This is my final plan.I hope it will give me the pleasure that i am looking for.
looks interesting
I think it’s neat that you run a track from your main yard to your industrial park. (If that’s what it is)
Correct.
I hope you are looking for comments. You have a lot of space and have not over-crowed that space. I like that. It appears that the main function of this layout is to see trains run, have a yard, and do a little switching. However, other than this general idea, it doesn’t seem to have a purpose. I guess I don’t need to know the scale, but a general location of the pike the era, the industries you are servicing, etc. would be helpful. Also, if you could give me an idea of how you see this railroad operating, it would be helpful.
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If railfanning is your goal, you have the ability to run your dual main in both directions. However, one of those mains runs right through the center of your yard and out the yard ladder. Certainly no one working the yard can do anything while the train is coming through and neither can they leave cars there for switching.
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If your yard lead is the shorter of the two on the left, it is too short and should be as long as the longest yard track. An easy fix.
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The yard itself doesn’t, to me, seem to have a logical operational system. No matter how I think of working the trains, I seem to be blocking something important. Check out the Ten Commandments for Yard Design. http://www.housatonicrr.com/yard_des.html
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I’m not sure if you have allowed enough space for your engine facilities–coal, ash pit, water, sand, etc. In fact, I wonder if you have placed any buildings, roads, etc. to see if they would fit.
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Having two wyes right next to each other seems both redundant and wastes a lot of space. You have two wyes and a turntable. The center wye can only turn an engine while the one in the “industrial area” can turn a train. Using that area for a second industrial area would add a lot to your operations.
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Perhaps if you explained your operational intentions, the track placement would make more sense.
A couple of observations, but I do like the plan. It is of the style that I favour with lots of curves and lots of running. Gee Whizzz sort of stuff.
First, I agree about the two wyes, but do not get rid of the turntable if you have even a single steamer…you’ll love that thing, and if there is one object that will get your guest’s attention, it will be a steamer being rotated and sliding into a bay. However, your TT area, as you have it depitcted, is quite crowded. As shown, some radial trackage crosses over others, so you’ll need to manufacture frogs there…had you intended that?
As drawn, and easily fixed, are a number of places where you curved main approaches dangerously close to your benchwork’s edge. What looks like it could be a lift-out at lower right, the kinked diagonal part that meets the sweeping curve to your lower yard is a case in point.
If I am reading this diagram correctly, you have a heckuva reach at upper right. How will you correct something in that back corner?
Finally, please listen to the gentle cautions from Space Mouse about having some operations and revenue generating processes on your layout. It will mean another three hours of reading, maybe Track Planning for Realistic Operation by the late John Armstrong (genuflect, please), a couple of hours of adding turnouts, tracks, and a few runarounds, and if you can do that in at least two places (2), you will have added to the longevity of this layout immensely.
I like this plan!
You know, diesels and turntables do go together. I don’t know why everyone insists they don’t, because there are hundreds of them still in use today, 50 years after the death of steam. Theres not as many as there once were, but rail traffic isn’t what it once was either, so thats to be expected. Heck, down in Indianapolis, Indiana theres even a transfer table! Now that something you don’t see often.
BTW, I gotta go with the crowd on this one…the two wyes aren’t necessary.
When you say that the wye on the right goes to a hidden yard, do you mean staging? If so good move.
In the topo map yard, the main bypasses the yard. That makes all the difference in the world. With the main bypassing the yard, the yard can function without having to halt traffic every time a train comes through. Your yard is a scaled down compromise of the yard in the photo. You intent in imitating it, should be to imitate the function rather than the look.
You’re wasting a lot of money on a yard, if it (a) doesn’t work or (b) you don’t know how it works. The photo and the topo may be the same yard, but the track work is different on the two.
All railroads have a purpose. Mostly it is to get people and goods from point “a” to point “b.” Your purpose for building it may be to watch trains go. Possibly by the time you finish building the layout, you will have grown in the hobby and want the layout to have operational purpose as well. How and why do the goods move around your layout? Selector made a good suggestion about reading Track Planning for Realistic Operation. Now is the time to plan for the function. If you wait until your get bored with the looped-de-loop, you’ll spend a lot of money changing it. It doesn’t cost more to plan well now. Like Selector said, take 3 hours and read.
Eliminating the turntable does not solve the problem of engine service. However, moving the turntable more to the corner might. YOu still need to plan for buildings, roads and scenery. If you don’t plan for them, you may end up with an area that doesn’t work the way you want it to.
