If you were running trains on XtrkCAD, then you have probably figured out how to change the direction of turnouts. Which I have not been able to do. So how do you anyway? (I’m using custom turnouts that I designed in-program if it makes a difference)
Jake- in train running mode, you Shift+Click on a turnout to change it.
This is a big improvement. I like it very much! Could you gain some track length to your staging yard by having it above the spur and then curving down. Perhaps you would have to curve your backdrop a bit, to allow for the two tracks, which could join at a switch to the right of the backdrop. This would make rerailing and switch management much easier. Bob Hahn
I wondered about doing that, but I didn’t like that it would be against the wall with no way of getting to it, being both against the wall and behind a large building. Glad you like my plan, though! [:D]
I was wondering how to put some more boxcar traffic on my layout (I have about a dozen) and came up with this revision of my layout. I move some industries around and add a recycling plant that would take two or three boxcars a day. This leaves me with two questions regarding this layout:
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Is the top part of the layout approaching a spaghetti-bowl mess of tracks?
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Regarding the red arrow for plastics shipping- is it uncommon for an industry to recieve supplies on one siding and ship out on a nearby shared siding, or would the same siding do double duty for the recieving and shipping?
I think if the outfit had enough money and land to get their own siding, they would handle all of their business on it. Team tracks are for outfits that are ways from the tracks, or unable to afford their own siding on their own property. Plastic pellets can be unloaded almost anywhere, just need a properly outfitted truck to suck them out of the car.
This is from Plymouth, WI. Two different outfits unload plastic here, just a flat area around the depot.
I would think about hooking the top of the quarry track back into the main, and getting rid of the cement distributor. Janesville has that all in one area, by the quarry. The loadout for the trains also can load trucks, and the cement and concrete facilities are a bit south, on the south side of Black Bridge Road. Make the inner loop there serviced by the UP only. If you want, could move the lumberyard there, maybe a chemical place if you like tank cars. Both could serve the quarry, but the WSOR would spot/pull from the top only. Would require an interchange move then, to get cars from one railroad to another.
I thought about giving Union Pacific some of their own trackage on my layout, but I’m not sure. The circular layout and the angle staging is at don’t go well for that, and besides, I have all of one UP engine, an SD40-2, which isn’t used around here. I was thinking, though, it would be neat operations to turn one of the double tracks by the quarry into an interchange track. It would free up some space in the Janesville yard.
Here’s another rendition I did. I loose the passing track at the top right corner, but in my virtual op sessions, I never used it after I reassigned which trains do which industries.
