Hi y’all. This is a (very) rough draft of what I’m looking to build in an industrial town on my layout.
Theme- Midwestern
Prototype- mostly C&NW
Era- early 1980s and/or mid to late 1990s
Excluding the fact that some curves look extremely tight, how does this plan look?
You don’t say whether this is a switching layout or part of a larger layout. In any case, since you have spurs pointing in both directions, you will need a runaround track to allow you to push cars into facing point spurs.
My bad. This is simply a town connected to a larger layout. One reason I don’t have a runaround (yet)is that the wye COULD be used for that purpose.
BTW, 1 square = 1’
All the legs of the wye will have to be long enough to hold the loco and at least one car if you intend to use it in lieu of a runaround track. Even with very sharp curves, you will need a space much wider than the 2 feet you have diagrammed. Is one leg of the wye going to extend into the aisle.
Here’s my full trackplan. Does this help?
Looks like it should work although you are showing one leg of the wye track cutting across 2 corners of the aisle. I built some of the corners of my benchwork at a 45 degree angle where the track would be cutting across it.
Yep. I ended up making a 45 degree piece for one of the corners.
Anybody else have comments on the town of Kampton?
Thinking out loud…
Question: Could you insert a #6 right turnout, or a #8 turnout, 2/3 of the way into the curve entering Kampton?
This would totally eliminate the crossover in Kampton and give you a lengthy straight siding now serving business (5) and business (6). It might also eliminate the need for both turnouts that connect to that same crossover.
A #6 or #8 turnout number could provide a straight tangent 2/3 into that curve, and; a smoother transition into that new longer straight siding for business (5) and business (6), and maybe business (4).
One of the spurs should be designated as the interchange traffic on the apparent foreign road whose track crosses the town at a diagonal. The spur should be reconfigured to appear to join the foreign road off the table’s edge.
What’s with all the many short spur tracks? Do you plan separate industries for each? That wouldn’t be a realistic idea since the railroad would be serving tiny industries, not often done in the period you are modeling. I’d suggest one or two major industries and reconfigure the track to fit the structures you have in mind. How about a brewery complex? a smelter? a paper mill?..
mark, yes I forgot to include an interchage.
Seperate industries were planned, but I see what your saying about a “modern” (post 1980s) railroad serving big industries. I’m actually playing around with the idea of having the Walthers Valley cement complex and then 2 or 3 smaller industries. Leeme draw up a new plan.
Please exclude the fact it doesn’t appear to fit an some sidings are sharp (I did something wrong… don’t know what yet)
BTW, what types of cars are found @ V.C. (valley cement)? Obviously cement covered hoppers would be loaded from the silos, but the walthers catalog shows 2 sidings w/ open (coal) hoppers sitting on them. What purpose do they have at V.C.?
EDIT- I just realized there needs to be a switch going to the interchage so I have a switch lead for V.C.
tg, I see what you’re saying about adding a switch. Even w/ the latest plan, I may still be able to do something w/ that.
I havnt been on in a long time. but one question im not being sarcastic but why do you always change what year/roadname your modeling, you had bnsf, ic, cgw, now something diffrent?
I like change, I suppose.
The legs of your wye appear long enough to allow use as runarounds for a few cars. Also, I notice that the long leg leading into town allows room for cars to be set there OFF what appears to be the “mainline” leg of the wye. Good.
I agree that an interchange with the crossing line would be desireable. Two reasons: it gives a place for additional traffic and switching. Second, it just looks right. It is something you normally find at a crossing. (However, a crossing between two railroads is a common place for a wye also. I would wonder about working the crossing into the wye somehow, so the connecting railroad crosses one leg of the wye and connects with another. Here is an example from the neighborhood where I grew up…
The interconnecting tracks were NOT used for setting out cars, but for trains to connect from the East Belt line-- a major belt-- to the GH&H, a mainline leading out of town, and to the Magnolia branch, leading to a few spurs toward downtown (west/up on the plan) and a major portside yard to the east (down on the plan). If I ever model the area, I would probably used the double track East Belt as part of the main route of my railroad and to keep the width of tables etc. in bounds, that would be on a 1.5 or 2 foot shelf, getting a little wider for the wye junction, but then that track would be cut off and become a dummy. Then that track would be used for “open staging” of a short train from the branch.
I see a problem with the alignment at the bottom of your wye, an unnecessary S-curve. The straight leg of the turnout at the bottom of plan is parallel with the edge of the layout, requiring a curve to the right and then a curve to the left to make the bottom leg of the wye. Instead, consider allowing the bottom right mainline curve to continue just a few more degrees until its tangent (the direction at whi
I guess people haven’t been into industrial parks lately. When I get home from work this afternoon I will try to remember to post some pics of one near here that has around 6 short one or two car spurs that are still served on one mile of track serving small industries. Also includes a staggering grade, trailing and facing point spurs and no runaround tracks unless they come all the way back down the hill to the mainline track. Work in these areas is not so simple for the real life RR crews.
Also I will post a special S curve picture for leighant.
When looking at whether something is “right” I find that answering the question “Why is it like that”? usually tells me whether it has any chance of being “right”.
Second stage is a timeline… in what order did it get there…?
leighant, I’ll think about what I could do with an interchange combined w/ the wye.
The wye is already built, and the S curve isn’t too much of a problem…yet, but I still might re-work it as you suggested.
Ric, if you could post those pics, that’d be great.
Howdy,
The open hopper cars are for coal to power the plant. Like the Davenport cement plant (west of Santa Cruz on the California Pacific coast), about equal quantities of covered hoppers for carrying cement out and open hopper carrying coal in are typical traffic. Its hard to see how you’ve laid out the Walthers cement plant. Looks like you have just the storage silos (933-3019), but a cement plant should have a kiln, storage building, etc., as in Walthers (933-3098) Valley Cement (to be placed along the bottom side?).
Most cement plants I’ve known are close to a limestone source. Use a conveyer or a tramway to carry this raw material to the plant.
You should have several parallel tracks just for loads/empty storage. So you should plan on at least another parallel track in the center, particularly since one of the tracks is the “mainline” servicing industries to the right of the plant. Plan on having 8-to-10 car trains to service the plant. You might consider having a small diesel locomotive assigned full-time to the plant. How about a locomotive “pocket” track? The track to the silos should be extended about 2 feet to the right so that a string of cards can be loaded.
A cement plant is a good choice.
Ric:
Sounds very interesting. Can you give a location (town) so that I can have a look on Google Earth?
Thanks greatly,
Mike
The rest of the Walthers Valley Cement (kiln, storacge) is on the opposite side of the tracks. In this particular industry, where would the coal hoppers be unloaded?
Thanks