comments on preliminary trackplan

[VunderBob]

Long time member, infrequent poster here. I'm working on a trackplan for a layout, and I'm soliciting comments on it.

The overall area I have is 12X18, and this plan goes around the walls with a peninsula. I plan on operating it P2P, and I consider it to be a big switching layout.

The enclosed plan is notional, and my artistic ability coupled with RTS 7.0 means I have straight track where I don't intend to in implementation. I also reserve the right to do something radical like put the staging on a lower level.

The original inspiration comes from an Iain Rice plan, and my layout elements are several small layout plans I found on Teh Intarwebs. Other comments are embedded in the attached BMP.

 

[Kevinkrey]

I like the looks of that trackplan. It has plenty of switching, and also, a long mainline. I would make the mainline in the lower right connect to make a continuos loop, you dont have to run it like a loop all the time but I have found that to be a good feature, and could add to the fun because a train could always be running on the loop adding to the challenge in switching. the staging area sound like a good idea.​

 

[Nomad]

I like the trackplan. It is hard to see, but it looks like you need a couple crossovers for run arounds. One in the yard at the lower right, you'll be trapped pulling in, and the same for the peninsula.

Loren

 

[Russ Bellinis]

When I clicked on the thumbnail it didn't enlarge enough to see any detail. I don't know if you have enough run around tracks or not. It does appear that you have so many tracks at each switching location that there isn't room for an structures big enough to justify all of the tracks. I'm presuming that your main yard is the one going across the bottom of the layout. I would suggest rmoving a few tracks in the peninsula to allow room for an industry, unless the industry is a big building that covers the switch leads. I would also thin out other areas where you have so many tracks that there isn't room to install an industry for the tracks to serve. One trick might be to run one track at the back of the table and instead of running all of your switch leads and spurs parrallel to the main, do a run around track next to the main and then bring the spurs off at an angle toward the front edge of the table separated enough to fit industry buildings between the spurs. You run your locomotive into the spurs head first and hook up to empties/loads as the case may be and pull them back out to the main where you can do a run around to get the train behind the engine, or you run around the train to get the cars in front of the engine and then push them in to spot the cars at various industries. You could make the entire layout a big city scene with tall buildings dwarfing the trains. In effect the buildings become "urban tunnels."

 

[VunderBob]

I'll post a Photobucket link later to a much larger JPEG. It's 'go to work' time right now.

There are run arounds in the peninsula and interchange yard; the yard at the bottom is staging (the one that may go to a lower level)

 

[VunderBob]

OK, so I'm late for work...

http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a378/VunderBob/TarheelOldDominion.jpg

 

[Nomad]

Russ is absolutely right. I started out with 14 industry spot on my layout until it came time to put in buildings ( or a reason for the tracks being there. ) I am now down to 9 spots and will probably lose 1 or 2 more.

Loren

 

[VunderBob]

I may trim a spur or two out of the peninsula, and maybe one of those yard tracks, but no urban canyon there. The effect I'm going for is modern industrial park, with the peninsula representing new development for the short line, hence the bad track CR connection. The bad section is meant to be near dormant track that has no customer base.

I have several ideas for those industry locations with little real estate, such as plastic pellet facilities, and building flats. I intend to have a view block on the left side of the peninsula.

That little yard on the peninsula is room to shuffle cars without clogging everything, as well as the base for the tourist steam train mentioned in the JPEG. I might live without one track, but the yard has to stay.

 

[VunderBob]

Here's the first round of comments worked in, plus some attempts at placing industries and other comments thrown in. I hope it's big enough to see...

http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a378/VunderBob/TarheelOldDominionv11.jpg

 

[Russ Bellinis]

If the stagiong at the bottom is hidden, you have room to do another industrial area above the hidden staging yard. The peninsula looks like it has so much track that there is no place for any industry to use those tracks. I still think you could get a lot more operation out of the layout if you get away from the "parallel" yard look of the entire layout, and go with the main & run arounds on the back edge with spurs coming off the run around at a 45 degree angle towards the front of the layout.

 

[ozzman]

In an MR article I read a few years ago it was suggested that you don't necessarily have to have a visible destination for every car in your freight trains. If, in the course of its run, your train "disappears" from view for a short stretch you can say that it has been switching "virtual" industries.

 

[VunderBob]

If the stagiong at the bottom is hidden, you have room to do another industrial area above the hidden staging yard. The peninsula looks like it has so much track that there is no place for any industry to use those tracks. I still think you could get a lot more operation out of the layout if you get away from the "parallel" yard look of the entire layout, and go with the main & run arounds on the back edge with spurs coming off the run around at a 45 degree angle towards the front of the layout.

Remember, I said the parallel look is a limit of my (very poor) artistic ability and Atlas RTS V7.0, and that it will not necessarily carry through to implementation. Think of my artwork as more of a schematic than a plat.

I'm also very good at handlaying track, and I build some beautiful switches. Should I decide to not put that staging yard down under, I can put in custom curved turnouts to move the ladder back in order to make the staging yard double ended. I'm still kicking around the idea of calling the other end a spur to an off-site power plant that takes coal for loads in-empties out.