fiddle yards

[13Mtrainer]

i have a fiddle yard on my layout right now and i was wondering if any one practices on it with scenery?

 

[webmaster]

At the end of the day, it is what it says it is, and anything other than ground scattering would be an inconvenience while your fiddling.

 

[Relic]

I don't actually have a fiddle yard as such yet but when I do it will be lookin' like a yard with low stuff like ties,rails, barrels an' sruff that looks "yardy" but doesn't get in th' way

 

[Will_annand]

I am with Relic.
I prefer a guitar to a fiddle.

 

[brakie]

I prefer to have working yards over fiddling around yards as I calls 'em..The reason being I like to handle my equipment only when necessity.

 

[babydot94513]

I am still trying to figure out what really is a "fiddle yard" to begin with.

JD

 

[MilesWestern]

Well I spent most of the saturday before last 'restoring' a tower to better than it's former glory, all for my so-called fiddle yard, so I gusee I', ,aking it a part of my layout now!

 

[webmaster]

I am still trying to figure out what really is a "fiddle yard" to begin with.

JD

A fiddle yard is quite a common sight on UK layouts as we seem to lack space.

A fiddle yard is an off scene area usually at the back or at the end of a layout hidden from the public eye by scenery, where rolling stock can be changed over if there is not enough room to put all the stock on the rails at one time. It is also used just to mix cars and coaches onto other trains.

 

[sumpter250]

Being a woodwind player, it's more like a "clarinette" yard........

 

[Art67]

I think its the perfect area to practice laying ballast. While simple sounding enough, it can be a real challenge to those who have not tried it before, and potentially could spoil your attempt on other parts of the layout. Ballast should not be an issue with "getting in the way", and you could also practice backdrop painting on this portion of your layout. All these things can be done without interfering with your operation, and is good practice for the beginner.

 

[theBear]

A fiddle yard normally has four tracks, they are called the A, D, E, and G tracks.

That is to confuse most normal folks who would have numbered them as 1, 2 , 3, and 4 or lableled them A, B, C, and D.

If there were 5 tracks it would be known as a banjo yard.

If it was a very big yard it would be known as an orchestra or band yard.

I'll leave for a while now .

 

[ezdays]

Being a woodwind player, it's more like a "clarinette" yard........

Now cut that out, we all know that the fiddle yard is where one "tunes" up and "orchestrates" their equipment so that all parts "play" in sweet harmony. fence1 stooges8 hamr

You can hear the results on the Grand Old Opera this Saturday.

 

[Ralph]

A fiddle yard normally has four tracks, they are called the A, D, E, and G tracks.

That would make an eight track arrangement a "mandolin yard" with double tracks called A,D,E,and G!

Seriously I think you can scenic your fiddle yard. Is it in plain sight or hidden?
Ralph

 

[tverskaya]

A fiddle yard normally has four tracks, they are called the A, D, E, and G tracks.

That idea sounds ace. I'm going to use that. However, I've only planned three tracks on my fiddle yard - know of any suitable musical instrument to serve as a basis for that?

 

[theBear]

For three strings we have:

Sanxian- A long necked lute with three strings without frets. In Chinese, "san" and "xian" stands for " "three" and "strings", respectively. The sound-body is made of round wooden box covered with snake skin, just like erhu. A piece of plectrum is used to play the instrument. This instrument is often used for accompanying folk songs and local opera. The sanxian is most popular in the north.

I just use one of my yards to setup trains in, so I don't have a fiddle yard. Heck I only have a 2' by 4' switching puzzle. So my fiddling is done using the engine as it would normally be used. This talk about yards reminds me that it is time to get some uncoupling magnets and try that out.

I would think that you could do the ballast, grass/weeds thing without any trouble but with those mitts (hands) always moving I'd be afraid to do much else.

 

[ezdays]

Just to be on the serious side a tiny bit, what would differentiate a "fiddle yard" from any other yard? If it's hidden, what difference does it make? If it's visable from the layout, the policy should be "if you can see it, then scenic it". Fiddle yards don't exist in the prototype world, so I'm told, so call it what you want, a yard is a yard and if it's part of the layout then make it look like it belongs there.

Now back to having fun....bounce7

 

[webmaster]

The idea of the fiddle yard being off scene, is to maintain the illusion of a miniature world without seeing what goes on behind the scenes.

They are usually used in conjunction with boxes of extra rolling stock that won't fit on the layout. If you are lucky enough to have enough room to have a large layout where all of your models can be present on the layout at all times, then obviously you have no need for a fiddle yard & you have marshaling yards and loco sheds / round houses on the layout instead.

Call it a virtual reality if you will, you never see a gigantic hand come down & pick up a box car in your local marshaling yard, because it's in the wrong place do you? So why would you shatter that illusion on a model layout!

Thats the whole idea behind the fiddle yard. :thumb:

 

[theBear]

Just to be on the serious side a tiny bit, what would differentiate a "fiddle yard" from any other yard? If it's hidden, what difference does it make? If it's visable from the layout, the policy should be "if you can see it, then scenic it".

If it is a true fiddle yard it is hidden and doesn't need to be seniced.

However it would be a waste of experimental area not to try grass/weed color blending, ballasting, different rail sizes, hand laying of track, etc, etc, etc..

One of the things I have my current switching puzzle is to play with different materials, workout car tracking problems, have something to play with while getting things together for a larger layout, in short to experiment with. A fiddle yard could be used the same way, one just has to remember that the scale models are subject to major breakage if struck by the car handling device (the paws err hands of destruction) .

My two cents worth such as it is

announce1 I thought we were having fun sign1.

 

[K.V.Div]

If a fiddle yard is out where it can be seen I will always put scenery on it. Over the years, I have even built two small, narrow switching layouts that were, if fact nothing more than slightly modified fiddle yards and, as such, needed scenery to make them look good.

 

[steamhead]

My "fiddle" yard...known more technically as "staging yard/tracks" is hidden under the layout, mounted on drawer slides so I can roll it out (like a transfer table), fiddle around some, and put it back out of sight. Then I pick a track, power it up, and wait for a brand new train to roll onto my layout from origins "beyond"....Really adds a new dimension to operations, when stuff comes onto the layout with goods from off-layout origins, to be delivered to the destinations on the layout.....Eventually that rolling stock will find its way back to the fiddle yard and await its turn to return "on stage".

Oh...since it's out of sight...it doesn't get scenery....