The wife agreed to my buying a closed hardware store to build my dream layout in. The train room is 83’ X 25’. I want to build a 4’ x 24’ freight yard on a 6’ X 32’ peninsula. Should the yard be stub tracks or double ended? Do I angle the yard or run it straight down the length? Your input would be helpful.
To answer the first question, double-ended tracks are generally preferred if you have a continuous line coming out of both ends of the yard with trains entering/leaving in both directions. Stub would work if it’s on a dead end. Another consideration is cost, as the number of turnouts you need basically doubles when you have double-ended. If you can afford to buy a hardware store, I guess that might not be too much of an issue, though [;)]
Second question - depends on how much available space you have. They always say try not to run tracks parallel to the edge because it looks less interesting than if they’re curved or at an angle to the edge. Sometimes you can’t really help it, though. I say whatever you’re happy with and whatever you can make work in your space/track plan should be fine.
On a related note, if you haven’t done so yet, you might want to read through a few books that go into more detail about yards and how they’re built, how they operate, etc. Probably the best starting point is “Track Planning for Realistic Operation” by John Armstrong.
Good luck! You’re fortunate to have a space that big to build your dream layout. My entire layout probably fits in a space about 1/3 the size of your yard peninsula!
I would definitely read John Armstrong’s book. This book “The Model Railroader’s Guide to Freight Yards” By Andy Sperandeo is also worth a look. It doen’t have to be all double ended or stub tracks - you could do a combination.
Enjoy
Paul
Paul has the best advice,read those books and you’ll learn build one @%&$ of a freight yard.
Patrick
That depends on whether you want it to be the “end of the line” or one out in the center of the railroad somewhere. Purely numerically speaking, I believe most yards would be double sided.
Do you care about how it looks or is it going to be totally utilitarian.
I’m sort of in the same situation. I’ve got an old school lined up in two years and the main train room is 90’x30’ with about a 20’ ceiling. I’ve been good with smaller layouts but am overwhelmed, with this one. Don’t know where to start except I’m opposite of you. I don’t think I want a large classification yard.
You might finally be the model railroader who doesn’t wish for more room. As others have said read up on the subject. In past issues of model railroader there have been numberous topics dealing with yards, and there have been several books published on the topic.
Also I’m going on your post name X Marine. Semper Fi Devil Dog. I am soon to be a Retired Marine. I’m in New Bern NC shoot me an e-mail lamajepa@devil-dog,com
I suggest you do beau coup more reading and studying before you start laying track. From you r questions and the description of your area you have the opportunity to spend a lot of money to build something that won’t work right. Read John Armstrong’s “A railroad, what it is, what it does”, and “Track Planning for realistic operations”. Then read several books on your area of interest. $100 spent on books now will save you thousands of dallars in mistakes later on (based on the area you have to work with.)
Dave H.
I second, triple and quaddruple Dave’s, Paul’s and others comments here about reading. Use the net, use the library, ask questions here and spend the bucks on these books. I thought I was spending an enormouse amount on reading materials but looking back at this early stage in my modeling experience I can see where they are well worth the money and are something I will refer back to time and time again.
BTW. [#welcome] and long live the forums.
To all who said buy the books and read - read - read. I have ordered all the books listed so far in the replies. Most have not arrived yet, it will be hard to firgure just what to do since the books I do have offer both ways of designing a freight yard and none deal with LARGE freight yards. I thought asking here would provide common ideas for such a large yard. By the way, I love assembly of trains and switching. SO the yard must work and work right.
Try your library for the books. With a layout that size you will need the money for turnouts. Good luck.
Quote: Do you care about how it looks or is it going to be totally utilitarian.
This yard must work and look real. The main line will run around the peninsula since the whole layout is planned to be continuous loop running with about 10 peninsulas, each peninsula will feature different scenes (i.e. a fair, a military base, farm land, city, mountains, harbor, etc…) The peninsula with the yard will also have engine storage and service, passenger station and beginings of a city.
The layout will be built in stages (one peninsula at a time) with the freight yard and part of the city first. Once the layout gets to the point of being able to run trains, I will be hosting open houses for the public every month. The building is in the middle of downtown Deshler, Ne (a small rural farm town).
The yard is a processing plant. If is like the backroom at a post office. That is where the inbound sacks of mail from the other post offices and from everybody’s mail boxes is brought in dumped on the table and sorted. Some is inbound and goes to adresses in the area, that is sorted to each mailman’s route (local) and some is going outbound to other cities and post offices (through freight and interchange).
