I want to say that my practical knowledge of working yards ranks right up there with underwater ping pong.
I’m designing a layout where trains move from a staging yard to a classification yard are broken down, sent on their merry way, and return to the yard. The trains are then loaded for other world use and sent off to the staging area.
There will be a two track main at this point, one for inbound an one for outbound. I had planned for a double ended yard, but it is making more and more sense in terms of space to have a single ended yard.
This might be a dumb question, but can a single sided yard that runs parallel to the main service trains running in both directions? It seems like it should be able to but I don’t want to compromise too early if it not a good idea.
yes it will work…build your layout so that you can park your mainline locomotives somewhere so they don’t foul the yard and then bring out a yard switcher to do the switching…you can get the yard switcher to work both sides of the track by installing two run around tracks connecting the two mains together at both ends of the yard…be sure that they are separated far enough apart for the switcher to “run around” the mainline rolling stock so that it can work the cars from either end of the mainline tracks…Chuck
Also, Make your A/D a long siding so you can tie on power and go out either end. Te end that has the ladder track should be extended to serve as a lead or drill track. wb main_____________________
\ / _eb main___/_______
\ / lead_A/D Track (1)/
_______________________(2) _/ _
_______________________ (3) caboose eng service
ladder _________________________ (4)
etc. as needed
Double slip switches are not common on the prototype but may be found around passenger terminal tracks. However, if you use a double slip turnouts where the A/D lead track crosses the second main line, it will also work as a crossover for the main lines and you can eliminate one A/D lead at each end, crossings, save 4 turnouts and looks cleaner, if I’m reading the schematic correctly. Just a thought.
Or, if you have the room, put a cross over at each end of the mains before the A/D lead. You can still eliminate the other leads, turnouts and crossings for the A/D tracks. Cross overs would be easier to wire, cheaper and less complicated to operate than double slip switches.
Chip: Is there a specific reason to have both a staging yard and a classification yard? You could just combine them into one yard and have twice as much room.
That’s what do, anyhow–I don’t have room for two yards end-to-end, though. My “staging track” is my A/D track, the rest of the yard tracks are classification.
You are just bound and determined to get rid of both my helixes aren’t you. [:D] I think I’ve worked out a NOLIX plan that looks and works okay, but I still have a couple bugs.
I’m envisioning a layout where 6 people can run operations or one person can follow a train. I’m seeing running a train from the world (lower staging yard) to the classification yard to the layout back to the classification yard, out to the world (staging track). There is plenty of room under the classification yard.
You have trounced upon my pet peeve, visible yards of any type. I concure with the multi-use stagging concept with a simple set of sidings for classification duties, helixes? i’d rather remove body parts then devote space and resources for these.
Of course what matters is WHAT you want. Dave
Don’t get me wrong, I’m new at this so explain to me how I do this with a couple of sidings.
I have 9 people over for an op session. I have two inbound double-headed freights5 minutes apart. I need to get 6 trains out of the yard within 30 minutes each being comprised from the two inbound trains. I assumed that I would need a classification yard, but if you think otherwise let me know and I’ll rethink.
If anyone hasn’t read gsetter’s reply: “The Ten Commandments of Model Railroad Yard Design,” I can attest to it as very enlightening and very helpful. There are some pretty cruel realities that we all must face when planning a working yard. Granted, the unyielding adherence to prototypical operations may cause many of us “pause for thought” (or re-thought). However, the article offers excellent data on “real world” priorities for those who are driven to that end. Thanks, gsetter.
Chip. Here’s my plan for operations with no visible yards .I’m modeling Victor CA along the SP on the abandoned Kentucky House branch. Victor had nine packing houses and a large lumber distributor. The PFE house alone scales out to over five feet in S scale as per the prototype I have two runaround sidings in addition to the main. Spur one services five smaller houses in addition to the PFE house which has a second spur to access the attached power plant. Due to this layout, passing siding three is usless as a makeup tracks but excells as a drill lead… Two stub tracks diverge to the left from the main prior to these sidings and service additional packing houses. The lumber distributor requires three spurs branching off towards the right. Ok, i’ve got no classification yard as per my prototype, only stagging available is a shelf hung on the rear of the backdrop that allows two tracks.
There is a additional twist, due to my love of electric freight operations the mainline and one passing siding have overhead wire. It would be too dangerous to have men working on top of cars with wires overhead so these tracks are switched by a steam switcher, thus requiring a motive power change as well . Operations as envisioned: Train arrives from main stagging under electric power, upon arrival the motor is removed and using the passing siding, back on to the main and proceeds to vanish into the stagging yard.
Cars are preblocked from stagging simplfying switching moves, lets say we have five reefers for PFE these are blocked and switched into the plant in one move. If empties require pickup, the switcher will pull these onto the passing siding first freeing up the spur. But wait, the PFE shed is the last tennet on the spur, if the smaller sheds are occupied with cars they would also be switched out using the passing siding or main as yard tracks.
This general sequence is repeated until all switching is completed, by this stage we have assembled our outbound train on the passing
One thing that stood out in Chip’s last message, having 2 trains come in, and then get broken up and sorted to create 6 outbound trains in 30 minutes - NOT gonna happen. It’s going to take more than 30 minutes to classify 6 trains’ worth of cars. Oh if your yard operater runs the switcher back and forth at warp speed, it could happen, but if you plan more prototypical operation, it’s going to take a while to work the yard, even more so since you only show 3 yard tracks which means each track is doubled.
Or I could be completely out of my mind… Hmm, maybe that should be an ‘AND’…
SpaceMouse : I think its very unrealistic to think that any configuration you come up with will be able to bring in 2 large trains 5 minutes apart and then build 6 trains from them in 30 minutes. Why the rush? A real railroad allows about 4-8 hours to make a connection from an inbound to an outbound train. Cars that don’t make the cutoff, roll to the next day’s train.
some questions to consider re: time compression, do your inbounds have cars for: reefers needing icing, livestock needing feed/exercise, emptys needing cleanout, and do your outbounds have any cars needing weighing? All of these things take time added to the necessary sorting.
I realize I was being unrealistic with the 6 trains in 20 minutes. However, I was only trying to make a point about major switching operations off a couple sidings and an AD track.
