Well I laid out my turnouts for my yard and I am not to thrilled with the outcome at all. I didnt do a track plan other than on paper, dont have the patience to learn it, and not turning out how I want it to. What I have on my plan now is turnouts right before the yard, the main line and then a siding into and access to the yard. I have #6 turnouts to basically starting the siding for the yards and then 3 #4 turnouts making up the yard and finishing with another #6 to end it. When I do this my last siding in the yard is only 4’ long. My layout where the yard is measures 18’ and 3’.
If it is possible I would like to have my final siding, off of my #6 to be a little longer if possible. How can I achieve this if at all possible. I am open to suggestions on how to accomplish this. I will try to post a pic of what I have drawn up later on tonight.
Have you tried a compound ladder design? Not sure how it would work, mixing frog #'s, but it might be worth a try. I have an Atlas track planning book and with all #6’s they gain 6 1/2" in length and add one more track in their example.
Don’t know how a compound of all #4’s would work out. Since you have the turnouts on hand, and have a little flex track on hand, you may be able to work something out.
Without seeing a diagram it is hard for my tiny brain to get a handle on your situation. However what I did to gain more yard space was to take the arrival/departure track off one side of the main loop and run them around to the ladder area on the other side where the yard is. I don’t think it says anywhere that your A/D tracks can’t be curved around the inside ends of the loop.
Another way I bought more space was using curved turnouts off the mains where they curve, thus saving space for longer straight sidings. Just something to ponder.[C):-)]
Yea I know. Gonna get one up in the morning for you guys to see what I am talking about. Not for sure if what I have down can be doable to suit my needs.
I laid it on the floor where the layout will be. I mocked up the bench work with electrical tape on the floor and laid out the track there. Trying to simulate 22" curves with flex track was impossible but I think I did a close enough job to realize I am not going to like my yard the way I have it configured now.
I will get a pic up on paper of what I want but probably not the area since the bench work isnt done yet.
Here is a pic of what I am trying to accomplish in my yard design. This is not to scale but shows what I am trying to do and with what turnouts where. If any of you have some better options I am open to those and will definitely check out those links.
Thanks for posting that. I believe what I am trying to achieve is the second yard down from the top. Does each of the squares represent 1ft? If so that is what I am trying to achieve in the short amount of distance, that way I have longer runs in the actual yard. Wondering if you could switch a couple of those #6’s for #4’s? I dont plan on running to many of my 6 axle engines up in there, mostly my 4 axle engines.
That is what I thought when I started laying out the track on the floor. I think what I am going to do is purchase a couple of curved turnouts and then place them further back in the turns and then go from there. Although I do like the yard in your 1st post that is the second one down.
I guess what I am trying to accomplish with this yard is some staging but mostly just storage of cars on the layout. I have 1 passing line and then 1 line feeding into the yard that could be used as a main also if need be.
I guess once I get the bench work done then I can go ahead and try to figure out what I would like. Just wish I could get used to the software so I could have a better feel for what I am doing. I have tried several but just cant get the hang of them.
Well I took a few minutes to learn the AnyRail software and was pretty easy to do. Only thing is I did the trial version and ran out at the 50 pieces limit. I did get 3/4 of it done and am posting to see if this is workable on my yard layout. Yard Layout is 18’ long and 36" wide and is accessible from both sides.
I did not get the right side of the yard done but would mirror the left side. Let me know what you guys think if this is workable? I have the file but not sure if I can upload that here or not, if anyone would like to finish it for me. Really dont want to spend $60 on the subscription.
Thanks for the pic. Am I correct in that the first turnout (bottom right) is a #6 left turnout followed by 2 wye"s? That is a good idea. I have several other options now also that some guys have been helping me with.
You’re welcome! No-all 3 turnouts are #5s. Of course you can try other sizes to see what works best for your situation. And you might try it with curved turnouts or a combination starting with a straight. Pinwheel was suggested to me by Cuyama; one end of my planned staging uses the latter combination.
Two observations, one general and one specific to the question.
General observation: I am of the opinion that nothing is more deceptive from a planning aspect than the use of a line to represent track (whether that line is on a track plan or is drawn on your benchwork), because track has actual width and bulk. A line fools you into thinking all manner of things are possible that are not possible. It makes fouling points essentially out of sight and out of mind. You lose all perspective on just how many cars can fit on a given track, because the line makes you think your cars and locomotives are also two dimensional! Worst of all, you adjust your lines to what it is that you would like, rather than being constrained by what can actually be done.
Having said that, the use of a simple track planning tool or template can at least bring some discipline to the otherwise all-too-easy drawing of a line freehand. And if you lack the patience to draw a clean usable plan and go from that to laying track, at the very least you can readily create accurate cardboard life size equivalents of track and turnouts and play around with those rather than lay track and “learn” (ouch) as you go. Some guys make xerox copies of the turnout sizes they use and that way you can pretend you have a whole stack of turnouts. Copies of curves and straight track can be helpful too.
Specific observation: a double ended yard crammed in a short space (such as trying to fit within the curved ends of an oval on a 4x8, or even a 4x12) is an invitation to pure frustration because even once it is built, assuming it can be built., you quickly realize that given the fouling points on the turnouts, you actually have shockingly little usable yard space. That shortest track might hold one car! Worse yet, it might be too short to hold even one car. Remember that any
