Over the next month I plan to convert my yard from a formless expanse of plywood with track to a detailed yard. Set in the late 50’s, I am planning to put a pair of towers in the yard, one at each end to control entry and exit to the main. I have also built my DCC programming track into the yard (I use a DPDT switch to go between program track or DCC) so on this track I am going to have a sanding tower, water tower and maybe a diesel refuelling stand. I figure that there would be some electrical boxes and the odd tool shed/speeder shed. Is there anything else that might be around a yard, that I should consider including?
There are a lot of buildings that can be put up around any yard:
enginehouse (large or small)
Sand drying building
diesel fuel storage tanks
water pump house
coal tower
stores building
yard office
depot freight house
division point offices
YMCA
lunch counter
LOTS of small “section houses”
crossing guard shanties
The list goes on and on. Wander through the photo galleries on the Fallen Flags website to get a feel for what I’m talking about.
Oh, and you’ll only need one, if any, towers for your yard. Many, MANY flat yards across the country didn’t have a tower at all, with all the switching being controlled via the yard office. Towers for our neck of the woods were usually reserved for big flashy yards like Galesburg, and for the millions of crossings at grade.
Yes, the yard office for the yardmaster. Probably a trainmaster [the big boss] would have an office nearby or in the same building. There needs to be a crew room/shanty where the yard crews start to work, and an engine track, unless the engine house/shop is nearby. You’ll need an office for the car department; these are the guys who inspect the cars coming over an interchange; they also inspect outbound cars and snap hoses after cars are all switched into an outbound train. [don’t forget any shops found have to be thrown out before the train leaves.] If there is a car repair (RIP) track in your yard, you’ll need shanty space for the repair guys [same department as inspectors, but different jobs.] as well as materials storage for the shop tracks.
I also like to put in a few junk piles around a yard…old rolling stock trucks, trash cans, oil drums, an abandoned track with an old weathered tool shed and maybe an old boxcar on the side of the track for storage… …stuff like that…Chuck
Depending on the type of yard possibly a passenger station and freight shed. If you run meat or fruit reefers an icing platform would also not be out of place. Have fun Rob