Next week I will be starting the benchwork for my latest attempt at creating a working model railroad. I made two huge changes for this layout. 1, I switched to N scale so I can have a more interesting track plan in the space I have, and 2, its going to be an around the walls layout with real benchwork! (Not just sawhorses and OSB board)
Before I start I want to make sure there aren’t any major flaws with my track plan, so please let me know if see anything that needs to be fixed.
(Click to enlarge)
I also have a few questions
Will the woodland scenics HO scale incline set work for an N scale double track main?
Is a 2.3% grade acceptable for a Kato SD70Mac with about 20 cars?
Could somebody recommend an industry for the spur in the upper left part of the yard (#6)? It will be in the middle of a city scene and I would like it to be somewhat modern. Any suggestions?
im actually using the incline sets as well for my HO rr. i was looking at the ws subterrain manual at my LHS and it said you will need i believe 1/4 foam sheets on 1 side of the risers and inclines to fit a n scale double track. hope this helps[;)]
How about you add another track each way along that back wall for staging,so you can swap trains over and have adifferent train come back to the scene at front instead of doing laps and coming back. Scene as how its in town how bout a brewery or vegetable market packer.
Otherwise I like it. Cheers Les
You should add staging. This could be as easy as adding two or so sidings to the section of mainline at the top. Since this area is a grade and in the back, it might not be preferable. My recommendation would be to move the ADM facility in the righthand turnback. Where the ADM grain used to be, install a nice staging yard along the wall.
Technically, the risers will work, because of the properties of congruent triangles. However, you may need to do some filling to make the transition better for N Scale locomotives.
Katos aren’t known for their pulling power. I’m not very familiar with this brand of locomotive in person, but I would think the Kato might have some difficulty getting the train up.
My recommendation for Industry 6 would be a flour mill. That way it can recieve shipments from the ADM elevator. The brewery idea was good too, as it can take grain as well. No matter what industry you put there, it should be able to recieve from or ship to other industries on your layout. This will really add to the switching fun.
Another thought: You might want to add a team track somewhere on your layout. They’ll be able to take almost any car in nearly no space.
If you can tell us how you plan to run your railroad (e.g. Mainline freights bring goods for local switching job), we can help you a lot more. Why is your yard at the bottom single ended? Perhaps there is a reason to do with your ops scheme, or maybe it should be double ended. How you use the yard will really change it’s design. (In this case, might you need a drill track?).
Other “industries” I like to add to a plan are RIP Tracks and Small engine service facilities with oil and sand. They add operational interest in hardly any space.
I have a couple observations if I may. If you are running 20 ar trains, the runaround in the right side industrial area will not accomodate switching. If the cars you need to set out are in the middle of your train, you have no way to get the engine around to pu***hem in.
I don’t know the purpose of the tracks on the other side of the main from #4. If there is a reason for the mainline engine to set cars there, there is no good way for it to do so. What is the purpose of those tracks?
Adding staging will increase your operations quite a bit., Not only does a brewery need grain, it needs hops and glass and other stuff. That will have to come from “the reat of the world”–staging.
The comments made above are valid ones and worthy of concideration. To add to that I’d like to throw in a question. At #4 you’ve listed a mining company. If this part of the layout is a city scene then a mining company might be “out of place” here. Just a thought. Also, as to the industry at #6; There are many that would work here, though some might require an extra track. A furniture factory, a slaughter house / meat packing plant (one of the largest ones is in Chicago), a candy company, a creamery, a pickle plant (don’t know if this would be located in a city, but I hear it’s a facinating business to model), or any number of other companies. The trick is to make sure that it fits the scene.
Thanks for the replies,
I did consider adding staging track along the back wall but laying a turnout on a grade doesn’t sound like very much fun, plus I would run the risk of a car accidentally rolling out onto the main. I want to leave the ADM grain complex like it is because it is based closely on a complex near my home and I’ve always wanted to model it.
I plan to have a unit coal / grain train and passenger service running continuously on the main while I switch the local industries. The unit freight can drop its train in the yard for the local to break up and bring to the desired industries. Then it will pick up another train that has been assembled in the yard.
