ShuttleView

[Cactus]

Here's a view of my layout as seen from the space shuttle. It's easy to see several things:

1. I'm very slow. Been working on it for nearly a year, but I'm having fun.

2. Did I mention that I'm slow?

I've been having something of a crisis of design. There's a coal mine at position B, which ought to be in the mountains. I'm considering adding a turnout at positon A, leading to a branch that would go uphill and be in the mountains by the time I get to the coal mine spot. That, of course, would require me to reroute some of the other track.

The layout is 10.5 feet left-to right on the photo and 9 feet from top to bottom.

Suggestions?

 

[billk]

Uhhh - how about putting a mountain at B? (Isn't there a phrase about Mohammed and a mountain?)

 

[Bill Pontin]

Cactus, nice trackplan with plenty of room. I would build a mountain up the wall at point "B" and set the coal mine into it. If you have a Walter's catalog look at the New River Mining Company. Just add a piece of skyboard (side panel) on your layout and build a mountain up on it. You might have to do some scratch and bashing of a boxed model for your coal mine, but hey give it a shot.

 

[Bill Pontin]

Cactus,

Just noticed in your picture that you may not have access to that side of your layout to add a skyboard. No problem, using several "L" shaped brackets you should be able to anchor a short piece of skyboard to your layout and not the wall. The brackets can be hidden in the mountain.

 

[N Gauger]

Remember - If ya don't need a mountain - A "Strip Mine" will do.. If ya can't "dig in" -- Dig Down! -- Mikey

 

[Tyson Rayles]

Well I guess I'll prove I don't know anything about track planning and toss in my 2 cents worth. I would hook the spur for the turntable directly into the yard so you could save space and slide the yard over to the right more. Build a mountain in the upper left corner. Run the track coming from the the bottom of the picture up and over the loop track thru the mtn. into a switchback then to the mine. Hope my VERY crude sketch helps explain my feeble idea.

 

[Tyson Rayles]

Sorry should have been slide yard to LEFT, and mtn. in upper RIGHT. My deslexia must have kicked in again.

 

[Drew1125]

I love your method of posting track plans, Cactus!
Evidently you're not afraid of heights!

There is something to remember when including coal mines on a model RR...
Coal is loaded into hoppers at what is called a tipple...or I think in more modern terminology, it's called a "flood loader".
The loading facility doesn't necessarily have to be at the mine site. Many times the RR simply cannot be built right to the mine, & therefore the coal must be transported to the rail line via mule team, trucks, mine cars, or conveyors, depending on what era you're modeling.
This makes it easy for us modelers with limited space to "compress" the scene...in other words, you wouldn't necessarily have to model the mine itself...you could just model the loading facility, & imply that there is a mine by having a conveyor going up "over the hill" to a mine head somewhere off the layout.
This same technique can be used to "selectively compress" any type of industry you want to model...the only portion that is really essential for model RR purposes is the trackside portion.

 

[Drew1125]

Hi Cactus!
Got a couple of pictures to illustrate the "over the hill" point
I was trying to make...
This 1st one was made in 1975 in Arnold, Ky...
This loader could easily be modeled using the slag bin, & conveyors from the Walthers Glacier Gravel kit, or the New River Mine that was mentioned earlier.

 

[Drew1125]

OK, here's another version from an earlier time...This was taken at Myrick, Ky, probably around the 20's or 30's...
The wooden tipple is in the distance...the structure to the right is a loading ramp where coal trucks or wagons could load directly into the hoppers.

 

[60103]

Mohammed

Billk:
The saying you're looking for:
"If the benchwork won't support Mohammed, then Mohammed will have to build his mountain at the workbench."

 

[billk]

Mohammed

Great - by the way, did you see Mohammed's article on making mountains out of molehills in the latest (Sept. 2002) Model Railroader - I just got mine last month?

 

[Cactus]

Thanks all for your suggestions. Each has promise for improvement. Each, of course, will slow me down, but it’s the journey that is interesting. Take Shamus for example, he tore down Badger Creek when it was finished, just so he could start over again.

Tyson, I had already noticed that my yard occupies half of the layout. I like your suggestion about reducing it a bit. It’s the first part of the layout that I planned and built, using rules from the "layout design primer" web site (e.g. "don’t foul the main," "don’t foul the yard lead", etc.) They’re good rules, but I’m now ready to compromise them some, so as to make room for operations down the line from the yard.

Also, a switchback hadn’t occurred to me. I’ll think about it while I’m redesigning/rebuilding the yard. Or. I might go with that strip mine suggestion from N-gauger (I do have a 4-inch thick styrofoam base to work with), or Charlie’s reduced facililty idea. It’ll be fun to work out details.

Happy railroading guys! And remember, never put off until tomorrow what you can put off until the day after just as well.