My freight yard is complete on my 1950s layout. I have one arrival track one departure track and five classification tracks. Is it okay to use the departure track as a second arrival track and use the five classification tracks as departure tracks when they are filled ready for their destinations? In operations planning, I do not see a problem with this though I don’t seem to find it in any of the books where people are doing it that way. It seems to me like when the classification tracks are filled for their particular destinations, it would make sense to attach a caboose and engine from that spot and leave the yard rather than transferring that set of cars up to a departure track. It would also give me an additional arrival track. Please give me some insight on this. I may not be thinking about a potential problem. All input welcome. Thanks, Rob
that is pretty much how we did it in the real world. if a track won’t hold the entire train, the road crew can double it out and get their air test while hanging out on the lead or even onto the main. of course this blocks things up for a while. i assume the tracks are double ended so you can put the caboose on. otherwise you might have to use it for a bumping post and that is sometimes frowned upon.
charlie
In general, yes, be flexible with track assignments in yards. What works to build trains is the bottom line, rather than keeping things in assigned slots. In some yards, track assignment can change between night and day or depend on seasonal shipping considerations. If the yardmaster needs track space, he gets it and doesn’t just leave idle track because it’s got a different label on the yard map.
On the use of the departure track, think of it this way. When the yard is crowded, it the one place left to build trains. Ideally the departure track (and arrival, too) is longer than your yard tracks and that’s where you build most longer trains. The idea being that cuts of cars will be pulled from the yard tracks and assembled into a train on the longer departure track.
But sometimes it’s not longer than the yard tracks and you just work with it as best you can. In this case, you tend to build trains in the yard tracks. Send cuts or whole trains to the departure track to free up track in the yard as needed. For instance, the road engines can come in and pick up one cut in the yard, then pick the other cut out of the departure track and hit the road. Suddenly, you have two tracks free, etc, etc.
EDIT: It’s an odd pic with track laid bare before I painted it, but this shows my Durango Yard:
You can see the grey concrete road enter from the left at the bottom, turn towards the top of the photo, then turn back left at the top. On either side of it are my two Arrival/Departure tracks, with a crossover about midway down. To the left of that are the 4 yard tracks (3 thru and one stub-ended). There’s also some dual-gauge/narrowgauge things going on, but let’s skip that to keep things simple here.[8)] You can see how I can easily fit two cuts out of the yard onto one of the A/D tracks.
This second photo is looking the other way, where t
Yes all of the tracks are double ended. Thank you.
What you’ve written indicates how the hobby press has done a disservice to modelers wanting to learn about operations. Most yards of the size we can include on our layouts do not have dedicated arrival or departure tracks. Trains normally come and go from whatever track makes sense. It’s counterproductive to take a train that’s already built and shift it to another adjacent track for departure. Outside of very large terminals, the prototype will typically have the train depart from whatever track it happens to occupy in the yard, or have the crew double over to pick up blocks from the appropriate tracks.
It’s easy to get stuck on rigid thinking and maintain dedicated track assignments. Do what’s necessary to keep your yard fluid.
Thank you for your thoughts Rob. That’s what I kept struggling with the last few days planning how I was going to operate my railroad particularly in the yard area. I am glad somebody is thinking the way I am. When I start operations this is the way I am going to try it and see how it works. Thanks so much.
I have to agree with the other comments made here.
I have a double ended classification yard, five tracks, and a single arrival/departure track.
I make do with what I have to build those trains and send them on their way.
Rich
I think that might depend on which references one is consulting.
"Most prototype flat yards handle traffic in both directions and are double-ended, a nice feature that lets a train on any track proceed in either direction without backing up. " Track Planning for Realistic Operation, 3rd Edition, page 27.
“Allow departures from classification tracks. … When possible, use crossovers that allow trains to depart from (or arrive in) the classification tracks.” Page 63
“In the ideal situation, there will be at least on yard track for each classification. But in the model situation, there isn’t always enough room. … it’s often better to have fewer, longer yard tracks and change their assignments … during a session.” Page 64
Both from How to Build Realistic Layouts: Freight Yards (2007)
“In the interest of flexibility, I also like to make sure there’s a direct route from any of the yard’s classification tracks to the main line.”* The Model Railroader’s Guide to Freight Yards; page 28.
- The above is what I am sure Andy Sperandeo meant. A typo that apparently occurred with a hyphenation causes the printed text to incorrectly read:
" … route from any of the yard’s class
indicat
There are good sources, and others that aren’t. Many articles in the last 20 or so years, mostly by those who aren’t “names” among layout designers or operators, have included references to dedicated A/D tracks in small yards. Unfortunately these types of references have crept into the hobby to such a degree that far too many people are assuming that such things are necessary for a model yard to function, and the magazines aren’t always editing misleading information out of articles.
The Layout Design Journal’s “Special Freight Yards Issue” included such problematic pieces. The “Yard Design Primer” article by Tony Steele illustrated a dedicated A/D track for a yard featuring only five classification tracks. “D. Scott Chatfield’s Five Rules of Yard Design” also included an illustration showing class tracks separated from the A/D tracks for a relatively small yard, and the class tracks in the illustration have no access to the mainline. That issue of the LDJ remains highly influential, and some readers of those articles have adjusted their thinking without knowing that small yards typically aren’t set up as shown.
Rob,Railroads will do whatever it takes to get the job done contrary to what many model operation books preach…I seen inbound tracks jammed for hours while the yard crew made room on the yard tracks-the inbound trains was held outside the yard for hours-not a melt down but,caused by a flood of inbound trains.
On the layout the yard crew adds or removes the caboose but,in real life there was a dictated crew to do that.
With our small yard we can only emulate a small part of terminal work
Well, I operate my yard differently, so I will give you another option.
I have one AD track, and 5 yard tracks. 3 are double ended and 2 are single ended. Each track is dedicated for cars that go to the same route or train. I also have two yard leads, one at each end of the yard.
When a train arrives, the yard switcher grabs it, pulls it into one of the yard leads and starts classifying the cars. The hostler takes the locomotive to the service area, and the yard switcher puts the caboose on the caboose service track.
When a train needs to be put together for departure, the yard switcher grabs all the cars on the designated track and moves them to the AD track. Then it attaches a caboose. The hostler gets the assigned loco and couples it to the train. Then the train is turned over to the road engineer and it departs.
This works good for me and my crew. And as another note, the way my yard is designed, a road train can’t come directly into the yard. That prevents a possible run-away from crashing through the yard. I don’t know if that is a valid point or not, but it works for me.
Elmer,That sounds like a excellent plan to me…I like it.