would like some helpfull critisism on this track plan, and if there is a way to add some industry. The goal is a freelanced tourist railway, museum, and some small industry. this way I am not limited to any specific era.http://cs.trains.com/TRCCS/themes/trc/utility/[:550:0]
First, what scale are you using? Makes a huge difference.
Many challenges with this plan.
Are the “grids” sectional (made to come apart) or are the “permanent” joints in the benchwork (only come apart for catostrophic moves)? If sectional, then switch placement and grades crossing a joint could be more of a challenge. Is the hole in the middle an operators pit, just an access pit, or just a hole.
Because I don’t know the elevations of the track, that limits some of the comments. I do know that unless you are in N scale, the area on the right hand end could have some major clearance issues. Not sure if there are two levels or three levels. Two levels you have a chance of making it work, depending on scale. The crossing, crossover, or even worse double slip switch, can’t tell from the drawing, hidden in the tunnel will not be a good idea. Assuming two levels, if you are doing Lionel, you have 12 ft to go up about 6 in or well over 4%. If you are doing HO it drops to 4" in 12 ft or less than 3%.
This appears to be a layout designed to just run trains around the layout with minimal intent to operate prototypically. Is this correct?
Scenically making all the tracks dead straight and parallel to the layout edges will make it look like a toy train layout. Might be good if you are using Lionel, not so good if you are trying to make it look “scenic” or “prototypical”. Make some tracks at an angle or put in some curves. Once again scale make a difference, if you are doing Lionel 3 rail then you might be locked into dead straights, if you are doing HO, then flex track will be your friend.
Not sure what you are doing with the “yard” in bottom center on the middle loop. Don’t understand what the purpose of the tail is supposed to do on the left end. What were you trying to do?
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With the bottom section, the cross over will be hidden making it a problem area. But that can be worked out, other then that I would want a little wondering in the track on the right side.
If the main focus is a tourist line/museum, then the operating plan would be to leave a depot then run mainline distance, turn, and run back to the depot. No need for switches or turnouts along the route.
Adding “some industry(s)” could take the form of one or two along the route that would be served by a separate freight train, or, simply by having switches in town near the depot.
The space is not really large enough to have both industry switches near the depot and industry switches along the line, so, take your pick with either at near the depot or along the line and eliminate the other location.
It looks like you have some steep grade issues with the three loops of track you have.
A common mistake is trying to gain the sense of distance by cramming a lot of track into a given space. Your eyes still see the tracks as being about a foot apart, so the effort tends to be futile. I would condense down to two loops instead of three, which would help resolve the grade issues also.
Hey All,
Thanks for the input, I forgot to mention that it is HO and there is just two levels. Sorry about the crude design I have been trying to use a couple of differant programs and I just can not get the hang of it. Now if I could get the teenage Daughter interested she could figure them out.
The sections of bench work is so that it can be disassembled for an anticipated move then it will either be start from scratch or added to a much larger layout. What I am trying to accomplish is a tourist line and some freight traffic. I am looking at a small paper mill here as one industry and was thinking of a beer distributer, plus one or two more small industries, was thinking of some kind of an imaginary mine (unobtainium) in the bottom right corner.The tail was a possible siding to perhaps a furniture company.
I am using flex track, and was not going to leave everything so straight, I am basing the line on the Great Smoky Mountain Railway and the terrain here.
Though I have been away from the hobby for some 35 years I have amassed a large collection of rolling stock (all freight cars) that I have found at flea markets and garage sales. I have also recieved a lot as gifts over the years mostly “Billboard Boxcars”.
Thank You for all your thoughts and I am allways open to suggestions.
Ron
hi Ron,
as said before you should give more information. A tourist line is your excuse to run anything, nice but depending the kind of engines and coaches you will have to chose a minimum radius.
Small railroad industries do not exsist The most versatile industry is an interchange BTW.
Even with a pen you can draw switches more to scale, it is a bit like you do not want to do your home work properly, but expecting a lot from others. Not adding elevations is the same kind of being to easy.
You might pick some ideas, but staging is really needed imho.
Smile
Paul
Don’t know where you got that, there are thousands of industries with only a few cars of spots.
