I’m in an HO club where we have a lot of industries but each can only handle 2-4 cars with the exception of the power plant; about 15-20 hoppers and the intermodal facility; about 20 cars.
(thank GOD)
Our intermediate refinery can only take 2 tanks at the service racks, and the same goes for just about every other stop. Now the last undeveloped area is being used (about 12 feet long 18" wide) for a switching ‘problem’ type area and will probably have 3-4 small industries.
My problem: I’d rather have a prototypical yard in that space, for an industry, an ethanol plant to be exact. All but the senior members (2 or 3 of em) feel as I do, but only complain to me. We spend a lot of energy making our models look like the real thing, at least I do. I spend more on details west ect. parts than I do on the loco sometimes! So why should I be asked to switch an imaginary yard?
My question: has anyone else ever been in this kind of situation? Is this just the way clubs are? Is there anything else I can do?
I would suggest you voice your opinion at the next meeting. Keep it unemotional and unthreatening and use “I” more often than “You”. If you don’t speak up, you have no right to complain about the situation. Model railroaders tend to be pretty good folks, and you might be surprised at the reactions.
Having said that, I have avoided clubs as I want to “do it my way”, and after spending 40 plus years in office environments in the middle of politics, I just don’t want to deal with that any more than I have to - now that I am retired.
Draw up a plan for the area they way you/the other members want it. Many times the person with the plan gets it because they are the only one with a plan.
I would think that the answer lies in the location of the (fictional) railroad. Is the railroad in the NE corridor with tight spaces and small industries or is it located in the great open spaces of the mid-west? What would be the typical type of industries served in this environment at this location.
It would make absolutely no sense to put an ethanol plant on my layout in the Smokey Mountains. I am hundreds of miles from the nearest corn crop.
Everyone on the planet has different preferences. Different preferences lead to differances of opinion. Being part of a club, any club, is always one of give and take and compromise.
Since this is a club layout, are you short of operators or do you have more operators than you have places for them to operate? If you are short of operators then an industry that takes minimal switching time makes sense. If you have operators standing around with nothing to do then a 12 foot long area with complex switching (lots of small industries) could keep an operator busy for a whole operating session.
It sounds like the layout is shy of many real inticate switching moves. This area being used as an industrial switching “puzzle”, may add to some intriging, and carefully planned moves. Doubled ended sidings for industries and purposly done short leads can really add some real fun for operations. Have you considered this as an option rather than just a small yard?