Now that I’ve completed my layout that Texas Zephyr helped me design, I’ve decided that I would like to add some staging tracks.
My question is, is it worth adding staging tracks if you only have a single stub ended staging area to stage from. In other words, I can send trains out, but I don’t have a way to take them back, without backing them into the original staging area.
I have included a schematic diagram. The dimensions are not accurate. I actually have more room than what the schematic shows.
Heres a wide shot of the completed train room. The staging tracks would be located on the other side of the far wall on the right side of this picture.(Behind Ralston Purina)
Sure you do. When a train leaves the staging area (counter clockwise) it does its thing and ends up being broken up in the yard at the top. Some time later, a train headed in the opposite direction (clockwise) is made up in the yard. That train then does its thing and terminates in the staging area. At the end of the operating session the trains in staging are manually re-staged by moving the loco (and cabose if applicable) to the opposite end of the train, ready for the next operating session. As drawn that could be done with three trains per operating session. I think it would really add a lot to the layout.
Nothing wrong with backing trains into or out of staging. If you want a prototype, The Pittsburgh passenger station is a stub terminal. Trains had to back up 2 miles to pick-up and drop off passengers.
Thanks Texas. The layout originally was intended to just run the trains I had in storage and perhaps do a little simple switching. Now that I have it up, I want more substinence to the layout. Go figure[:-^]
I will also add another industry to switch from as well on that same side. I believe I have just enough room for a 3 car stub track. I’ll also have to add a simple scenery divider there as well, but it should work.
My first thought was also “lots of room in the middle.” But the thing I was looking for was room for a reverse loop. I would think about putting some sort of crossover into the layout, so that a train coming out of staging would travel counter-clockwise around the layout, eventually go into the loop and come out going clockwise, which puts it in the right direction to leave the layout and return to the staging tracks.
If you place the turnout for your staging where the white tank car is in the foreground of your photo, you can stage longer trains. If you also add a turnout where the green loco is in the photo, none of your staged trains will have to back in or out. If you run your stub ends past the entry and exit ladders on both ends, you can stage even longer trains.
Not sure if you have the room for this or not, just an idea.
I’m removing the liftout section to the far right side, so I’ll have plenty of staging track + room for one more industry. Its more obvious if you look at the schematic.
I decided long ago not to use the entire basement for an “empire” layout, so I must share my space with the little woman [:)]. That’s her sewing machine sitting there underneath my shelf style layout, all nice and cozy[;)].
I see what you mean, and did have things backwards, but the point still holds.
If the lead for your staging exits the mainline on the ends of the curves, rather than out on the long straights, you have enough room to access staging from both ends, eliminating the need to back trains onto the stage tracks, resolving the question raised in the original post.
The downside is that then your mainline follows the diverging route of two turnouts, well, one in each direction anyway. Mine currently does this, and I had problems on one of two divergent routes. Extra attention given to the placement of sub-roadbed breaks and joints resolved the problem.
That resolution gave me the confidence to repeat the technique, for a staging/mainline expansion currently underway.
This is just a suggestion, you may not have room to do this, but it will resolve your original question if so. Here is a graphic demonstration:
Current plan:
Possible resolution:
Using the second method, you gain an entry/exit to staging, plus the length of two turnouts plus the linear radius of your mainlinecurv
