A Yard as a layout
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My nephew, an adult, would switch cars for hours in the yard on the layout I used to have. I think that this is something that varies from person to person. Some people like running a train around and around a closed loop of some sort. That would quickly bore me. We are currently building a new layout. My brother-in-law and nephew (same nephew) are also involved. The second major element will be a large yard.
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tomustang
I'm Blunt..
I guess the main problem with just having a yard is
Where you going to take your finished train?
Where are you going to bring trains in?
With switching layouts you can say there's one or two engines going back and forth for products, but dedicated on the line. On the yard your main service is Outbound and Inbound freight. If you're just going to switch cars like a close switching track then I don't think you'll have any problems
Where you going to take your finished train?
Where are you going to bring trains in?
With switching layouts you can say there's one or two engines going back and forth for products, but dedicated on the line. On the yard your main service is Outbound and Inbound freight. If you're just going to switch cars like a close switching track then I don't think you'll have any problems
Beachbum
Member
Technically, isn't a shelf switching layout a yard layout? But I don't want to start a debate...
I see no reason why one couldn't have a yard for most of the layout. I think it would be essential though to have some kind of interchange and / or staging tracks to send cars to / from.
There was a layout in an issue of some MR planning pub with a large yard on one side of the room and partly hidden staging on the opposite side of the room with a loop connectng the two. The emphasis was on receiving, classifying, and then shipping out over-the-road freight trains in the yard. I'll see if I can find a reference.
See if you can Google or Bing the BNSF (ex-BN) yard at Eola, Illinois. It's a division point yard (I think) which handles trains on the Chicago-Galesburg-Minneapolis "Y". They do a lot of flat switching classification. Road freights far outnumber locals in my experience railfanning there.
I see no reason why one couldn't have a yard for most of the layout. I think it would be essential though to have some kind of interchange and / or staging tracks to send cars to / from.
There was a layout in an issue of some MR planning pub with a large yard on one side of the room and partly hidden staging on the opposite side of the room with a loop connectng the two. The emphasis was on receiving, classifying, and then shipping out over-the-road freight trains in the yard. I'll see if I can find a reference.
See if you can Google or Bing the BNSF (ex-BN) yard at Eola, Illinois. It's a division point yard (I think) which handles trains on the Chicago-Galesburg-Minneapolis "Y". They do a lot of flat switching classification. Road freights far outnumber locals in my experience railfanning there.
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Rico
BNSF Modeller
I had a layout some time back that was just that, a yard.
Trains entered from one staging area and got broken up, switched, and sent out to another. Power was swapped out as well. It was a pre cursor to a larger layout that kept me busy switching and also served as a display for the cars.
My current layout started as just a yard to get things going, now it is a very important part of the layout.
The June MR has a pretty good article about yards, but they incorrectly state that a yard is not a destination. not true.
Many cars are sent to and recieved in yards: coal or fuel, lube oil, sand, loco or car parts, etc. Also if the yard has a RIP track or shops they too becomes destinations(home road for repair, etc).
Trains entered from one staging area and got broken up, switched, and sent out to another. Power was swapped out as well. It was a pre cursor to a larger layout that kept me busy switching and also served as a display for the cars.
My current layout started as just a yard to get things going, now it is a very important part of the layout.
The June MR has a pretty good article about yards, but they incorrectly state that a yard is not a destination. not true.
Many cars are sent to and recieved in yards: coal or fuel, lube oil, sand, loco or car parts, etc. Also if the yard has a RIP track or shops they too becomes destinations(home road for repair, etc).
IowaFarmBoy
Member
My nephew, an adult, would switch cars for hours in the yard on the layout I used to have. I think that this is something that varies from person to person. Some people like running a train around and around a closed loop of some sort. That would quickly bore me. We are currently building a new layout. My brother-in-law and nephew (same nephew) are also involved. The second major element will be a large yard.
I think it would need large staging with a solid system of waybill generation for making up and breaking down trains, and areas like engine servicing and a caboose track to show off models.
