or you can leave them adjacent and have implied double mains the entire layout. The yard on an implied double main will create a reverse loop when the train hits the turn around, but at the same time, you get to cheat the yard some because a split yard would not really be split. Half of the yard is on the right when the train is eastbound, but the other half of the yard is still on the right when the train turns around and comes back through westbound. So that's my input for now. Is there anything else I missed?
benchwork plan Thanks specter3. here is another version of the benchwork. The single main is looking better and better. Mark, how will the reverse loop be created? I plan to run DCC...will i need to do any special wiring? Thanks for the input.
You'll need only two auto-reversing sections. The wiring is straight forward. Everything green and blue gets basic wiring, then the red blocks get wired through the auto-reversers. For the yard, you can see how each half is pretty much it's own little yard, yet you can still access either one from either main.
Yes. If you removed all crossovers then no reverse loop is created but you'd lose a lot of operational advantages. Since it's so easy to incorporate auto-reversers there's no reason to avoid the crossovers. The way I plotted the diagram is for the easiest wiring. You could break it down different ways to find where each reverse happens, but in the end, its just so much easier to keep the reversing blocks on the turnarounds, then wire everything in between as a single direction of travel.
I understand now. thank you. What do you think of the proposed benchwork. I could do that or even just a simple "L". I just figured that since I have the space why not use it.
Its been almost a year and I haven't had a chance to do much more on the layout. I have one question for all... 1" or 2" foam? I think I can get away with one inch but the majority of layouts I have seen use 2". Is there a specific reason?
Foam thickness can be purchased up to four inches, AFAIK. You can cut four inch foam down to one inch and you can build one inch up to four inches. The thickness for scenery depends on the scenery. Foam can be cut apart and you can glue different thicknesses together. All can be carved after gluing in place. For me, in N scale, I use one inch foam for a base and build up on top of that.
I use 2" pink foam, then a layer of ceiling tile glued upside down to the foam. ( the type used in drop ceilings - 2' x`4' ). This gives me a nice surface to adhere track to. I can cut down into the foam for gullies, ditches, etc., or build up any thickness needed/wanted for hills, mountain, tunnel, etc.
2" foam it is Started laying down the foam. I decided to go with 2". Please excuse the walls...I will be cleaning them up soon.
