I would not make #2 a team track, rather I would increase the size of the cold storage building by making the end of it into a wedge shape. Then you would need that entire siding for reefers to handle the cold storage plant. This picture has a second passing siding in the upper right instead of a long stub siding. Are you going to run more than one train at a time on this layout? The passing sidings are too close together to allow multiple train operation, and probab;y would not be missed if they were not there.
The Nomad Valley & Skookum Creek R.R.
- Thread starter Nomad
- Start date
Russ, that is a great idea.
! What if I removed the stock yard, and had the cold storage serviced in both tracks? Double the fun!.
The doubled ended tracks are both staging tracks, as per Mason Jars suggestions. I will be the only one operating this layout, so it would only be one train at a time. I planned on running to trains seperately. Send one out, say north bound local, break it up in the yard, then send out a south bound local.
Loren
! What if I removed the stock yard, and had the cold storage serviced in both tracks? Double the fun!.The doubled ended tracks are both staging tracks, as per Mason Jars suggestions. I will be the only one operating this layout, so it would only be one train at a time. I planned on running to trains seperately. Send one out, say north bound local, break it up in the yard, then send out a south bound local.
Loren
The choice of industries should interest you and could be chosen based on the type of car you want to run... For a big cold storage facility, you'll likely need more reefers and insulated box cars.
I would also reconfigure the staging tracks to be two or three double ended sidings that use most of the space available along the upper left, top, and upper right of the diagram.
I think that your operating scheme is good too - have north and southbound (or east/west) locals doing their jobs. You could also run a through-freight or a passenger train to make things interesting (i.e. clear the main...!).
Andrew
I would also reconfigure the staging tracks to be two or three double ended sidings that use most of the space available along the upper left, top, and upper right of the diagram.
I think that your operating scheme is good too - have north and southbound (or east/west) locals doing their jobs. You could also run a through-freight or a passenger train to make things interesting (i.e. clear the main...!).
Andrew
grewsome said:Russ, that is a great idea.
The doubled ended tracks are both staging tracks, as per Mason Jars suggestions. I will be the only one operating this layout, so it would only be one train at a time. I planned on running to trains seperately. Send one out, say north bound local, break it up in the yard, then send out a south bound local.
Loren
Actually you could put in a second cold storage facility as a completely different company. Then you would need to keep the cars straight between the two companies. It is not unusual to find a bunch of similar industries in districts like aproduce district, a meat packing district, etc. Cold storage facilities and icing docks would be found scattered throughout both types of districts. Another possibility is to keep the stock yard, and move the packing house, and icing dock to #5 & 6. Eliminate the spur track between the stock yard and #5. Now you would receive livestock at the stock yard on one side of the slaughter house, load out meat reefers on the track on the other side of the slaughter house and ice them at the icing dock, so that industries #4,5, & 6 would be one complex.
Mason Jar,Russ, great ideas!!. I am real exited about the way this is turning out. Unfortunatley, my wife is on vacation now, so it will probably take me longer to get back to you. If I don't answer for a day or two, please don't give up. This is starting to turn into the layout I have always wanted, and I sure don't want to stop now. Thanks Again.
Koren
Koren
Mason Jar, I am confused. You mentioned two or three sidings for staging. Did you mean completly seperate sidings, or two or three track sidings? Also, did you mean in the corners, or between the two mainline tracks? Thanks.
Loren
Loren
Russ, I took your ideas and operated the track plan. It's great!. the way I see it, after the reefers are loaded, I need to go up, run around the cars, pull them back down, and then push them to the icing dock. Really adds to the operating interest. I'm wondering if I couldn't put in a small engine service area, and have a dedicated switcher? I would think once the reefers are loaded, the would need ice asap, instead of waiting for the local to come through.
Loren
Loren
grewsome said:
Hi Loren,
Sorry for the confusion. I think that you have enough room to make a staging "yard" rather than spacing out the tracks like individual passing sidings.
Here is another crude MS Paint drawing. I think that the area at the "top" would suffice. You can make these as long or short as you need, and you can even used curved turnouts at the "corners" if desired.
Andrew
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Hello Mason Jar, thanks for clearing that up for me. I only have 3" clearance on the right and 4" clearance on the left, measuring from the wall to the "hidden" main line track center. The top track has 5.5" clearance, but looks like they would be awful short. I'll see what I can do. Be back as soon as I can with a revision.
Loren
Loren
Looks good. I would extend those staging tracks as much as possible. Running 40' to 50' cars, you only have room for a 10-12 car train. If that's ok, then leave it as is. In my experience, you can always use as much staging as you can fit.
The scenic divider can be fairly narrow. Building flats only need a few inches, and even treed hills can be made in as little as 3-4 inches.
If it helps you might consider running the main against the wall, and put the staging "sidings" on the inside.
Andrew
The scenic divider can be fairly narrow. Building flats only need a few inches, and even treed hills can be made in as little as 3-4 inches.
If it helps you might consider running the main against the wall, and put the staging "sidings" on the inside.
Andrew
Mason Jar, thanks for all the help. I have not heard from Russ, so my industries must be OK. I am starting my benchwork today, so I will keep you all informed. I hope to get a camera for x-mas, then I can post pictures. Happy holidays to you and all.
Loren
Loren
I've been away from the computer for a couple of days and hadn't seen the latest updates until just now. On thing to keep in mind for the icing dock is that you need to get all of your reefers to the icing platform, but you don't need to have the engine go under it. It looks like if you pull a string of reefers out of the meat packing house to take them over to be iced, the locomotive will go to the end of the icing spur and partially block the icing platform, but some of the reefers won't get to the platform. A runaround track off of the inside of the loop between the meat packing house and the icing dock will allow you to get your locomotive behind the train to push it into the icing platform, then when you pull the cars out of the icing dock, you can again run around the cars to get your locomotive on the other side of them. You can also use a run around as a place to leave a caboose when dropping off the empty reefers at the packing house track or when dropping off the stock cars at the slaughter house track or when picking up the empty stock cars. One thing you will discover when working your industries is that often the caboose gets in the way, it is handy to have a place where you can leave it parked while working the industries.
Russ, thanks for taking another look. Sorry I didn't get back to you sooner, but a bad storm knocked out our power for a couple days. I will try to work in that run around, that makes a lot more sense than going up to the yard run around. Any other ideas would be greatly apreciated.Loren
Here you go, Russ. This was a real good trade off. I lost a little bit of scenery space,:cry: But I increased the radius of the three curves, and the track plan operates and looks a lot!!! better, and I gained that run around . Wonderful Idea! Please keep the great ideas comin.
Loren
. Wonderful Idea! Please keep the great ideas comin.Loren
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It is a little hard to see, but if you put a second crossover in the middle of the passing siding in the upper right curve of the inside mainline. That will allow a shorter run around track to work the lumber yard & freight house without having to run all the way back to the icing platform to get around the train. By the way, the temptation is to want to run long trains. You want to limit the length of your trains so that you don't have the the locomotive in one town and the caboose in the last town. I think your layout looks to me like 10 car trains would be about right.
That is great. It looks really good, I don't think the passing siding/run around needs to be changed at all. It looks shorter when the ends are clear, so it will work for all of the other industries that don't use the run around at the cattle pens/slaughter house/ icing dock complex.