I am adding an intermodal facility to my existing N scale layout. I have plenty of room. I am looking for suggestions as to where to find proper track plans for this type of yard.
Heyy there! im on the same boat. i am building a container yard well what im gunna do is buy a facility and just switch my container cars around. i mean its all about imagination. MRR always says Dream Plan Build. so think and you will end up with an awesome layout! have fun and happy model railroading!
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Keith
I see container yards with a track for inbound trains and lots of ramp space for the cranes to run around and grab containers off the trains (Trailers too) and set them to one side.
Back of yard is stacks and stacks of containers. Usually 3 high max.
Middle of yard is trailers and manuvering area for tractors, cranes and marked rectangles for those with chassis to stop for pick up or drop off of containers. Basically the middle yard is pavement with trailers parked in a row ready to be taken out by truck or train.
The front of the yard is where the train sits to be serviced. They can probably have several tracks that you might break the incoming train into several yard tracks and have the facility unload/load boxes
At one end is a gate, gaurdshack, weightscale, truck/shipping agent office, roach coach etc…
At the other end can be simply a small shop for those bad order boxes and chassis.
The yard would take alot of long space like 2 foot by 8 foot etc… it is linear to accomodate trains. I think I can pull up a 20 car twin stack, break it in half and use two very long tracks side by side as the cranes run back and forth grabbing boxes to unload.
If you are trying to have ships then put them in the back beyond the boxes with the cranes and extra pavement for the yard jockeys to run the boxes to and from the ship.
The key is the ability of all vehicles involved to get anywhere they need to within the confines of the property. The ability to get to any trailer, box or spot is essential.
You might have also a customs warehouse where containers are examined on the dock as well.
Use the search function at the top of the page to find previous topics on intermodal operations.
One of the magazines did an extensive, multi-issue story on intermodal yards. (I think it was Model Railroader). You can use the search function to find what issues had the series.
Darrell, quiet…for now
MR has done a few articles about intermodal yards. Are you looking at a domestic facitlity or a port facility. My terminal has both. Although, the dock and customs area is sperate from the loading ramp. After clearing Customs, the containers are trucked to the loading area.
Domestic facilities are basically tracks surrounded by a parking lot. Usually there’s a fence with a guardhouse surrounding it. My tracks are double ended, so the trains pull right in, and then pull out. Previously, we had a stub ended terminal, where everything had to be shoved in and pulled out.
Nick
I am in the midst of constructing my 9x13 HO intermodal rr, and can relate to the need for a intermodal yard (and port) track-plan. Here are some of the references I have uncovered on the 'net which may help :
Virginia Port Authority website : http://www.vaports.com
– click on Facilities, then Terminals, under there are maps of the 4 VA Port intermodal
terminals
Clovis Yard :
http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=34.404722,-103.204722&spn=0.039997,0.061541&z=3&t=k&hl=en
– not 100% dedicated to intermodal , but it’s a crew-change point on the Transcon and so you’ll see lots of intermodal equipment there…
Yahoo’s intermodal modeler group, with list-service:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/modelintermodal
The hardest part about modeling intermodal, at least in HO scale, is trying to find an
appropriately sized container ship and port crane…I’m at the point where I’ve given up
looking and am going to kitbash both of these to meet my needs.
Keep ‘em runnin’…
Jim