Train from up mountain would come down to mill. From the mill, loaded lumber will go to lumber yard in town for wholesale, or various other lumber based industries in town, or go straight to holding bound for staging. Engine from house could set out to town to switch industries and move cars to holding track to be moved to staging. Not sure if thats where I should put station. Passenger would just travel to staging since the logging line is still active. Once abandoned then would convert to railfan line. Tell me what you think.
Sounds good to me, but the drawing is kind of small to see everything in town. You should have a passenger station.
WHAT??? You mean your passengers can’t make a connection to Baltimore through other Railroads beyound the mountains? My East Coast layout has a connection to the West. Just not on my layout.[:D]
I assume these trains to the mill would consist of unfinished lumber and once milled, routed to local industries and off road connections? Good choice to have your passenger runs conclude in stagging. I envision a distinct switching district in which mill bound trains terminate their runs, outbound, finished products are made up and dispatched locally or to stagging. I would center my passenger operations in this area with the train being serviced and turned.
The passenger station in the drawing is up above the enginge house. Along the right lead up in town. Other industries may be located on other end of same lead. The lumber yard and furniture store is located on lower siding below main line through town. Just in front of tunnel entrance to hidden staging below. So yea, Passenger ops should terminate in staging. I get it. [;)] Thanks for all your help… I should be ordering my code 83 flex track and some turnouts next week.
OK. Look at the flow of the passenger train when it comes in from staging. It looks like it has to make quite a few switching moves before it gets to the station. Also, the head end is locked in between the engine (that is headed into the dead end siding) and the coaches.
I would move the station all the way to the left. Swap out a couple of industries on the left side with it. Then I would ad a cross-over between the top town industry track and the top track of the double ended siding. Now a passenger train come into town, it heads for the mill, but then once clear of the switches, backs up right into the station. One move. And because you have the cross-over, there can be a car or two at the industries.
(I need to think about how the train would dpart.[#oops])
EDIT: I would perfer to have the station situated so that it is on a double ended siding or other double ended track. At the same time, it shouldn’t be too close to the industries. I’m not sure how to do that on your plan. The flow for passengers should be that they be able to get off the train as soon as it comes in, and for departing passengers, they get on and the train leaves. Some switching may be expected, and if can be done after the passengers get off and before thay get on, the better.
Now lets talk about the passenger train. What you have here is a logging industry that has a town at the tail end of a branch line. A first class passenger train would not normally visit such an isolated town. Not enough passenger traffic to justify it. The norm in a situation like this would be a doodle bug or mixed train. The largest passenger consist would be either a doodle bug with a coach trailer, or a combine and coach tacked on to a freight. (Mixed train). Now, in all cases, if the station was moved, the scheme works for the leased amount of moves for incoming trains. The normal train would just have a comb
Personally, (and this is just me) I would figure out a way to add 1 more track along the back wall and connect the 2 sides into a loop in case you ever want to just let a train run while your doing switching. You could even hide it and use it for staging when not in use.[2c]
