You guys have been a great help. This plan is getting close.
As per suggestion, I brought the ladder tracks parallel to the longest track, which I had envisioned as an RIP track. The result is that the ladder tracks increased in capacity by quite a lot. If I don’t use the smallest ladder track as an RIP track, then I have gained an extra ladder track.
Unfortunately, I didn’t gain any space in Train City like I had hoped.
So here are my concerns.
I have room for engine service, but not room for servicing the service facilities. I can put a stack of firewood for fuel, but I can’t store or bring in a gondola full of firewood. Likewise with sand. I have to bring it in on the engine service track.
I have the choice of using the smallest ladder track for an RIP track. I have room to put a track off the turntable, but I fear it would not be appropriate.
The “town” of Train City is over-crowded with track that only services two industries. I could extend the point of the switchback and get a third. But the biggest problem will be developing a big city feel in the remaining space provided. My best guess solution right now is to make the passing siding a double trestle bridge. It’s not extremely high above the yard, like 2 1/2 inches, but it is enough to see through and put roads through. I can then put false front structures that you can see through the bridge and then paint an extension of the city onto the backdrop.
Things I haven’t thought of. What would your concerns be if this were your layout?
Chip, with respect to the engine servicing twins, beyond the TT, if you were to remove it as a whole, TT and the twins, and place them more or less where your words “Train City” is located, you could swing the current TT approach lower, towards the yard and use the space left over as your Train City…or eliminate that long approach altogether for even more room. Then, by extending the diagonal track a bit, at upper left, just left of “Train City” where you have it on the plan at present, you can have a turnout about halfway along the diagonal permitting a new approach moving upper right toward the now relocated TT and twins. It is no longer the direct route you had, I know, but it may be a solution of sorts.
I’ll continue to think about this to find a better solution. In the meantime, maybe my suggestion will trigger a eureka for you.
1) I have room for engine service, but not room for servicing the service facilities. I can put a stack of firewood for fuel, but I can’t store or bring in a gondola full of firewood. Likewise with sand. I have to bring it in on the engine service track.
Could you add another small track to the top of the yard? Have it angle up to the 2 tracks behind the turn table? Be nice if you could work in a track for it as it would another operation move.
2) I have the choice of using the smallest ladder track for an RIP track. I have room to put a track off the turntable, but I fear it would not be appropriate.
I think you are right here. In my mind the chances are moveing a car or engine acorss a turntable wouldnt work as the car wouldnt roll well ( i.e. bad bearing) and the yard crew wouldnt want to take the chance of fouling the table with a bad car. RIP track out of the small ladder I think works. Can always shove the bad orders to the back and use the remaining track for yard work.
3) The “town” of Train City is over-crowded with track that only services two industries. I could extend the point of the switchback and get a third. But the biggest problem will be developing a big city feel in the remaining space provided. My best guess solution right now is to make the passing siding a double trestle bridge. It’s not extremely high above the yard, like 2 1/2 inches, but it is enough to see through and put roads through. I can then put false front structures that you can see through the bridge and then paint an extension of the city onto the backdrop.
I think this a tough call to suggest to folks as everyone has different levels of what’s important to them. On my layout, I have alot of trackage and alot of industry that, chances are in the real world, would be too much. But its my world and I know I can ge
Flatten the industry tracks - starting where the first turnout comes off the lard lead. Keep it straighter, less right hook. ANd flatten out the top track and runaround (under the words “Train City”. This will leave more room alongside the lead into the turntable. Add another track off the turntable that comes back alongside the existing track (between it and the industry tracks). Having the RIP track off the turntable is proabbly not ok - but having cars have to be shuttled across the turntable to get to the fuel bunker is not. You also have room for a third and maybe 4th track next to the two for the engine house - in fact there SHOULD be one across the turntable fromt he lead, in case soemthign overshoots the table. And maybe a short track or two below the enginehouse tracks, for a wheel track or something
I have room for engine service, but not room for servicing the service facilities. I can put a stack of firewood for fuel, but I can’t store or bring in a gondola full of firewood. Likewise with sand. I have to bring it in on the engine service track.
I don’t see this as a big problem (but maybe I’m looking at it differently). You only have two engine tracks off your turntable, so it’s not like the turntable lead would be in constant use. I think a short line would use the lead to bring in wood and sand.
