Well, I started building my benchwork tonight for my extension room layout. The main layout is 12’x15’. And a 9’x9’ room next to it. Going through the wall on the upper left side.
Main layout is to the left through a door (lower left).
HO scale, min radius is 26".
Main features are staging (bottom), passenger terminal, and steel mill.
I know there is a long reach in the upper left, it’s about 38", but I can deal with that.
Thoughts, suggestions? Any improvements before I get too far?
Peco does not have # 5´s and #6´s. Their denomination is “small”, “medium” or large" - don´t go below medium turnouts, as you will have problems running larger equipment.
If you like, you can send me your RTS file for me towork on. Just send me a PM and I will give you my e-mail address.
The code 83 stuff is based on American prototypes, the code 75 stuff is based on British prototypes. I still prefer the code 75 stuff for smaller layouts based on American prototypes - the Code 75 turnouts are more compact.
Yes I can deal with the reach on the upper left reach access, will have to use a stool for derailments. Layout height is 44".
My intention was a downtown passenger terminal, with lots of trackage. Like the prototype. I want to be able to park 4 passenger trains. I plan to use the front part of a passenger station structure, flat against the wall. And the backdrop will be of downtown Denver.
The steel mill, will model some flat structures there as well.
Operational plans. Build outgoing freight and passenger trains from stagaing, onto the main layout. Where freight cars will go to the yard, coal mine, and ethanol plant. Returning back in, loaded coal hoppers backed into the steel mill yard. And unloaded in the rotary dumper. Passenger trains incoming, will get pulled all the way through the train shed. Locos will be brought back around to loco facility, and turned around with turntable.
I was trying to think about having a roadway/highway, maybe elevated over the tracks. I don’t know. Any ideas on how I could do that? My current layout has a Rix highway overpass. Maybe put that across the passenger tracks, going off into the backdrop.
It will fit, if you add a foot to the width of the room to make it 10 feet wide instead of 9 feet wide, and if you change the track plan so the left end of the yard is connected in a different way. Otherwise, it will be a bit of a tight squeeze to get the turntable in there in the upper right hand corner.
I would recommend axing a large part of the rolling mills etc, and making the left part of the bench be no more than 30" from the top wall. Maybe cutting it down to about 3 or 4 tracks in front of a large structure.
You can still model some of the operations of a steel mill by calling those 3 or 4 tracks the “mill arrival yard”, and sorting cars into a specific order when spotting them in the arrival track - e.g. coke cars on one track, iron ore on another track etc.
oh sorry about that guys. I don’t know what I was thinking. It is indeed 10’ wide. Well, see there is a shelf that is 12", and the plywood base sits on top of that. So maybe thats’ where I was measuring, from the inside of the shef. Thinking it was 9’ wide.
I’m looking at all of those turnouts on the lower left side. I assume those are stub tracks and the turnouts are to let the locos escape from the passenger trains. 1) Make sure there is enough room on that last track for a loco between the turn out and the end of track. 2) This would be a perfect place for a string of double slip switches. A station setting is the most common place to find them; they would reduce the S curve effect trying to go form far track to near track; they would reduce the length between first and last turn out; and that would give you more space for the loco to escape that last track. 3) If DS are not your thing, you could eliminate a couple of the crossovers. Just make sure to leave an emty track thru the station to get to the servicing.
The curved turnouts to the lower right are an interesting addition.
Actually I was maybe thinking of using the Peco double slips there. You are right, I need to leave enough space on the far track for my locos to escape, and I have some E7 AB units that are quite long.
How many double slips will I need? I’ve never seen or used them before. Also, can I still use the Peco switch machines on them as well? Is it 2 per slip switch?
In your yard, if you made all your escape tracks go to a center (or more centered) escape track, the tails would end up shorter on average, more car storage.
Any chance of a liftout under or near the electric furnace? Would make access to that corner easier.
I’m not sure what you mean on the placement of the escape tracks? Can you illustrate for me? The loco on the farthest (bottom) track needs to make it all the way to one of the two inside tracks?
Sorry, don’t know how to post diagrams and my computer savy spouse and kid are both working. I’ll try to discribe it in words.
For example, if you have a 5 track yard and all the escape tracks go the same direction, each tail is longer and longer, using up most of the last track as a tail. If you have each outside track cross to the next inner track and those cross to the center track, you only have two crossovers in each directon. Look at how much space each crossover takes in your plan, there is a lot of tail on the upper tracks and little space to leave a train off. If you used your 4th track up as your escape track and crossed it to the track going past the train shed as far out as possible, I think you would have a lot more car storage.
Also, what is the need for the 2nd track past the outside of the train shed?
If this doesn’t help, I can see if I can get help to post a diagram tomorrow, if anyone is awake.
I agree with Ulrich. You have some tight configurations that might better be solved now on the computer with correct turnouts rather than later.
Also, you said the room is 9’x9’; however, the drawing appears to show a 10’x9’ room. If the room is really 9’x9’ you will have some problems with that plan in addition to the turnout issues.
