forgot to introduce myself

[Nomad]

Hello everybody. I just realized I should introduce myself. I have been out of this great hobby for about twenty five years. While I was out of the hobby my sister had a yard sale, so now I am starting all over.:cry:
My scale of choice is still h o. I thought about going to n scale now, but realized with my worn out eyes and clumsy fingers I could not .
Right now I have a 6x12 layout in our dining room.curse: Makes my wife real happy.)
I really have no prototype line that I model. If I did it would brobably be the W. P., mainly because I like the orange and silver paint scheme and there logo. My main interest is operating a single track branch line with plenty of switching. I also really don't worry about a certain period of time. I will run diesel and steam together,with steel boxcars and old billboard reefers(my favorites). Anyhow, i'm rambling. I am going to be tearing down my layout and moving into a 10x11 room that is now empty. If anybody would like to look at my new track plan and give me ideas and advice, I would really appreciate it. I am open to any ideas or critisism you may have,even a new track plan, if anybody cares to help me.
The track plan I drew(with xtrak.cad,) has two spots I am stuck on. The long hill going past the yard seems hard to senic unless I just have a long retaining wall, and there does'nt seem to be enough industry tracks.
Thanks in advance for any help or advice.

 

[Jim Krause]

Hello and welcome. You just have to work on your wife, get her interested in model railroading and she will see the wisdom of your priorities. It's a shame to waste that good space on a dining room table. You can always eat in front of the TV.

 

[60103]

There are never enough industry tracks. Best bet is to have one designated as an interchange with somewhere else -- any car can be sent there. Then you need a set of shelves under the layout for the cars.
Instaed of a retaining wall, how about some building flats? A large factory/warehouse served by the last siding and high enough to conceal the track behind. It only needs to be an inch or two thick.

 

[Santa Fe Jack]

I also have a long wall to deal with, and will be modeling it as a railroad cut into a mountain, with the geology intersting enough that the wall is not just a boring slab of rock. Well, not boring to a geologist.

I intend to have a realistic sequence of rocks, with some folding and faulting and whatnot, and the face drilled and blasted.

 

[doctorwayne]

There are never enough industry tracks. Best bet is to have one designated as an interchange with somewhere else -- any car can be sent there. Then you need a set of shelves under the layout for the cars..

An interchange track is a space-economical way to extend your layout beyond its physical confines and connect it with the rest of the world. Another good industry that can generate a wide array of traffic in a variety of car types is a team track. I can be as simple as a gravel parking lot alongside a siding, or you can add a ramp, loading or unloading equipment or even an overhead crane. Here's a somewhat cropped view of my teamtrack in Dunnville. There's a ramp for machinery, automobiles, etc., conveyors for loading or unloading bulk goods, and a small overhead crane for larger items.

Instaed of a retaining wall, how about some building flats? A large factory/warehouse served by the last siding and high enough to conceal the track behind. It only needs to be an inch or two thick.

I think that a low-relief building between that last siding and the mainline would work well to disguise the proximity of the main, and I'd continue this "urban" theme with some building flats along the window-side of the mainline. Maybe you could add an overhead passageway, like the one pictured below, between the low relief building and the flats, which would further help the mainline to "disappear for a few feet. I'd place it as close to the curve at the bottom right corner of the plan as possible.

One problem that I do see is some areas where it would be a looong reach, both during construction and scenery, and in the event of a derailment. Are you planning an access hatches?

Wayne

 

[Nomad]

Thanks for your replys

Thanks every one for your replys.
Jim, my 6x12 layout in the dining room started out as a time saver. I promised my wife it would'nt get any bigger. Thats why I chose the name "grewsome". My wife said the layout grewsome one day when she was at work. Believe me , I found out that day that she has no interest in railroading!

David, the idea of building flats is great! That is just the idea Iwas looking for. But, Xtrak does not print readable elevations in the scale size I used to post the track plan, so you can't tell that the siding track is at 3.5" at the switch. That might be to steep a grade to drop the siding. I will have to try it and see.

John, thanks for the advice, but my artistic talents are nill. I will have to stick to something like a building that I can assemble.

Wayne, those pictures look great! Gave me some real good ideas. And thank you for pointing out the reach problem. My curent layout is open on three sides, so I didn't even think about that. I quess it's back to track planning again.

Just FYI, the door into the room is a double door. I can block the right side and could enter on the left, or I can remove the doors. I prefer not to remove them, I would like to get a sound system some day, and could close the doors and not disturb anybody. But I will if that is what it takes. The box thing on the bottom left is a external closet that protudes into the room. I can not remove or punch holes into it. The dining room experience was bad enough,thank you! I don't even want to think about what the wife would do if I did that!

 

[doctorwayne]

David, the idea of building flats is great! That is just the idea Iwas looking for. But, Xtrak does not print readable elevations in the scale size I used to post the track plan, so you can't tell that the siding track is at 3.5" at the switch. That might be to steep a grade to drop the siding. I will have to try it and see.

Not sure if I understand you correctly. I was referring to, and I think that David was too, the siding that's part of the yard to the right of the turntable area. If you place a low-relief industrial building between this siding and the mainline(s) that run along the wall with the window, with large doors or a loading platform facing the siding and at track level, the elevation of that mainline is immaterial, as it'll be hidden behind the structure.
In the photo below, the brick structure in the centre of the frame partially hides an elevated mainline that runs behind it.

However,the shipping and receiving doors are located on the lower level, which is the only visible side.

In this view, you can't see the upper tracks, but there is a two-track main running between the large, grey station building and the concrete retaining wall behind the brick industry.

Wayne

 

[Triplex]

I see the plan has tight curves. However, since WP never owned any 6-axle diesels, they won't be a problem. Steam and passenger cars (if you want them) could pose a problem.

 

[Nomad]

misunderstood

Yes, I did misunderstand you both. I thought you were talking about the switch on the middle upper right of the mainline. Anyhow, right now I am trying to get some kind of pop-up in the left hand loop. The way the doors are the right side is ok. But I am not having much luck on the left loop. If I drop to a 18" radius and move the tracks, I can only get a area that's 25"s long by 14"s wide in the corner. Otherwise, I would lose the industry tracks and put a pop-up in the center of the loop. But, I want all the industry trackage I can get. So, it seems like I am stuck right now. But I'll keep trying.
And yes, that's another thing I like about the W.P.
Thanks again for everybodys help. I can't find any modelers in my area, so it's really nice to have people on this forum bouncing ideas at me.Thanks again.
loren