Here is a small elevator in Louisville, NE:
If you want a little bit more modern one, here is one in Union, NE:
This hard to see because the trees have grown up around it, but this paper products company has about a 2-3 cars spot, but it sits below the main so the dock is on the 2nd floor of the building and under the boxcar is a coal pit so the same spots can unload coal for the boilers or load paper into boxcars:
At Birdsboro, PA is FM Brown feeds, which can easily be kitbashed from a Walther’s kit:
One of my favorites, O’Keefe Elevators in Omaha, NE:
There’s a small ready-mix concrete plant here in south central NH, which receives covered hoppers of cement from Ciment Quebec on somewhat regular basis. Pulled MTs for return to Canada, are spotted on an otherwise unused spur a short distance from plant spur. Usual consist is around 5 cars but this can be adjusted to fit one’s layout handling capacity. ALSO: If you are seeking more small, interesting trackside industries, go to Railroad Buildings & Structures on Yahoo Groups [free to join ]. In their FILES section, under U.I. [ for unusual industries ]. The files are in Adobe PDF; also obtainable free on the net. TTFN…Old Tom aka papasmurf in NH
Hi Paul,
You are right I did omit some pertenint details in my scetch, and I realised this after reading the first couple of posts and will remember this as I try to draw up another track plan. You are also right about staging and I have just not figured out how to incorperate that into my space. As to drawing in scale, its not that I am lazy, I just do not have the skill. That is my Wife,s forte, she is the working artist, my strong point is taking Our drawings and sketches and building what she needs. She was nice enough to let me squeeze my layout into her working glass and ceramics studio, that I have built from our sketches that includes an electric furnace for making glass from sand and what other chemicals she adds to it, two gas furnaces or "Glory Holes’ for heating the glass so she can manipulate and shape it.
I was going to go with 26" and 24" radius curves and if forced to a 22" minimum. the highest point on the grade would be 4 1/2 inches on the current sketch and I was going to use about 12’ to reach and return from the highest point. I am planning on using atlas #8 turnouts on the main line and atlas #6 turnouts every where else. I know that I have drawn every thing straight but I am useing flex track and will be adding some “Character and Personality” to the track as I lay it out on the bench work, the terrain here is very steep and rocky, the Blue Ridge mountains are much older than say the Rockies and it is very noticable in the geologic formations, and this is what I am modeling on the layout.
Here in the western part of North Carolina we have lots of small industry that utilizes the services of the Great Smoky Mountain Railroad a tourist rail line to handle freight moves on there tracks out to where they meet up with the Norfolk Southern tracks. This is the railroad that I am basing my freelance line on. There is a small paper mill here in town that never has more than ten cars on there sidings at a time and t
Ron,
It would take me minutes to put your plan up in software as long as you give me the brand and type of the track you want to use. From there on, we could all have a better look at your plan.
On the total area of surface you have available, there is space for not only one industry, but at least several pretty nice industries. If you use multiple levels (your two loops) it is probably even more. The space that you have for your industries would, however be limited by the are of staging you need. And given how you want to run your trains (tourist thing), I think what matters most is how many trains would there be on the layout at the same time and of what length?
Cheers,
Ron,
And where is your access? Left hand and the bottom sides in your plan? Can you run the plan around the walls with a duck-under instead?
Do you want to run steam, so you need to turn the engines around? A turntable or a wye somewhere?
Cheers,
Hi,
The access is on the left and the bottom and the center is open. with a duck under. I am using Atlas code 83 and atlas custom line switches.
Thanks
Ron
4.5 " in 12 ft is a pretty steep grade that will be just shy off 4%.
I would not use #8’s for this layout. I would use #6’s for the main line and #5’s elsewhere #8’s will eat up a huge amount of space and aren’t really needed. Any equipment that can negoiate a 22-24" radius curve can easily take a #6 turnout. A #5 switch is noticeably sharper than a # 6, but doesn’t have the extreme sharpness of a #4.
Agatha Christie, “Murder on the Orient Express”?
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Sherlock Holmes?
*-)
Dave your right I meant that the max heigth would be 3 1/2 inches not 4 1/2.
Thanks Ron