I’m in the process of building with the help of a model railroader builder a 5’x9’ Ho layout modeled after John Armstrong’s version of Atlas Track plan 28 "Granite Gorge and Northern. I thought it was a decent railroad to model and love the over and under action. Problem is there’s not much room for structures or any significant industry. So I have just placed some buildings that I built in various places on the layout to see how they will fit. Nothings tacked down yet just in case I move them somewhere else So my dilemma right now is the passenger station location and type. I love Amtrak and Metra Chicago Commuter Rail. I’m going to buy Kato’s Metra engine and commuter cars. So I would like to have the station somewhere where it would be a focal point. Thus I have placed my old station where I would like my new one to go. However, I would like the platform style station used where most commuter trains stop. The concrete type used in Chicago where they’re just basic and have the light posts down the center or somethig of that sort. I noticed the German companies make good ones (kilbri, Vollmer, etc). Any ideas? I have elevation changes on the left side if you notice so my plan or idea is to have all residential homes, apartments on the top level and c
Looks like a “busy” layout, with all the turnouts and crossings, it doesn’t leave many places for trackside structures. The one suggestion I might have is to put the station on the other side of the tracks. That way it would be on the “town” side of the tracks. It would also get you an extra inch or two of track space.
As for which station, pick the one you like the looks of best. It’s your railroad.
The town is the customer base for the railroad so the station will be as close as practical to the customer base that puts it on the inside track in town.
The style and type of stations would be determined by the needs of the railroad, or in this case by I like that type[:D]
If you want raised platforms it may be necessary to make them to suit the track formation, a lot if not all of the commercial made ones are for straight track only.
When needed on a model this is not always the most convenient type or place to have it.
Yes John I was thinking the same thing but I don’t have a wood shop to carve a curved piece of wood that I then could just glue to the platform. I wonder if I could go to Menards or Home Depot and have them cut me a very small piece of wood thats like 8 inches long by about 2 inches wide and about a inch thick. I think that would make a decent size platform then I can drill some holes down the center for lights, signs,
You don’t need a wood shop. If you have a coping saw or an electric saber saw and a vise (or clamps to hold the wood still, you could cut a piece quite easily. Sand it, paint it, install it.
Yes I am thinking a curved platform but doesn’t have to be high level. Will be running passenger trains so I don’t see how clearance issues would come into place. What are you suggestions?
On a model railroad clearance issues are a fact of life due to the horrendous sharp curves we use.
Even the largest of curves most modelers can use is much tighter than the real railroads use.
It is easy to deal with you get the largest piece of rolling stock you have Or if you know some one with a larger piece of rolling stock that will make it round your track.
You then get a pencil hold it in the center of the car for the inside of a curve and run the car around the curve. This will leave a clearance line around the inside of the curve for the outside of a curve hold the pencil at the end of the car on the out side of the curve do the same again and this will give you a clearance line outside the curve.
Once you have these lines in place you know that nothing that could catch on the train should go inside those lines.
If you decide you need raised platforms on a curve and can live with the gap this same method can be used to create the curve template to cut the curve in wood or build the platform using other methods.
Before building rased platforms it may be worth looking at how the UK modelers do it as that is pretty much the standard UK type of platform.
New York City solves the problem by installing “Gap Fillers” that come out from the platform when the train arrives. I have omitted this detail on my model of the South Ferry Station. Once people get down low enough to look into the station they will hardly notice that there are no gap fillers there.
