Inglenook / Time Saver Switching Combo

dwight77

Member
Hi All:
We have an N-Trak modular layout at our club (Scale Rails of Southwest Florida - Ft. Myers, Fl) and we wanted to be able to add some switching. We hit upon the idea of adding a module that would have both an Inglenook and a Time Saver switching puzzle. Since we are predominately DCC, we also thought it would be great if we could achieve our goal and we could have two people working a different puzzle at the same time, maybe. :mrgreen:
In order to get two working at the same time, we decided to "T" the module off of our regular modules....thus allowing two members to be on opposite sides of the module, one working the Inglenook and one working the Time Saver.
We developed the layout and a view from the top looks like this:
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The main track comes in off the layout and branches off to the left to enter the Inglenook puzzle while the Time Saver is made up of the tracks below. We did add two sidings that are not used in the operations at the top left to park two locomotives. We plan on adding scenry. On the Time Saver, we have limited our rolling stock to box cars only. We know this wasn't the original set-up, but if we wanted industries to deliver the cars to, it helped in our planning. We can send box cars to most any industry. But sending a coal hopper to a box factory didn't seem to fit.

A view looking across the module onto our main layout looks like:
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One of the questions we get asked is why didn't we put in a wye to join up with the main modules. Two reasons, one there wasn't really enough room, and two, we wanted to keep it simple and not have to worry about installing an auto reverser. We used Peco #6 turnouts and flex track. The only exception to the flex track is the connector track to the main layout.
After we scenic the module, I hope to provide more pictures.
dwight77
 

jesso

Member
That is pretty neat. Are you going to put buildings on it? If so, are those building going to be changeable? How do you decide the order of the cars on the Inglenook?

To put words around the pictures, you need to save them to a gallery or photobucket and then use image tags to add the images to your post and can write the text around those tags
 

dwight77

Member
Hi Jesso:
We are going to be adding buildings to the "Time Saver" sidings; a Cornerstone Water Street Freight Terminal, a Cornerstone Red Wing Milling Co, a JL Innovative Hubermill Warehouse, a Northeastern Scale Box & Crate Factory, and a Laser Kit (AMB) A.C. Brown Mfg. Since we are only using box cars on the "Time Saver", all of these can realistically receive a box car.
The "Inglenook" area will have a yard office, yard tower, a couple of service buildings, a railroad rooming house, and a small country store. As we scenic the module, I will add some more pics to this thread.
We have numbered the cars we use on the "Inglenook" layout from 1-8. We can place the cars randomly on two of the sidings; one with 5 cars and one with 3 cars. We then have 8 poker chips numbered 1-8 in a Chevas Regal blue cloth bag. Pull out five chips and the order they come out is the order the train is made up. We usually then pull the train out, take it around the N-Trak layout, and then back it into the siding area, leaving 5 cars on the long siding and three on one of the other two short sidings, really makes no difference which of the shorter sidings is used. In doing this, the cars are randomly placed, i.e. not in a specific order. The next engineer can then draw out five poker chips and have a completely new and different train to arrange. This keeps up the interest and no one gets into a rut of solving the same puzzle over and over. Of course, if we want to have a contest, we would then have a set arrangement of the cars on the sidings and also a fixed train set-up.
We can also do the same thing with the "Time Saver". Each siding has an industry, each car is labled, and we randomly draw where the cars are to be relocated.
And since we are using DCC, two can work at the same time.

dwight77
 

dwight77

Member
Buildings added - scenery to follow

Hi All:
Following are the buildings we have built and tentatively placed on our switching module. We have tried to allow ample room for people's big hands to come in with a bamboo shoot and un-couple cars for the switching operations. Our next step will be to scenic the area with roads, grass, a walking path, and a few trees (not too many or we will spend all out time resetting them when they get knocked over or broken when we are performing switching operations). We still have some weathering to do on a couple of the buildings. But overall, we are pretty a happy with the set up.
dwight77
 

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jesso

Member
Buildings look good! Everything appears to fit nicely. So how is the switching on it, is everyone having fun?
 

TruckLover

Mack CH613 & 53' Trailer
Thats too COOL Dwight!! I like the buildings and the layout. I see you got the Red Wing Flour Mill, thats a sweet building :thumb: :mrgreen:
 

dwight77

Member
Hi Jesso:
The switching has been good. Have only had limited use as we have been still working on the scenery.....but those who have tried it have enjoyed it. We are going to start keeping a log for those who work the puzzles.....and I believe it will count toward hours on the dispatch certificate for NMRA Achievement Program.
dwight77
 

brakie

Active Member
Sweet!:thumb: I like it a lot!.

Good job on the track plan and placement of the buildings..:thumb:
 

mooreway

New Member
Looks great, I have really enjoyed the G scale Inglenook I recently built. Seeing buildings and scenery on yours inspires me to want to finish up the scenery on mine.
 

dwight77

Member
Hi All:
We are slowly making progress with our switching puzzle module. The roads, paths, and groundcover have been completed....see pictures. Next will come trees, bushes, vehicles, and people.
dwight77
 

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dwight77

Member
Hi All:
We have been making progress on our scenry. Here are some pictures and I will have more to follow.
dwight77
 

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dwight77

Member
And some more from our puzzle module.
dwight77
 

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dwight77

Member
And the last of the pictures for now.
We do need to add a few more people.....and if anyone has any suggestions, we are always open to constructive criticism.
dwight77
 

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steamhead

Active Member
That came out really great..!! Congratulations to all involved in the build..!! :thumb:

Bet will be a handfull to operate...:mrgreen:
 

pgandw

Active Member
Mountain Man

There are more than a few examples of branch or short line terminals with 3 spur tracks, as some reading on Carl Arendt's site (http://www.carendt.com/) will reveal. Spur end terminals without runarounds were not uncommon in the 19th Century - gravity and/or flying switch moves (now illegal for the most part) were used to get the cars into the spurs without trapping the locomotive that headed the train coming into the terminal. However, almost none of the prototypes will have the exact car capacity of the spurs needed to play the switching game.

The Inglenook gives some operating challenges (a shunting puzzle) in a very small space. With some adjustment of the track lengths in the lower terminal of my HOn3 line, and forbidding the use of the turntable for runaround moves, I have an Inglenook for when I am in the mood.
 

Mountain Man

Active Member
Mountain Man

There are more than a few examples of branch or short line terminals with 3 spur tracks, as some reading on Carl Arendt's site (http://www.carendt.com/) will reveal. Spur end terminals without runarounds were not uncommon in the 19th Century - gravity and/or flying switch moves (now illegal for the most part) were used to get the cars into the spurs without trapping the locomotive that headed the train coming into the terminal. However, almost none of the prototypes will have the exact car capacity of the spurs needed to play the switching game.

The Inglenook gives some operating challenges (a shunting puzzle) in a very small space. With some adjustment of the track lengths in the lower terminal of my HOn3 line, and forbidding the use of the turntable for runaround moves, I have an Inglenook for when I am in the mood.

So the Inglenook is not based on a real prototype, but was designed as a switching puzzle?

Thanks for the info. :cool:
 

Mountain Man

Active Member
Thanks, Dwight, but the question was, and still is, was the Inglenook Yard copied from a real-life prototype. The answer has been given - No - it was obviously developed solely as a puzzle for modelers and not intended to portray reality in any way.
 
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