Layout redesign

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mummert

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Jan 18, 2007
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I have been toying around with the idea of redesigning the yard on my layout. I was looking for some opinions on the redesign. The layout is N scale and the time period is more towards the modern era. I am not modeling anywhere specific but trying to keep more or less a pennsylvania theme. The first picture is the old design as it currently is and the second is the idea for the new yard. The top section of the yard is going to be changed for sure because number one it will give me more room for more buildings in my town. I think it will also work better for tearing down and building trains. The part I am more concerned with is the bottom section of the yard. In the original drawing the very bottom track was going to be used for a passenger station for a steam engine (idea was like a tourist type attraction). I am thinking about removing the passenger station and putting in more staging track which will actually go to a two stall engine maintainance building. In the original drawing the two stall engine building was the two sets of track at the top of the yard. Also I had the idea of putting in the turn table because number one they're cool plus I really didnt know what I wanted to put in that area. So I guess my question is are the changes good or bad? Keep the passenger station or scrap it? Add the round house or not?

oldplan.jpg


newplan.jpg
 
Looks like an interesting design and should provide you a lot of switching.

What is the purpose of the yard? Is it for storing tains or do you plan on switching in the yard? If you plan on using it for actually assembling and breaking down incoming trains, you might like to add a lead at each end (or maybe just one end) of the yard so switchers can work the trains without having to foul the main.
 
My yard is going to be used more for storing trains. I had a suggestion from another site that my yard was to big for the size of my layout. It was suggested that I actually down size the yard add to the size of my town and add another industry instead of the turn table. Here is what I come up with. What do you think? My goal isnt to try to make it exactly prototypical but I guess you could say as plausible as possible.

newest.jpg
 
The nice thing about it is you can do what ever makes you happy! If your reason for the yard is to store trains, then make it as big as you like and don't worry about yard leads. Also, we can't be prototypical anyhow... these are models and 99.9% of us don't have the room to be proto with a large yard.

I have a very large yard on the layout I am building too. My goal however is to use it for making up and breaking down trains, so I have a different set of considerations to take into account.

On another subject... I would suggest a passing siding on the west side from just after the south curve to just before the bridge. This would give you the ability to park a train and pass with another or have a meet from opposite ends. Alwauys looks good... and if you don't want to do that it is another great place to store other rollingstock.
 
How much equipment do you plan to store on the layout? How well detailed is your equipment? If you have 500 super detailed cars which you don't want to handle...having an oversized yard is a good thing. If you only have 10 cars, a large yard is kind of pointless.

If you are modeling the modern era, I'd suggest eliminating the roundhouse...but keeping the TT...an arrangement I've seen a number of times.

If you want to balance out your city-yards ratio...consider hidden storage which splits off from the main and stores your trains in a drawer below the current yards. With what could be two independent mainlines...I'd set them up to be separate roads with an interchange at the yards.
 
Thanks for the suggestions guys it really gives me something to think about. I am thinking of putting a power plant where I had the round house in the one drawing. It would give me an industry to deliver my coal too. Also I thought some high tension wires running up the mountain from the power plant to towns way beyond my layout would look neat. Any good power plant kits you know of? I am aware of DPM northern light and power. Here is a picture of what I have done so far.

116_1623.jpg
 
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