Hello Bobby and welcome! That is a very interesting track plan. I have only two suggestions. The main one is that you should consider having a smooth flowing curve in the area at the top of your drawing. Trains look so much better and realistic flowing through long winding curves. There is very little strait track on my layout. You can see what I'm talking about if you want to go to my layout photo site. http://community.webshots.com/user/hermanzgerman The other suggestion is to maybe not have a turntable if you are modeling modern. You could fit a nice engine terminal in the same area and tie it in with the yard as a bonus. All-in-all thiygh, a good layout design. Good luck with the construction phase.
Scrap the turntable, put a more modern engine service facility there. The entrance aisle looks a bit narrow, what's that a foot? Two feet, or at least 18" would be better. I like the freight yard at lower left. I agree that you should use some flextrack to make some curves a bit more flowing. Is there anyway to make the 4 percent grade a bit less?
To get rid of that 4% just raise the area with the enterchange this will reduce and spread out the grade and will also add interest to the scene by getting rid of the "Plywood-Plains"look. Northeast keep the table anywhere else go for a modern terminal.
Thanks for the comments and all the ideas. The 4% Grade can't really be changed. When i started the layout both sides were 4%, then i changed the one to a 2% grade. i will think about that enigne terminal. http://community.webshots.com/user/animal71bj Bobby
Bobby, Never say can't when trying to improve your layout. Getting rid of the 4% grade would be a major improvement in my opinion. I suggests cutting 3/4 or 7/8 inch plywood into the shape of the shaded portion of your layout as shown below. This will raise this portion of the layout, add a couple of 2% grades and, most importantly, decrease the 4% grade.
The two tracks at the top of the drawing are: 1) A long reach from the bottom edge (2-1/2 to 3 ft., if the squares are 1 ft), 2) Not accessible from the top edge (against a wall in the photos at your web site), and 3) Further blocked by the tracks in front of them that are on a grade. Do you think you should provide for better accessability to the crossovers (one single and one double) that are between them?
