I am in the planning stages of another layout. This layout is a few years in the future still but this allows more time to ask questions.
The layout is going to be of the modern era, in a room that will measure 24 feet by 24 feet. One wall will be used for the yard. My question is which kind of yard structure is preferred regarding the sidings, stub ended sidings or sidings with turn outs on both ends? These sidings would be used in conjunction with a pull out siding to enable flat switching to make up and break up freight trains. All of this would be in the HO scale.
What is your operational experience, which style of yard to you prefer.
It is going to depend on how the yard fits into the overall layout design.
Is this yard at the end of the line or in the middle?
How many towns/industries is it going to serve?
Are all the trains originating/terminating here or are there staging tracks that they come from and go to?
Generally a double ended yard could build and break down trains on both sides at the same time. Is this a desired feature?
Generally a double ended yard allows trains to enter and exit from both directions easier.
I have a double ended yard on my layout, and the advantage is that your switchers can enter and exit the ladder tracks from either end providing escape routes. The downside to a double ended yard is the added space required to add turnouts on both sides of the ladder as compared to a single set of turnouts on a stub end yard.
That said, if you have a 24’ wall where your yard will be constructed, you have plenty of room for storing cars on the ladder tracks after you add turnouts to both sides of the ladder. My double ended yard is 20’ long, and I have no space limitations whatsoever.
Since you are still in the planning stages, be sure to consider other tracks for that yard besides the ladder for storage and classification purposes. In my yard, the first track off the mainline is the arrival/departure track. On either end of the A/D track is an extension which serves as a drill track on each end. Another consideration on a double ended yard ladder is that the tracks get shorter as you move inward from the edge of the layout. I use the two shortest tracks as a caboose track and a runaround track. Lastly, don’t forget about the possibility of a RIP track.
I too recommend a double ended yard…You could add 2 or more tracks for cars bound for local industries and for holding any overflow cars that needs held until the shipper request them.
Another thought if you want to save space is to have a double ended inbound and outbound track and stub ended yard tracks.
Above all leave enough room for a yard lead-I feel 20 cars and yard locomotive should suffice.
Why 20?
I have yard switched cars on several club layout and never had to move more then 20 cars in a single move during normal operation session.
I like the idea of double end train yards it makes it really realistic. On my layout am going to do the same with the length of 18-20 cars being pulled by 2 diesels or 3 depending how short the consist is in the modern era. It’s going to measure up to 7 feet in N Scale. My modern era is around the mid 90s thru 2007.
If you are going to do RR Ops on your layout, try and determine how many different trains you will run during an operating session. A good number of yard tracks is one track per train. If you have two trains that run the same route, then you can get away with one track for both trains.
What is the length of your average train or longest train going to be? The yard tracks should be the same length as your trains.
As to yard operations, when a train arrives, cars are sorted (classified) to the specific track for each train or route, where the car will go next. Thus, when you get a train ready for Route One, you just pull all the cars from the Route One track, and hook up a locomotive (and maybe a caboose) and go. If you don’t do this, then to make up a train from the yard will require you to pick through the whole yard to get the cars out for the next train. This is called Cherry Picking, and it is something that you don’t want to do.
Rich enumerated several yard elements that should be considered. Another is a “thorofare” track, which is a designated track to be left open for through traffic or for switchers, light road engines, etc. to move unobstructed from one end of the yard to the other. This is almost always included in a large prototype yard, but rarely on a model. I think modelers omit it either because they have trouble finding room or, more likely, they just don’t think about it.
I have tried both designs in efforts to model the same yard. What I have settled on is a combination design with double ended arrival/departure (2) and runaround tracks but stub ended classification tracks. When I had a completely double ended yard I discovered that the second ladder seriously limited the length of my classification tracks, even with a diamond shaped design, and that I did almost all of my switching work from one end even with the second ladder. Having the double ended A/D tracks allows trains to arrive/depart in both directions and the stub ended classification tracks give me the additional track length I needed. Below is a photo of the yard as it stands now in this configuration.
thank you for all your replies. The information has been of great help and certainly influenced my thinking on how to design a yard. Looking forward to being able to operate the yard once build according to the design criteria that were illustrated in the web site mentioned and also in the responses.