Yes i mean staging so it doesn’t count as a wye.
After your suggestions i was troubled enough so i made an alternative plan.About the book i can’t find it here in Greece.
About the new plan what do you think?
I like this yard much better. If you count the four tracks in the yard with the largest being the arrival/departure track, then an incoming train pulls into the A/D track disconnects the power and heads to the turntable for service. A switcher breaks the train down into the 3 classification tracks.
The problem is your branch line that runs to the industries runs right through the middle of it fouling the whole process. The fix is to extend the yard lead (still connect to the main where the lead ends) to become that branch line. It would be even better if it branched off the main.
Thank you very much for your suggestions!!!
So this is better?Any other comment?
Yes it is better.
Now lets look at the industrial area. I’d like to see it with buildings in place because right now I cannot envision how they would fit to make the track structure make sense. Right now it is a switching puzzle. That is the person running the switcher runs back and forth around the runaround and back and forth again. He’ll have to move cars set at one industry to put cars out at another. That would be okay if that was the only way to do it, but I think this can be simplified.
The problem is that once you solve a puzzle, doing it over and over gets old.
You should be able to place buildings with that layout program. Pick the industries that you plan to put on your layout and set them where they go on the layout. Then try to work out the simplest way to get product to them.
You have staging and a big yard. The small number of industries is your limiting factor in terms of operations. How can you place one or two or more on your layout in such away that it doesn’t interfere with your want for scenery.
Railroad, the hosts of this forum, Kalmbach Publishing, have the copyrights and distribution to the book I suggested. You can link to their sales outlet and order a copy. Believe me, it has opened the eyes of myself, Space Mouse, and about 8,000 other modelers just in the past few years. It is worth twice what it will cost you, and you will read and re-read that for years to come.
If you can afford to be patient until you read the book, you will be very thankful for having waited.
No i can’t place industries with this program.It is so importand to know what type of industries i will place or to have a nice track plan and add the industries later? Do you think there is enough space to place more industries somewhwre else?
Yes, it is extremely important. The industries have to make sense. You wouldn’t have a coal mine in Southern California. You know the area you are modeling, what types of industries would be there. Once you choose the models you will use, you have to look at your sources to see what models are availible. Once you find the models taht you can get your hands on, you set them in place and see how much space they take up. They may need parking, trcuk docks, access roads, etc. More importantly, the train docks or other requirements may be very specific. You then build the tracks to accomodate the models that are availible.
If you just lay track, the chances of getting the right industry to work are very small.
Designing follows this heirarchy:
Road name determines possible locations.
Locations determine landscape and industry.
Industry is limited by availible models or your scratchbuilding skills.
Availible models determine trackwork requirements.
Trackwork is the last on the list. You can look in the Walther’s Website for availible models. Many are European. Once you know their size, your should be able to create s
I purchased the Book!!! Now maybe i will become smarter!!
Seriously now,i found out that building a layout is much more difficult than i though.I have nothing specific in my mind except the era III.I was thinking for a german theme or maybe a Greek theme (but there are a few Greeks stuff), after purchasing a TRIX Micado that i found for only 149 euro (Wonderful Loco by the way)and i saw for the first time a RP 25 wheel ,i just loved it.Now i am thinking also for US theme.For scenery i am not going to make something very complex, just flat area with some small mountain in the corners.Of course sometime simplicity is better specialy for a beginner.
About scenery can i make something neutral for US and European stuff?
i like it i think it will be very intresting to wach have funn! :]
You will be very happy with Armstrong’s book, Railroad.
As for scenery, this might be the one time for you to make it up as you go. Use photos for inspiration as you need to, but map out the scenery to fit the space you have.
First things first, though,…do some reading and begin to sketch out a track plan based on a theme and time-frame, an era. Once your trackplan is solid, you can decide where to place hills, a bridge maybe, with a small river, and so on.
One important bit of advice: plan this layout to last you for at least a couple of years, ideally 3-6 years. We all end up building at least two, many of us build a new one every 5 years or so. It is often the case that we build a new one because the previous one had too many mistakes or not enough future provision in its planning. You have the one American style locomotive, but what are you likely to be wanting to acquire and run in two year’s time? That is what your layout needs to accommodate. Otherwise, you have to tear it up and start all over. It can be very expensive.