short run around tracks

Model Railroader Prototype information for the modeler
1

anyone know of any run around tracks that have the length of 2-3 50’ boxcars that are still in use today?

thanks

mark

2

Mark,Railroads use short run around tracks to save time during switching moves so,yes there are still short runarounds in use between crossovers that are far apart.

Railroading today isn’t all that much different then back in the day.

3

One also has to consider that the prototype might consider a 1000-2000 ft runaround as a very short runaround. So it would be very rare to find one that short (2-3 cars) at any time in any era. Even the really short ones, that only look a couple cars long are probably a lot longer than you think, but are foreshortened by the camera lens.

So a really short 1000 ft runaround serving a 2 mile long industrial lead might be condensed down to a 3 car runaround serving a 12 ft long industrial lead. Selective compression.

4

Somewhere south of Clovis, NM, I saw a short (5 60 foot grain hopper) double ended siding at a country elevator. It might have been a leftover from the dark ages, but it was still in use in the 21st century.

Chuck (Modeling Central Japan in September, 1964)

5

A “60 foot” grain hopper is about 65 feet long over the couplers, so the 5 cars is over 300 ft long, throw in a bit to tack on each end for clearance, the turnouts and the switches and the “short” runaround is pushing almost 2 football fields switch stand to switch stand. 500 ft is 5 ft 9" in HO scale.

6

IIRC 15 cars was between clearance points was considered a short runaround.

However a “short” could be 2 car lengths since there was no set distance requirement

7

I consider most/all such situations as “double-ended sidings” serving industry/industries. They allowed switching from either end/direction, so “running around” the train was unnecessary. I’ll admit that many model track plans have such sidings merely to “run around” but that’s a modeler’s affectation.

8

Actually, in industrial neighborhoods (away from the main line) single ended sidings are very common. Often part way through the day the locomotive might be somewhere in the middle of the “train” depending on the origin or destination of each car. In the maze of trackage you would find one or more run-around tracks so they could get things back to normal towards the end of the day. On the prototype these would fit a lot more than two cars as a rule, but for modeling compression is a necessary tool.

And minor sidings on the main line are often single ended too. That is a nuisance for the operating department, since a car may have to be hauled past the destination before it can be spotted by a train going the other way. The advantage is only one turnout in the main track for the track forces to maintain. Frogs and switch points are expensive and can wear quite rapidly on a busy main line.

John

9

Runaround tracks is very common and as was mention some urban industrial branch lines lacks runarounds…

Its harder to justify double ended industrial sidings seeing industries own their siding and not the railroad.

10

This was a thought that I had on the same subject while designing my layout. I decided to forgo passing sidings because I felt that the only way it would make sense for a 2-3 car passing siding would be an industrial railroad with limited space within the industrial park or a former trolley/interurban line.

I just decided that the 2 sidings on my layout were trailing point sidings and the engine would push the train back to the interchange with the caboose leading as a switching platform ala the Millford-Bennington RR.

11

A few former Pacific Electric examples remain in my neck of the woods, judging by their poor conditon it is probably safe to say they are no longer used on a regular basis, these could contain 2 to 4 interurbans as there was no PE freight customers on this particular line, PE truncated the line as through route in 1940, so they utilized the remaining block long section as a storage spur. SP used to park switch engines and cabooses in these sidings back in the day.

Dave

12

Technically you can “turn” say a six-car train using a 2 or 3 car double-ended side track, it just takes time. In effect the train would do a “saw-by” with itself…the engine could put two cars in the side track, then back up and connect the cars up the front of the engine, then leave two more cars in the side track, then back up and connect those to the other two cars, etc.

13

I understand what you mean. My layout is basically a tabletop layout (63 by 45 inches). While I would love to have a passing siding like you suggest for added operation, there aren’t many instances of very short passing sidings.

14

Stix,I can’t think of any crew that would do that much extra work when a simple reverse move could be made with caboose lead with the rear crew protecting the shove or in modern times riding the last car on the brake wheel platform or place a locomotive on each end of your train.

15

Ya I agree, either they’d go out caboose first or the railroad would find a way to fit in a runaround track long enough to do the job. I was just pointing out that technically you could do it with a short runaround track if you really wanted to or had to. Some model railroaders like to put in switching ‘puzzles’ that are fun

16

On the UP (ex WP) Reno Branch at Panther (Google, Golden State Petroleum, ) is a short runaround track, about 300’ long. It is used for local switching; following the railroad to the left notice and LPG dealer facing point spur.

Have fun, Rob