It'd be short on scenery but heavy on linear space requirements. I'd think it would demand an extensive car roster list and also a tremendous number of switches.
That said, I've always had an interest in commuter passenger yards.
It'd be short on scenery but heavy on linear space requirements. I'd think it would demand an extensive car roster list and also a tremendous number of switches.
That said, I've always had an interest in commuter passenger yards.
RW&C
N Scale with Stone Tools
If you love doing sudoku puzzles and organizing your skittles by color before eating them, a massive switching yard could be a lot of fun. Personally I like watching the trains run on longer stretches, with the switching being a beginning/end point.
Another thing about model railroads is that often you selectively compress an area, like a gigantic yard, into a smaller setup that gives the impression of the real thing without the sprawling real estate of the real thing. A gargantuan switching yard can be compressed to several model tracks if you do it right.
Another thing about model railroads is that often you selectively compress an area, like a gigantic yard, into a smaller setup that gives the impression of the real thing without the sprawling real estate of the real thing. A gargantuan switching yard can be compressed to several model tracks if you do it right.
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Thanks guys! Much the same as I have been pondering. I have been modeling short lines for a number of years and the "proto" bug has bit a bit and it seems that a yard would be a way to represent a class 1 yet in a smaller space. Also like all of us I have collected way more cars than I ever intended.
Is a yard a good way to display cars as it would seem many would be hidden on interior tracks? Maybe too much pondering but I just don't want to reinvent the wheel and am willing to learn from others mistakes.
Is a yard a good way to display cars as it would seem many would be hidden on interior tracks? Maybe too much pondering but I just don't want to reinvent the wheel and am willing to learn from others mistakes.
I debated building a yard to simulate the coal loading at N&W Lamberts point in Norfolk since I used to work around there on tugboats, but I figured it would get old pretty quickly.
I built my present layout using the Moth Lake and Mt Ahab plan from an old MR plans book and modified it some.
I have a yard, engine facilities with RH and TT, a mine area, a waterfront area and then the middle island with a lot of small industries and a wye...lots of switching and interchanging with about a scale 2 miles of mainline connecting it all together.
Dick
I built my present layout using the Moth Lake and Mt Ahab plan from an old MR plans book and modified it some.
I have a yard, engine facilities with RH and TT, a mine area, a waterfront area and then the middle island with a lot of small industries and a wye...lots of switching and interchanging with about a scale 2 miles of mainline connecting it all together.
Dick
Tom Harris has a layout called the Lakeside Lines that is pretty much a model of one large yard. Very interesting concept and a nice website describing his layout.
http://www.lakesidelines.com/
http://www.lakesidelines.com/
BN8002
Did someone say B-unit?
jim sinease did a similar concept on hsi kansas city terminal layout..now granted it is an industrial switching layout but he focuses a lot on yard switching and yard transfers..its a really neat concept and really fun to operate on those types of layouts...I used to go to the club that I once belonged to and jsut switch in the yard and make up/break down trains..you can really lose yourself is this style of operation..
IronBeltKen
Lazy Daydreamer
Here's a link to another layout that is mainly yards: Chuck Hitchcock's Argentine Industrial District
Beachbum
Member
The layout I was thinking of is the "Ozark Lines - Division Pt at Oldburg", plan #46 in "102 Realistic Track Plans". Basically a big yard with some industries on one side of an oval with a big, unscenicked staging yard on the other side, hidden behind a backdrop.
It's about 8.5 ft by 12 ft in N-scale. Looks like you'd need to run DCC or at least use power-routing turnouts maybe to keep things as simple as possible - lots of switches to throw and (DC) blocks to wire (9 track or so staging yard) ...
It's about 8.5 ft by 12 ft in N-scale. Looks like you'd need to run DCC or at least use power-routing turnouts maybe to keep things as simple as possible - lots of switches to throw and (DC) blocks to wire (9 track or so staging yard) ...
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