I’m guess that you will have some sort of elevated platform alongside the lead to stack/store wood in preparation for refueling your tenders? I’d just imagine that during lulls in locomotive movements they’d bring in a gondola/flat of wood and have a crew quickly manhandle/transfer it to the platform.
In a similar way, I assume you will have a sand house alongside the lead? Again, shouldn’t be a problem to bring in a side dump of sand, drop it next to the sand bin, and imagine having the crew shovel it in. Actually, for the amount of sand your locos will use, you could even propose bringing it in bagged, in a boxcar, and just stored in a shed. Sand can even be hand loaded into the domes, eliminating the need for a sand tower, if you were really pressed for space.
Just some ideas. Like I say, I haven’t been following the saga real closely, so maybe I’ve missed your point completely.
It may not look like it but I completely re-did Train City. Everything from the turnouts on the main in were taken out.
What happened is I measured my structures. Nothing fit. As it is I have a lot of work to do. First of all, I think I’m going to bash my engine house. I think it was built for a Big Boy and my engines are around 6". I may cut it in half. That will allow me to move the turn table in to the left and open up the city more.
The cattle ramp faces the wrong way. I may just scratch one.
The corner building is the el cheapo Railroad Hotel. This will be the visual key of the whole layout. The other structures will be mostly Campbells and other craftsman kits. This will downgrade the whole layout. I may just scratch something with a similar design/footprint. Of course, I’m pretty good with paint…
You’ve been quite helpful in my layout thread, maybe I can throw an idea at yours
Do like another suggested and add some suggestive scenery of a large industrial town on your staging area. You’ve got enough yard there to do some operation, and you’ve already got a roundtable to turn trains.
To gain a little real estate in Train City, swap the two lines that go into and out of the Rock Ridge layout. Make the upper track cross over top of the city level one, and bring the city level one out to the edge of the aisle. If the top track crosses soon enough it may not cost you too much in grade increase.
I wouldn’t be able help myself with the scenicing–I don’t know if I’ll run operations out of there. I value staging a lot. I will probably install cross-overs/escape tracks though. Who knows. Right now there is a couch in the way.
Thanks. I thought about that. A 2% grade, which I refuse to go above, will only get me about halfway high enough for a cross over. I had a 3.1% grade on my last layout and that limited my engines to about 4-6 cars each. I also had a 3.7% grade. That dropped the car capacity of the engines to 1-4.
It would also alter the shape of the canyon. I had the contours pretty well worked out–roads, a flat spot for a line shack, watersheds, etc. I’ll have to think about it and play around.
Yes, the upper track would still have to share the burden of generating the overall clearance, but I hope you can make it happen. Partial trestle, rock wall, slide shed, whatever.
There’s currently a 3.25" separation between the height of the two trestles in Rock Ridge Canyon. That is exactly a grade of 2% from the yard to the upper trestle. My trains can clear 3", but that does not include the plywood, roadbed, etc.
I could put the lower level in a tunnel and back-cut the plywood over the lower track.
I may need a miracle to pull it off. I’ll do it and run the calculations.
I assume that Rock Ridge is some sort of natural resources extraction activity (logging, mining, etc) which are transferred to processing facilities (lumber mill, etc) in Train City? Or are you basing ops on off-layout destinations beyond the mystical lands of the staging yard?
What purpose does the passing track in back of the layout serve? I assume that it would be useful simply as a passing track for scheduled meets, but does it do anything else?
It appears that your focus is scenic running and making/breaking of trains in the yard?
The Rock Ridge Silver Mine exists invisibly above the ore cars below. The area is a bit more developed these days, hence, it is being extracted as a module. I don’t have an ore refinery in Train City yet, but it is not out of the question. I have a 4 x 10 inch space that will be some kind of industry. I prefer to model the Red Tail Ale Brewery, but I haven’t found anyone making the model. The ore might just head into Sacramento (staging) for processing.
Nope, that’s what it’s for. I envision having friends over for ops sessions. Don’t smirk. I have friends.
Building at least one of the two streets in Train City on a hill, and setting each building at a different elevation will make for a great appearance. For a bit more whimsey have both streets sloping down, and put a scene with two crashed wagons at the intersection.
Or just put a toll booth on one road out of town and label it the William J. LePetomaine Memorial Thruway.
Idea: Additional space could be conserved by having only a portion of the engine house sticking out into the layout area … if you really want a loco to enter the facility completely, possibly extend it through the wall.
