Hi
I need help with a small traversing yard about the same size as the one described in the September issue of model railroader (25x30") and also want to add a small piece of track after the yard for locomotive return (loco on track move yard over to an empty track and send the loco back on it’s way). What I want to know is some other ways to do this with 11 tracks with space for a pin to keep the tracks in line. I also like the power thru the drawer slide. Help?
If you make an engine escape inn the yard, about every other track would have to be left empty, so the engines can return. Notice that the loco is pushing the cars onto the yard. I think the better way to get your loco to escape would be to make a passing track parallel to your yard lead. Leave enough space between the turnout and gap onto the moveable yard so that your longest engine won’t have to go onto the yard to pull ahead of the turnout and then back down the siding. When it gets behind the train it could then push it in.
Just my thoughts.
Richard
I understand what your thinking just exept for the part about every other track being left empty if there was a loco escape. I was thinking always leaving the center most track empty all the time for the odd train that goes in pulling as opssed to pushing. I would think that leaving every second track empty would be a little quicker how ever is a waste of space. Mabye I need to put it this way: loco cuts off main shortly after industry’s smal staging yard, goes aprox. 13" before hitting the traversing staging where the escape would be at the oposite end just for trains pulling there cargo such as mainline trafic combing cars from different pickups. This may not be the prototypical way but this is a freelance layout.
To connect all those tracks so that only one was open for a return track it would take a lot of length. Sorry, I don’t know how to draw an example and post it. Just draw your 11 parallel lines on a piece of graph paper and then connect them at the ends using a mock up of a turnout. To get to the center track you either sacrafice a lot of track space at the outer tracks or have a very long center track. Just going beyond the end of the track where your cars will set, the length of the turnout and the tail track will use up a lot of space for one connection, say nothing of five on each side.
Sorry I can’t give a better example.
Richard
I think your thinking of the wrong idea. let’s say that a train with the loco pulling comes off the main, pull’s into track 1, after uncoupling cars, the loco drives into the escape, tracks are moved over to the return and loco goes back to main. If the train was pushing the loco would drive the cars on, un-couple and head back to main. Just keep in mind the drawing isn’t to scale so don’t hold that over me.
sorry could’nt get the photo uploaded
Is what you want a short stub track on the other end of the traverser from the incoming end? So an incoming loco cuts off from its train, moves onto the stub track, and then the traverser gets moved to align a new track to the stub track?
The traverser that was in the article was built on a solid base. I see no reason why an extension can not be built off this base to accomodate a stub track extension. This extension could even be made to swing down out of the way when not in use. I’m not sure what you mean about needing space for a pin. The stub extension would need to be installed directly opposite the incoming track to the traverser. The existing alignment pin would therefore align both the inlet and opposite side tracks.
I will agree with the above posts. If you can put a tail track for your loco to go onto beyond the traversing table, then only one track would be needed to get locos back to the main layout. (Now why didn’t I think of that???) That’s why these forums are so valuable, we each look at things from different angles, so there are many ways revealed in the conversations. Then the “askers” solution may be one of the suggestions or a combination of several.
Good luck,
Richard
This would be very helpful and This what I was trying say just didn’t have the words to answer it the way you did.