So you have to have some idea of what you are sorting for.
In general a double ended yard is the highest production yard because you use two switchers to work it. There are tracks that are long tracks generally called arrival and departure tracks (AD) that trains terminate or originate out of. Then a job on one end is the ‘class’ job that switches the cars, sorts them into the tracks in the yard by destination or outbound train. On the other end is the “trim” job that gathers up the cars for each train, puts them in the right order and then puts the built train in the outbound AD track. In a pinch either end can perform either job, so that helps in high demand times.
The maximum you can reach across is about 30" or about 14-15 tracks. So I would make it parallel the the length of the peninsula.
If I were building a yard that big (and I have for a club layout), I would start with 4-6 AD tracks and 8-10 class tracks. Both ends will need switch leads.
Depending on the era and what you are using for a switcher would determine the length of the tracks. A steamer won’t move over 15-20 cars reliably unless it is specially weighted or a heavily weighted brass engine, so making the class tracks much longer than that is a waste.
Having said all that read, read read, before you do anything involving actual wood cutting.
Another resource is the Layout Design Sig and Operations Sig (special interest group).
Both have groups on Yahoo and deal a lot with these issues.
The back issue Dave H. suggested is a very good resource. One of the projects described in that issue is a 5-8 foot wide, 60 foot long yard in HO that replicates much of the operation of a large real-life yard.
Regards,
Byron
are you modelling a specific prototype ? or freelancing but based on several real railroads ? or just making it up as you go along ?
whichever it is it makes sense to study what the real railroads have done , after all it’s their job and if they don’t get it right you can bet somebody is going to be in a deep pile ! you’re one of the few model railroaders who is ever going to have the space to build a near scale representation of the real thing . you may have to compress some features , like the distance between towns , and the total number of tracks in a yard , and the size of industries , but there’s no reason you can’t build it very much like the real thing .
just curious… how much help are you getting with this project or are you really building it on your own ?
Be careful what you wish for!
Your space probably calls for a large but simple layout design. If you allow things to get complex, then you may have a maintainance nightmare. Use the space for long runs between stations with loads of scenery.
Have fun
In responce to “ereimer” - I am at present trying to do this alone. The local model railroaders don’t want to admit to being such. I am the first to be open about it that is in the public view. The rest only let very close friends know they railroad. As to prototype or freelance - well - I like the old Santa Fe but am not modeling it just using some ideas. Therefore it is freelance (Salvo Hill Line) and the moto is “Making the Grade”. As to doing it like the REAL Railroads, a high school friend of mine is working for the KCS as an architect - he designs yards and business areas for them. He has offerred to assist in the design but admits he knows nothing about HO scale trackwork and switches. I plan to draft a basic design and send to him for modifications as needed to make it work correctly; that is why the questions about double end or stub.
in reply to “exPalaceDog” - I realize that I can not get over loaded with switching sidings (even though I enjoy switching) and plan to keep it simple just because it would require many hours and much money to maintain otherwise. I want to run trains not fix and repair! I figure the big yard will give me the switching fixes I like. I figure one switching area per peninsula if even that many would be enough.
In that case, the Old Dog would suggest looking at a small division poing yard where most of the traffic runs straight through but with engine servicing and crew changes. Have maybe four low priority freights per day drop and/or pick up cars for the local way freights. That would give some classification yard switching without having to make up and/or break down every train. You will need some sidings for local industries to give the way freights something to do.
A small passenger station could generate additional interest. Maybe add some stock resting pens and reefer icing platforms.
Have fun
Considering you plan a 24ft long yard, you may want to incorporate a series of cross-overs part-way along your yard so that you can move from one yard track to another without having to go the full length of the yard (thereby saving time). They could also be considered run-arounds, if positioned carefully. I know this would increase the number of turnouts you’ll need; but it may help make working your yard more efficient and enjoyable. Just my humble [2c] .
By the way, you are probably the envy of a great number of us here. [swg] To have a spouse who would agree to you spending such money just for a place for your trains; and to have the money to acquire such a space… [sigh] … dreams are made of such things. [sigh]
I only have one question; would you and your wife like to adopt a son? [:D]
Wow [bow]
For most of us it’s probably Dream, Plan, Build
For you it is
Dream, Plan, Build