hey guys, can you take a look?

[trainsteve2435]

hey everyone, i am posting a track plan that im considering useing, with some modifications of course. what i need to know is does this plan offer many operating possibilities? is there any thing you would change about this track plan? if so, what? it came from a 1973 issue of MR, and it fits my already built bench work to the tee. i was considering loosing one of the TT's and adding snother elevated line. i really would appreciate any and all opinions, recomendations, and suggestions. also, my bench work is 2' wide all the way around the room, and the plan only calls for 1' in some places, any recomendations what i could use the extra space for? thanks in advance!

 

[Ralph]

Hi Trainsteve,

I see operational interest. You could assemble a train in the yard in the lower part of the plan and send it to the upper yard for local switching. My personal inclination would be to eliminate the turntable in the upper yard area and make more room for industires to switch. Locals serving this town could then return to the lower yard in a point to point scheme or continue on the loop and then hide in the hidden track at the bottom of the plan.....OR you could assemble a local and run it to the upper yard, make it wait "in the hole" for another train (through freight or passenger) to come out of that hidden track, make a circuit around the layout and disappear again, letting your local get back to work.

As for the extra space your 2' will provide, I say add more scenary or consider a large industry that suits your interest.

I think I'd eliminate that hidden turnout in the lower left corner and make the hidden track a simple single track. Then you could have more space for your lower yard, maybe have the yard lead start near that bridge over the river in the lower left.

I see lots of potential here!
Ralph

 

[trainsteve2435]

thanks Ralph, i appreciate you looking at this. also, thanks for the ideas and suggestions, i like them. im really considering turninig one of the lines into a double line, any thoughts on that? i agree about removeing the TT from the upper yard as well as the hidden switch, i dont really see any point to haveing them there. if you think of anything else, please let me know. thanks again!

 

[siderod]

Plan looks good, i agree with what has been said, get rid of that turnout and turntable

 

[SD90]

I like it too! I agree with everyone else about the turntable, you certianly don't need 2 of them. Were you thinking od adding a second level, or just adding an elevated track? What are the dimensions of the room this is going in? With the extr room you will have on the benchwork, you could add lots more industry od more tracks in the yard. So many options! Have fun!

 

[trainsteve2435]

thanks guys, and i agree with ralph also. i am planning on elevating some of the track somewhere, just not sure where, any ideas? i also would like to add a double line somewhere, or should i just leave it as is? thanks guys!

 

[TrainClown]

Cool as cool can get!

Seems to me yer gonna' need a lift bridge. I found this article on just that and thought you would like to take a looky.

http://members.shaw.ca/sask.rail/model-book/liftout/liftout.html

Check out the other construction articles connected with this page. Some are just the thing to know.

I myself would have the hidden track at the bottom desend to a lower level with a hidden staging yard on a lower level. Desend on one side of the room and assend on the other. Hidden staging yards are all the rage, don't ya know. :thumb:

TrainClown

 

[SD90]

That is a great idea, I forgot about there being no staging yard. They are a very important part of a model railroad. If you don't have any staging yard, all of your trains will have to be on the layout, which will fill up your yards and sidings very quickly! Go with the staging yard, and try to make it double ended if it is going ot be below the layout.

 

[trainsteve2435]

hey guys, thanks for the tip, it sounds great. my question is this...... my benchwork is open grid, built with 1"x4"'s and the legs are 2" x 2"'s. the height from the floor to the top of the bench work is 49" to 50". is this sufficient clearence to add a second layer underneath? if not, what is? thanks!

 

[TrainClown]

Sounds to me like you got the room needed. You could make the track desend on the left where the track goes into a tunnel. You could put a turnout just before the tunnel and still have one of the tracks remain on ground level for run arounds. By making the track desend in this way would enable you to make the staging yard lower and easyer to work on. It would also give you more room for longer staging tracks.

TrainClown

 

[trainsteve2435]

thanks TrainClown, i also have one other question if you dont mind, given the size and shape of my benchwork that is already built, would i need to have the bottom level go all the way around the upper level, or could i just make part of it double decked? also, what would be the recomended distance between both layers, and what kind of elevation would i use? thanks so much!

 

[SAL Comet]

Ha Steve, If your still planning on modeling the W.Va/Md. area, how about using some of that room for mountains? If your in the mountains, you could work your over/under idea from before into this new plan.