Container Port Ideas & Images


I've seen printable containers you could create a wall of as a view block. considering the price of containers it would be a lot cheaper.
 
Flipped Train Station around


I was playing with this 'image' this morning and decided to flip the station end-for-end. Regrettable I had not provided wall sides and windows for the backside of my mock-up. But I believe I like it this orientation better


DSCF4574.JPG




DSCF4575.JPG




DSCF4578.JPG


I also moved my SF engine servicing building forward so the tracks go thru the building,.... and out the back

DSCF4577.JPG




DSCF4576.JPG




view block of some sort on left side of that station,...tall enough to hide a dbl-stack and autocar
DSCF4579.JPG




Perhaps a display piece outside that terminal for the passenger's memories,...an old time steam engine mixed into a 'park scene'.
 
I think the clue for that additional door is in those 2 bottom pictures. A roof echoing the one on the other side, but very short, so the opening can remain in the same wall, just thicker inwards. The arch highlite in the top pic would enhance it too.
 
Back to my container port subject that is the title of this subject thread.

Hidden Track Influence

One of the initial and very important influences on the development of my container port scene is, 'how do I incorporate that hidden track I wished to utilize to 'hide' some of the trains from having to pass in front of the LA Santa Fe station and the container port scene,....trains such as coal trains, tank car trains, etc'. Just certain types that I would prefer ran UNSEEN thru the west coast container port area. I spoke about some of that over HERE.

Now I have done some more experimenting that I will present here.

I started out with this idea,...


Please realize that I don't intend to have any 'top' over that track, just a view block of stiff paper or very thin foam board.
Since this will primarily be behind stacks of containers in my container yard scene, perhaps the containers themselves (movable) could provide much of that viewblock?​

DSCF4521.JPG


Rather quickly I began to think I would need a top on that tunnel over the track so I could stack a few containers on top of the tunnel. Probably I can make this stack of containers and tunnel structure all as one UNIT that could be lifted off to access the hidden track.

So what about the height required of the tunnel? Here you can see that I need a height of at least 3 1/4” to get those very tall auto-max cars under.
DSCF4548.JPG


Two things emerged.
1) My tunnel could/should be at least 2 containers wide,...so 2 3/8” which is greater than the 2” wide tunnel I was originally contemplating,...great.
2) Depending on the height(s) of the tracks underneath there might be some variation in the height of the top of the tunnel. At any rate it appears that the top of my tunnel is/was going to be such that it intersected the stack in an uneven manner,..about half way up the height of a std container. What to do about this?
DSCF4552%281%29.JPG




DSCF4553%281%29.JPG



My next thoughts turned to the fact that the concrete pads of the container port would need to be high enough to be even with the tops of the rails in the container loading area. So here are 3 of those mock-ups, with the tunnel track mounted down at plywood surface height as well.
DSCF4555.JPG

...the green box car is an overheight box car I stuck in there to see if I might just make my hidden track tunnel clearance a bit shorter? (Turns out I have firmly decided that this tunnel MUST be full height to accept all of double height container cars, dbl-auto racks, etc)
DSCF4556.JPG


Next I cut out a paper template to represent the tunnel size (with and height),..its at the end of that green box car
DSCF4559.JPG


DSCF4559%2C%20close%20up.jpg




DSCF4561.JPG


So that tunnel over the hidden tracks is going to have to be painted on its outer-side with some image of stacked containers,..with the upper one just a partial view.

But how about this?,..... bring the tunnel side all the way up to this next 'even container height' (height of 3 containers), put a top on it, and stack another container on the top of that so the whole stack against the back wall appears to be 4 containers high??
 
Nice looking cranes on your layout. I'll check my book on track-side industries and see what they may have in the book to help you in your search.

Greg
 
But how about this?,..... bring the tunnel side all the way up to this next 'even container height' (height of 3 containers), put a top on it, and stack another container on the top of that so the whole stack against the back wall appears to be 4 containers high??
I think you have a solution.
 
