I’ve finally finished revising my layout plan based upon previous feedback (http://www.trains.com/community/forum/topic.asp?page=1&TOPIC_ID=41816) and the fact that a wall I thought I would be able to easily move would be much more involved and expensive than originally thought. Rather than writing everything here, I’ll simply direct you to my web page. Please take a look and comment.
I’m guessing scenery isn’t the primary concern here… Looks like a mighty expensive layout to build… Show us some photos in 5 or 10 years when you get the track work all in and working… Is that going to be DCC or block control DC??
I can’t wait to come and take a local to work the industries. But I presume with that much yard trackage most of the trains from staging aren’t throughs but are going to be going to or from the Wyoming Yard? Do the locals serving the industries come from there also?
I did create a link directly to the PDF file as some older and/or non-standards based web browsers may have problems opening the embedded PDF file.
Texas,
According to my employee timetable, there are 3 daily scheduled passenger trains and 4 daily scheduled freight trains in each direction between Chicago and Grand Rapids. All three passenger trains stop at Holland. Two meet connections to Muskegon. Wyoming Yard is a major classification yard for the railroad. All freight trains stop at Wyoming Yard, including the Overnighter express freights between Detroit to Chicago.
I know there are more than the scheduled trains. For example, there is and was a train nicknamed the “Cannonball” from Wyoming Yard to Muskegon that is not listed on the timetable.
Looking at the station track diagrams and pictures of the CTC panel at Waverly (that controlled the CTC from Grandville to East Saugatuck just west of Holland), it appears that run around sidings at Hudsonville and Grandville were removed when CTC was installed to save money and thus require that the locals be turns.
As stated in the written portion of my web page, Waverly Yard handles cars for Holland, the Allegan branch, and the Ottawa Beach branch. Trains for Muskegon are made up in Wyoming Yard and simply pass through the junction at Waverly.
There is a lot of info there to get one’s brain around even with constantly looking back and forth between the pictures and text.
Since the locals are turns, is there one dispatched to each of the industrical areas (e.g. One to Holland, one to Allegan, etc. ), or are there multiple trains that work all three areas?
Wow that is a huge track plan, I hope your not hand laying your track[:O].
very Nice!!!
p.s. if your planning on buying commercial turnouts could you let me know what company your going to get them from? ( I want to buy a few shares of there stock)[:D]