Run around track design

I am working on an HO 2x10 switching layout which serves 5 indisutries, a single team track, and an interchange yard. My concern is that my design is too crowded and there won’t be enough room for the incoming train to service the industries because the train will not fit in my run around track. Do you see this as a problem? I have 3 feet of runaround track which will only fit about 4 cars plus the locomotive. Is it also a probem that industry spurrs branch off the runaround?

We would like to see a track plan so we can help you better.

If you are talking about an industrial area only, why not make the train that comes in four cars long? A local switcher could work the area and stage four outgoing cars somewhere. Then the train comes in with four cars to drop off, then it picks up the four outgoing cars and departs. The switcher then picks up the inbound cars and spots them as necessary.

First why walbash things?

Why not rotate switching the industries and interchange track that way you wouldn’t be walbashing your runaround track?

Here’s my plan.I rotate the industries to be switch-usually 3-4 cars…

Its 1’ x10’

First why walbash things?

Walbash??? What’s that?

Roger Huber

Wabashing is when you shove to many cars into a yard or transfer track and foul the switch on the far end of the yard or transfer track.

Story goes a Wabash conductor shoved to many cars onto a B&O transfer track fouling the B&O switch and caused the B&O grief and after that any time cars was left fouling a switch it was called “A Wabash” or a “Wabash stunt”.

The space that we have to work with is the space that we have to work with. On a switching layout, part of the problem-solving is in moving the cars around without having them be in the way for another operation.

My around-the-walls shelf layout has much the same restriction. While I would much prefer to have a long train of coal hoppers, the run-around only allows for a maximum of six cars… so it is difficult to create that image of the long “snake” of hoppers behind the locomotive. We do the best we can with the space we have, and always keep planning a bit in the back of your mind for that next layout.

Bill

Is that the entire layout? I ask beacuse I have a 2x12 HO Free Mo switching layout with a 4’ runaound which is too short for my tastes (don’t we all wish we had more room!). My plan is to use 3’ tail track extensions (until I finish planning and building more modules for both ends) so I can leave some cars on the ‘main’ while I switch the industries (I also planned in a ‘yard’ track to temporarily store cars out of the way). The prototype in my area ( the old Gerstenslager plant in Wooster, OH) leaves it’s train on the main, then backs all the inbound cars about a mile to the industry, where it does it pick ups and set outs than pulls forward, back to the main, where it couples back onto its’ train and continues on its’ way.

I have a 1x22 switching layout and don´t have runaround track. I´ve designed my layout with all the spurs facing the same direction. It´s an industrial branch connected to the main with a trailing point turnout ( non modeled).[;)]

This is essentially what I’ve done on my similar sized layout. Mine is also limited to about a 4-5 car train. One thing to recall is not every industry is switched every day. On mine the primary customer (mill) gets a car or two daily, while the other get a proportionally smaller amount. Some might be served only once a week or less.

Hello Elmer,

Do you want to say there´re 2 jobs, a local switcher and a based in the industrial area switcher?. Just thinking about ops on my layout.

Manolo