Still somewhat similar as before…1930’s small town logging. Small engines, small freight cars, small pass. cars.
The 4% grade is already in place with the track down all the way to just before the over/under by tunnels. Then I have layed the outer loop around the mill to the turnout entering town. My questions are concering the mill tracks and the tracks through town.(Middle Section) I want a lumber dealer, furniture shop, maybe a small “commercialized moonshine distillery”, team track. There will be a few off-line places also…Next to the mill will be 2 tracks for in/out’s. Third track would be pulpwood, ash loading, and the fourth a small engine house for lumber mill shay extra #1. A small freight house/passenger platform may be included also. Tunnels A and B lead to staging tracks “east/west” under the elevated section on the left side. Let me know what you think
I think your mill setup will work nicely. IMO the town in the middle section has too much track. You have 3 run arounds for a town serving 3 industries and a team track. The space for the buildings is very tight. I think you would be better off running the mainline through the center with passing track and then hang 3 or 4 spurs off that for your industries and team track. Also, since you have a point to loop track plan, you should have a way to turn the locomotive at the point end on the left. A run around there would also help unless running back down the main to the passing siding for run arounds is an operating feature.
Six industries : Destillers (Moonshine facility), Team track (universal industry), RR depot (passengers, mail and express freight), Furniture plant, Freight house/warehouse and Lumber dealer.
I have tried to provide for a mix of switching challenges - two industries on one track in one place, a switchback to reach another industry in another place, hopefully without making it too cramped.
You might feel that there is a lot of wasted space in the middle of the town, but I have tried to do two things here:create room for roads and access to buildings, and arrange industries so industries closer to the aisle doesn’t block the view of and access to industries further back towards the backdrop.
The spur beyond the tracks near point A is a temporary storage spur - always nice to have a little work space to stash a few inbound or outbound cars while you work the town (or to spot overflow cars, which will be respotted at the correct industry by the next train).
all action seems to take place in one station. I don’t know if there is a wall on the right side of your pike; but if not, you can develop the log-dump siding into a second station. Also the mill complex could be served from there; even with a wall along the right side.
I second the opinions of the other respondents. But, on the left lobe is a very small station with a short passing siding. This siding can be used for the logging operation on the far west side too, especially if you flip the siding to the far west end of that lobe. Or do you want two different scenes here? That western lobe can be made 4’ 6" longer. At the cost of a one foot smaller eastern lobe and a 30" entrance aisle. So you can have almost 10 feet length here; a nice addition.
BTW the aisle to the east needs some extra inches as well. Accepting Stein’s proposal for Logville also means your central aisle will become half a foot wider at the right and a full foot to the left.
We’ve been down that way several times before, with quite a few people recommending changes in benchwork shape.
But Mike (MPRR), for some reason I don’t understand, but which is none of my business anyways, doesn’t want to change his benchwork shape.
Walls along top and right side.
Last couple of threads about mprr’s layout. Unfortunately, he, like quite a few people, have the habit of posting uncompressed pictures, and then (probably) occationally having to remove old pictures from photobucket to get more space, so his old posts are full of links to pictures that aren’t there anymore.
Still - here is some more background on his layout:
We’ve been down that way several times before, with quite a few people recommending changes in benchwork shape.
But Mike (MPRR), for some reason I don’t understand, but which is none of my business anyways, doesn’t want to change his benchwork shape.
Walls along top and right side.
Last couple of threads about mprr’s layout. Unfortunately, he, like quite a few people, have the habit of posting uncompressed pictures, and then (probably) occationally having to remove old pictures from photobucket to get more space, so his old posts are full of links to pictures that aren’t there anymore.
Still - here is some more background on his layout:
I’m not sure what you mean by uncompressed photos. I only have about 50 pics in photobucket, and have never had to delete any. I just copy and paste the photo IRL like Ive been taught from here…
I’ve been unwilling to compromise about benchwork All of the tools used to make the bench are not at my disposal anymore… And besides, this bench fits in my alotted space good, for just me to operate alone.
I was just trying to explain to Paul that you are not willing to change your bench work shape, so it is a waste of time to make recommendations to you that involves changing bench work shape.
And as I said, while I still don’t understand the rationale behind your decision to not change your bench work (since saws and screwdrivers normally are easily available pretty much anywhere at not very high cost), it doesn’t matter - it is your layout and you do as you like with it.
If the layout shape (including the narrow channel on the right) works for you, it works for you.
The picture in your current thread has the following URL:
I don’t know why (deleted to save space was pure and idle guesswork on my behalf), but e.g. the following pictures (from earlier layout planning posts by you), apparently no longer are available:
Again, it doesn’t really matter why these old plans are gone - it just is a little annoying that one cannot just look up and compare old drawings with new drawings, so one is forced to try to remember more from earlier discussions, if one wants to take the whole situation into account.
Well after carefully reading through all of your considerations, I now can understand why and where to place places in town. I agree with the idea of breaking up industries in a way that they are not overlapping in town. (front to back) Thank you for your help in helping me understand a few things. I sometimes have a problem imagining where the train comes and goes when there is nothing there… And where it should go to make ops more realistic and well, easier.