I’m glad you guys mentioned a flourmill for the #6 industry. I had that same idea but I wasn’t sure about it. Maybe Walthers redwing flour mill?
Oh yeah, I have a couple more questions. Is 2-1/2" enough clearance for an N scale double stack? Would it be a good idea to place a small passenger station in the yard between the bridge and the #6 spur?
For some reason I think putting the station there might clutter up an area already rather cluttered.
You should rethink your yard. From what you are telling us, you would really benefit from a double ended yard. The switchback on the third yard track doesn’t seem to have purpose.
Generally, the actual mainline freight doesn’t enter the main body of the yard. Instead, it uses an Arrival/Departure Track. That way, the engine can easily escape and the switcher can move the train to yard tracks to be sorted. This also requires a drill track.
In your yard, you could just have the manifest enter the actual yard body, and let the switcher take it from there. It’s all up to you.
Thanks for the link pcarrell, now I can understand some of the terms used in the above posts. I do agree that my yard needs some work, but I’m confused about one important term. Can somebody explain to me in small, simple words what a yard lead is?
No, you have the same misconception I had. If you extend a line from either end of your drawing above equal to or greater than the longest track in your yard, what you drew would be the lead.
Think of it this way. You have a train load of cars to switch and you need to put the tail one in the upper track. You need to be able to pull the entire train out of the yard to get that back one free to set it out. You use the yard lead to maneuver your cars.
Ummm… a train wouldn’t be running clockwise… for some reason… [banghead]
Wow, either you guys are being too hard on me or I’m really bad at this track planning stuff!! [:D][:D]
CSXFan, can I save the picture? If you have trainplayer i can lay track for you and you can run it! Plus, once I run it I might be able to more easily check for improvements. May I?
CSX, trackplanning is a bit tough. (I’m getting ready to post my “latest-and-greatest” trackplan on here in a few days[8)])
The one thing I don’t like about your yard is that the mainline runs down the middle of it. Consider moving the main back a bit and having all the yard tracks in front of that. They should also be double-ended. The idea combination for space and budget would be, half of the tracks double-ended and half stub. If you don’t have it already, pick up a copy of Track Planning For Realistic Operation. It sells for about $15 on amazon.com. It’s wel-worth it. The “suggested” plan for a model yard is the one I described with half double-ended, half stub. It’s not the BESt solution for operation, but to save space and a few turnouts, it’s well-worth considering.
Some may disagree, but I don’t think it is at all necessary for every spur to be switchable by trains running in both directions. Part of the reason for having a yard in the middle of your layout is to breakdown and make up trains. Having spurs that can only be switched in one direction creates a basis for this since you will need a local freight for each direction. For example, if you are picking up a car at 2 and want to deliver it to 6 you can have the westbound (clockwise) freight pick it up and then break down that train in the yard, putting the car into the eastbound (counterclockwise) freight train that you are making up. That train can then deliver it to 6. Yes, you could put runarounds everywhere so that every train can serve every spur but that defeats much of the purpose of having a central yard.
I see this said all the time but I’m not sure why everyone says all the yard tracks should be double-ended. The arrival/departure tracks should be double-ended so that trains can pull in and pull out from the main. But why have the classification tracks double-ended? When a train is made up in a classification track, just have the yard switcher push into a arrival/departure track, tack on the road engine and go. Yes, in the real world the classification tracks are double-ended in part to allow for using yard switchers at both ends simultaneously but very few layouts warrant that capability. Double-ending your classification tracks either produces a giant yard (if it is a parallelogam) or tracks at the top of the ladder that are so short that they are useless. Plus it’s more expensive since it doubles the number of turnouts.
Pcarrell’s schematic is basically what you need. But I would recommend making the yard tracks into stubs and lengthening them so that you can make up full-size trains in them that can then be moved into the arrival/departure track. Also add a crossover to the right of the ladder between the main and the arrival/departure track so that trains can enter/exit this track from either direction without fouling the yard lead. You also don’t need to connect the left side of the yard lead to the main now that you have the crossover.
