Help with Layout Design

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Please check out my plan at the link above and help me with some constructive criticism/modifications. Just a medium-sized pike.

I designed it with Atlas' free program- blah- so I apologize for the poor jpg- not much controls on exporting graphics. The area boxed in red is already constructed- I am using Altlas code 55 flex and turnouts on 2" pink foam.. The layout is designed to fit into a lopsided "U" shaped alcove in our garage.

I feel I could do a bit more with the metropolitan area on the left side of the layout (tenatively titled "Granite Falls"), since this is going to be a big city area, there could be more switching opportunities. Also, I am a bit up in the air about the yard and which direction it could be facing. Maybe more staging too. Any visible problems that could arise during operations?

If you want to download the source file and twiddle with the plan. there's a link on the page.

Thanks for lookin'.

-TG swinger snipped-for-privacy@hotmail.com

Reply to
Tim Gill
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If Granite Falls is going to be a "Big City", why not incorporate the staging area into the urban plan? I live in Toronto and the rail yard there used to be 20+ tracks wide and just west of "Union Station". Now the rail yardage has been cut down and moved (CN Tower and SkyDome have taken over), but in the days of rail dominance... always hundreds and hundreds of cars, many locos, round house engine facilities etc.

My suggestion, lose the backdrop, display the staging area and scenic it as the "hub" of the railway. Add a turntable and engine house to the staging area at the lower right corner. Thus "Granite Falls" takes over the entire right end of the layout.

Reply to
wannand

Is your layout walk around...I mean will you see it from all sides or are the left, upper and right areas walls? This would make a huge difference in how you plan it. Brian.

Reply to
Brian Orlando

Your suggestion is a good one. That would allow me to fit in the enginehouse scene from a previous version of the plan. The reason that I had the backdrop there is to A) create hidden staging for "off the layout" points, since the pike is so small and B) hide part of the mainline to kill the obvious visual fact that the plan is a big folded loop. Some emails I have recieved allow me to better redesign Shoehorn Yard, and maybe slim it down a little- this would make the GF yard a more viable endpoint, were I to make it a visible area.

Thanks for the suggestions, keep 'em coming.

-TG

Reply to
Tim Gill

The layout is against the walls, as you guessed, on the far left, far right, and top sides of the plan. The benchwork creates an 'operator's niche' that fits about two comfortably.

Reply to
Tim Gill

Dear Mr. Gill, Your plan looks good to me as it is. It is not complicated, and it would be fun to run. Your railroad would probably depend more on bridge traffic than on-line shippers. You can run opposing trains and arrange meets, because you have two passing tracks, and that's good. I could see you running trains from the staging yard, around a couple times, and back, stopping some of them in Shoehorn Yard to switch out cars for Granite City or the two spurs on the left end, which would make good interchange tracks. Then you could have a local or two, maybe out of Shoehorn or maybe out of staging, to switch Granite City. I do think the staging yard should have some more capacity; maybe two more tracks, if you can fit them, but you could get away without them. I did make some changes to Shoehorn Yard to make it more useful. I put the plan up on my web site here:

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any luck, that link will work. I added the long runaround track so an incoming train could clear the main line. This track has a tail so the switcher has somewhere to stay. You could come in, cut off the engine, and take it up the simple engine service track to coal up and dump the ashes (or take on fuel if it's a powered boxcar). Water could be out on the main, or between the main and the runaround. Then the yard crew could start breaking up the train from the back end, and meanwhile the main wouldn't be blocked. You could also use the 'engine service track' to keep a helper engine for trains that couldn't make the grade on the left-end loops. If you are going to use steam engines, you might want somewhere to turn them. Perhaps you could work a wye in somewhere - connect the upper-right main with the track near the spur I marked 'C', maybe. Cordially yours, Gerard Pawlowski

Reply to
Gerard Pawlowski

Thanks for the tips. Shoehorn yard is probably the thing that needs the most improvement- both you and others have suggested some very helpful additions that will clear up the mainline. Since I am modeling the transition era, I will need some steam-turning and servicing facilities; probably either a wye or turntable at Shoehorn or Granite Falls. The helper pocket is a good idea to get those heavy reefer trains up the stiff 2.7% grade on the west end of the layout.

Also per your suggestion, the spur at the upper left hand corner of the layout (immediately west of the yard) is now an interchange with the SP. It disappears behind the grade and has a capacity of 5-6 40' cars, so it would make a great place to generate offline traffic.

I think these changes, with a couple more spurs at Granite falls and more staging, will approach the final plan. I will be making some changes to the layout and posting it soon- many thanks everyone for the great suggestions, keep 'em coming!

-TG

Reply to
Tim Gill

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