Okay, I asked about your compromises, which is kind of negative! Time to share your best or favorite feature on your layout. Although not fully scenicked, I think mine is a loads in - empties out power plant for unit trains. Its at the end of my branch line and where the track balloons out in a circle, instead of coming back to connect, it actually dives through the backdrop to hidden staging while another track comes back through. The power plant hides the deception. With both trains on one throttle, and loco sets with the same numbers, and coalporters with the same paint schemes in the same order (like BN Green, BNSF mineral brown, etc - but with the second train set empty rather than loaded) it can look like the real thing. Anyone who counts road numbers beyond that is shown the door!
This is the best feature of my layout. By making use of this tiny closet to hide one of the “Loops” of the track I was able to create this maze that allows me to move a cut of cars from the yard to the port or over to the branch line that runs down the center of a street. It took me about six months of planning before I got all the switches and crossing angles to align properly. The angle the track enters and exists the closet was fixed at 30deg or B. you wouldn’t be able to make the loop inside the limits of the closet with anything over a 12” rad. B. the mainline would cross itself either inside the closet or to far out for the mainline to straighten out for the run down the edges.
Larry, your explanation sounds great, but where are the photos? We like photos. Also love the way you set the rules> I take it there are no rivet counters allowed. sd90ns, looks very busy. Thats some complex trackwork to. Kudos on taking on that project and I look forward to some scenicked photos. I will share two favorites, one with some scenery and another with almost none. My favorite feature with some scenery, My favorite unscenicked area that offers operational fun and interest is my yard, Its difficult to see the trackage but there is a trackplan in my albums if you are interested. Good topic for a thread.
I had to suspend construction of my layout due to loss of space, and loss of time. But every month or sao, I get to go out in the garage and look at the not-yet-operational uncompleted single section of the sectional layout that looks like anything at all-- my version of the 2-mile long Galveston causeway. The thing on piers in the background is the unfinished illegal gambling pier nightclub, "Paradise Palms."
Great topic. Cool stuff so far. That was a common thing in Galveston. I remember the stories of the Balinese Room (ZZ Top even wrote a song about it). When the police tried to raid the establishment, an employee at the foot of the pier would set off an alarm at the club. By the time the cops ran all the way down the pier, the gambling tables, cards and chips had been hidden away in secret wall and floor pockets. The band was said to strike up the song "The Eyes of Texas" upon their arrival. I guess the best features on my modules would be all the scratch built structures.
The best operational feature will be a very single-track long mainline with lots of passing sidings and lots of through trains competing for track time. A computerized CTC system will coordinate the madness. The best scenic feature of the layout will be the CSX crossing of the Etowah River near Cartersville, GA. This is a GREAT place to railfan and was really the #1 inspiration for choosing to model this part of the CSX. [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EHp4XRN7cn4"]YouTube - CSX Q540 Manifest Train at Emerson, GA[/ame] [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B74LQB6Q6Q8"]YouTube - CSX Trains at Emerson, GA[/ame] Jamie
This is really interesting. So far there are some great pictures. The loads in, empties out makes me wish I had space for something like this. Alas, my power plant is on a 12" shelf and will be mostly flats and backdrop. I really love bridges and trestles. Here is one of my favorite features. This is based on a trestle that was in the foothills of the Cascade Mtns. of Washington. I believe this was on the Cowlitz, Chehalis and Cascades logging line. Jim
Olytrains, very nice bridge. Thanks for posting it. So far bridge scenes are high on this short list.:tb-biggrin:
I am happy with this scratchbuilt gas station: I am also happy with this scene of the three railroad bridges, of which two are scratchbuilt and one is from Atlas:
Very nice water there. Looks like some good, flowing "texture" to it. Agreed. I enjoy switching cars very much in my yard. It may look complicated, but it is a flat switching, double-ended yard. Really very simple.
At this point I'd have to say my favs are the designs. None of my track plans have ever made to to completion but I do feel the over all concepts and actual designs are superb. The "Grey and Grandure" (1) with the main CP / GN Main run as a loop and the GandG as a shortline in the Grandure Valley was superb. I'm sorry I never finished it. Maybe some day around the living room.
The best feature on my layout is, or will be, my double-tracked, double-decked road/rail bridge, crossing the invisible river seen in this photo. The beginnings of the bridge itself:
That is actually a bridge over the Etowah River alongside US 41 between Emerson and Cartersville, about 35 miles northwest of Atlanta (about 5 miles off I-75). However, I will be modeling one of the bridges where CSX crosses I-75 at Emerson. (*** USELESS TRIVIA ALERT! ***) In fact, the CSX W&A sub and I-75 cross each other six times between Atlanta and Chattanooga (5 times in GA and once in TN). Compare that with the NS Atlanta North district, which only crosses I-75 twice between Atlanta and Chattanooga even though it follows the same path as CSX by a few miles. Jamie