About those earlier pics in photobucket, I must have deleated those after dismissing them and staring new… I would come up with a plan, arrange the tracks out on the layout, and not like what I saw… Then I’d mess around a while with the tracks, placing sidings here and there, and industries here and there, and I just couldn’t get it right… So I’d go back on the computer and start new… Then I’d get frustrated and give up a while to let my imagination (what little there is) to clear.
The narrow channel on the right does work for me. I stand in it all the time and have absolutly no problems… Obviously no swinging elbows when in there, but no big deal.
‘I second the opinions of the other respondents. But, on the left lobe is a very small station with a short passing siding. This siding can be used for the logging operation on the far west side too, especially if you flip the siding to the far west end of that lobe. Or do you want two different scenes here? That western lobe can be made 4’ 6" longer. At the cost of a one foot smaller eastern lobe and a 30" entrance aisle. So you can have almost 10 feet length here; a nice addition.’ -Paul
I’m not sure I uderstand this paragraph… The western side is meant to be logging operations, and a camp. I was thinking of putting a divider there to split the scene into two. I really don’t have that side of the plan set yet, just messing with different placements. Any ideas for some trackage plans for log loading sites, and logging camp?That would be cool, but I’m not really too concerned about that side yet…
Well, just remember that it not a given that what I have sketched is the look and feel you are going for.
My area of modeling interest is the upper mid-west, so I tend to think in terms of pictures I have seen of towns in Minnesota and surrounding states when I think small town.
I had a quick google around for historic aerial pictures of New Hampshire small town RR stations, found this collection of colored postcards showing New Hampshire RR stations:
Btw - in Model Railroad Planning 2000 there are two articles that might be interesting for you - one describing the prototype town of Peterboro, NH, and one layout article by Ian Rice putting in a very nice little H0 scale town with varied switching in about 15 feet of length.
Paul’s suggestion is spot on. Sometimes, you only really need a bit of a scenic break to separate scenes. The river on the right lobe and the divider on the left lobe will greatly enhance your eyes’ ability to separate the scenes and create a scence of distance, compared to the way you have it drawn.
One other comment. With dogbone layouts, the skinny part of the layout often can be a problem. Operationally, it is quite a distance from the the other scene that dominates that portion of the benchwork, but competes for attention nevertheless. You might consider concealing the entire back part of the mainline there, maybe with a tunnnel, since it doesn’t really seem to do much other than create distance and provide a way for the trains to get from lobe to lobe.
I agree also… Dividing the scenes are what I had in mind. I just wasn’t sure how to accomplish this feat.
The track along the back will be on a grade, and I didn’t want it to pass through the scene twice. So I figured I would have either building flats, or scenery to conceal this portion on track. The track will emerge on the left and right lobe. Or, the bottom and top of hill.
But I suspect that Mike did understand your point, since people have made similar points to him before.He just does not want to change his benchwork.
Last time around, I proposed a similar concept to him - (bench work changes/moving scenes apart - but back then Mike’s main design goals included switchbacks on the way to the logging camps and a yard plus engine house in town):
In the sketch above, the dashed line is hidden tracks leading into staging, and the town functions as a junction - some trains come from staging to the town or runs from the town to staging, some trains goes from the logging camps to the mill, or from the mill to the town. Thick black line down the left peninsula is a divider.
But I figure that if this benchwork shape is holy to Mike, then that’s his decision, and we’ll just have to work within that framework:
Hmm - of course - Paul’s suggestion could be done without changes to the existing benchwork - essentially just an add-on to the left peninsula, and some scenic changes - like having the tracks to the mill branch off from the right side of the right peninsula instead of the left side.
Just adding on stuff means that Mike won’t have to cut into what he already
I don’t think adding to benchwork is a problem. I’d be willing to consider this idea… But my table is made like a wall. With an outside frame, and “studs” between them.And then plywood and foam on top… My question is, how do I cut an access hole in the middle of this??? Without compromising the integrety of the table??
About the mill scene… In my drawing, the location of the switch just above the labeled log dump is about 6" beyond the bottom of the grade. So the grade starts 3.5 feet from back wall. I had to start it here to get the proper height I needed for the left lobe… So I didn’t think I had enough space to locate the mill siding on the far right side… Plus, I didn’t want to have to back cars off mill siding up onto grade on main to get cars to town… In my plan the log cars dump logs and then head back uphill. Cars from town or staging would then be shuffled in/out at mill tracks…
just presented you my idea’s. If you don’t like them fine. But don’t invent reasons.
1)When you start the grade beyond the bridge in my design you go enter the left lobe at a height of 5" and and the logcamp will be 8" high. Seems plenty of heigth.
2)You need one runaround move at Central when leaving town, I need one runaround move entering town; only the lead of the mill tracks is on the grade.
When you want a longer run for the logs flip the stations. I would do that anyhow if you want to hide the tracks along the back of Logville Central.
