This is a plan providing for OPEN STAGING on one section of an N scale layout for an 11’ x 9’ space, representing the Santa Fe in the island seaport of Galveston, Texas (called Karankawa on the model). Galveston is the end of the line for Santa Fe, and in the middle 1950s, several other railroads: Southern Pacific, Missouri Pacific, MKT and Burlington-Rock Island Joint Line. All these railroads had long yards side-by-side parallel to each other along the north side of Galveston Island and the south side of the Port of Galveston. The port itself was switched by a port railroad. The section shown here is planned to represent the APPEARANCE of a portion of the port railroad, but in OPERATION to be used as open staging at the back, disguised behind port trackage that is more than a dummy interchange but less than a fully-modeled switching railroad. The mainline railroad yard where long-distance Santa Fe trains arrive and depart is on another section of layout. I have a Shinhara right-hand “yard ladder” triple turnout to use for the open staging. With the left-hand turnout that leads into the ladder, the staging contains 5 tracks. Track capacities ON THIS SECTION: 12, 11, 10, 8 and 8 40-foot freight cars. With allowable extensions of staging tracks on the section toward the bottom of the plan (not shown): 21, 20, 19, 18, 10 cars. These represent the longest trains which can come “onto” the layout. Trains would be made up heading out toward the top of the plan, into the track marked “sneak” which ducks behind a massive grain elevator viewblock and then under a long row of cargo sheds before appearing on the Santa Fe mainline leading across a causeway into the island seaport. Mainline trains leading the island would sneak head-in into the open staging tracks. I want to be able to operate two manifest through freights in each direction daily, one short local peddler, and two long extra trains such as grain extras and banana reefer extras. This open staging barely accommodates them. I hope. I plan to call the open staging “DEMARA YARD” after the name of the title character in the old movie “THE GREAT IMPOSTER”. The open staging is posing as part of the port switching railroad’s yard. Besides connecting open staging surreptitiously to the mainline, the track marked “sneak” has two other functions. It would allow continuous test and show running, tieing the hidden layout through port railroad trackage to the Santa Fe mainline. Also, there is room in the area devoted to hidden staging for an extra short stub siding which could be used as a destination “somewhere else in the port area” for traffic to industries for which there is no space to model. OPERATION OF PORT RR TRACKAGE. The Port through track connects off the bottom end of the section plan to a Santa Fe yard. Santa Fe crews can pull cars onto one of the port runaround tracks for handling by Port RR crews, while the ATSF engine escapes via the far end of the runaround. For the cuts of cars delivered, Port engines can either push or pull cars to reach the grain elevator dump tracks at the top of the plan. (See plan of “Elevator” layout section: http://www.trainboard.com/railimages/data/552/SectionElev.JPG For the short cargo shed stub track shown in the corner of the elevator section, the switcher would have to get on the far end of the cars and pull them, then push back into the stub for a trailing point move. Port engines can also either push or pull cars going to MOST dockside cargo sheds further toward the top of the plan and around a corner, on the “DOCK” section. http://www.trainboard.com/railimages/data/554/SectionDock.JPG Port engines will have to push cars to switch facing-point stub spurs for Lipton Tea, Karankawa Ice and Cold Storage, and Peanut Butter warehouse. Laying out what seemed to be the essential track left a space on the front of the section where a short stug spur could be worked in. That might accommodate two cars, and be used for a small industry such as a bulk petroleum dealer, or for a small engine service track for the port switcher. Old rough plan of overall layout for orientation. Some trackage has been refined on the detail plans from this old rough plan http://www.trainboard.com/railimages/data/554/KKrufPlan.JPG