I like the looks of this,...​
I have 4 tracks on my intermodal scene with 2 Mi-Jacks​
Neal M​

I had some lights added to them as well...​
20180914_223552_resized-640x480.jpg

I do realize the Mi-jacks don't normally straddle 3 tracks, but it looks real acceptable to me. I'm going to do some experimenting with the track arrangement as to whether to have 2 tracks side-by-side, or perhaps to either side of a central truck delivery roadway.
 
Last edited:
my 2 tracks vs that 4 track yard

I don't have the shelf depth to have 4 tracks in my container yard, rather I will have to settle for 2. I can have 2 or 3 of those cranes down the length,...probable just 2 as it is a rather short length. Now lets see about the spacing of those tracks under the crane(s).
DSCF4565.JPG


DSCF4566.JPG


DSCF4568.JPG


DSCF4570.JPG


DSCF4573.JPG


I'm partial to the tracks being located to either side of the central roadway? It appears a little less congested that way??
 
Now I need to take a look at the end view and see how this dimensions out across the width (depth) of that upper deck,...total available 18”.
DSCF4596.JPG






the 'tunnel' over on the right hand side is made to be 3 containers high in this view
DSCF4597.JPG









The foam board that will represent the concrete pad in this container area has not been cut out for those tracks yet. And the top of the tunnel will be a thicker piece of PVC foamboard, particularly as I have an abundance of height clearance in the tunnel now.
DSCF4597%281%29.JPG






DSCF4598%281%29.JPG






That track to the outside of the crane will be a 'thru siding' that can hold either a passenger train waiting at the station, or a container train being assembled up from those shorter segments being loaded up under the crane(s).
 
I am wondering how the containers stacked three, or four, high managed to get there?
Did I miss something? There must be another taller crane somewhere in the picture?

I like your thought process and the "roadway" being down the center.
 
I am wondering how the containers stacked three, or four, high managed to get there?
Did I miss something? There must be another taller crane somewhere in the picture?

I like your thought process and the "roadway" being down the center.
Good point... I think another container siding (elevated) complete with cranes are called for...
 
Almost 20 years ago Model Railroader ran a series of articles on building a shelf Port of Los Angeles layout. It was well designed and as I recall not very large to the point of overwhelming. The Golden Gate MRR Club in San Francisco has a scratched built Los Angeles Station also from plans from Model Railroader from the 1960s. I recall it is quite large. The model is standing up to the test of time.
 
Previous posting here,..Oct 2019
Today Jan 1 2022

Wow, a little over 2 years ago. I know I have been neglecting this upper deck of my RR for quite some time, but never realized it had been this long. From work on my lower deck I do now realize that a lot of changes can still take place from the time one does a mock-up of the plan...to the actual final track laying.

So just the other day I decided to start laying down the track on this side of the room's upper deck. That primarily involves the Calf container port and the Santa Fe train station. I recall that I was originally debating whether the SF station's front side or rear side would be used. Fortunately I found this older subject thread where I had done several mock-ups of both ideas. It has saved me a lot of time rethinking the final plan, particularly not have to build a new mock-up of the station in a reversed view.

Originally when I was considering the front side orientation I was wonder several things: a) how to justify my passenger loading tracks out front, and b) what was I going to insert between the train station and the container yard??
1641044539441.jpeg



I have now decided the place my station there such that its front side faces the wall of my layout, and the backside of the station is the one we will see,..
1641044954985.jpeg


1641045001679.jpeg



I have also decided to NOT try and conform strictly to the original modle that had this lower height structure and park area on one end,.
1641045226986.jpeg



I'm going to include a similar extension on the other end of the main station,..like this
1641045341087.jpeg
 
I'm glad I posted these mock-up ideas and photos a few years ago. Its going to save me a lot of rethinking & calculations of both the station area and container area.

I think I am going to have to find this paper printer containers site suggested above.
[
I've seen printable containers you could create a wall of as a view block. Considering the price of containers it would be a lot cheaper.
Gary B
 
Making track planning a bit easier.

I had a pretty good mock-up idea of what I wanted to do in that corner where the Santa Fe station was going to be, but now I really needed to firm up all the dimensions. One of my biggest concerns was to provide the largest radius curves I could have for those 2 tracks (1 behind the station and one in front) that were curving to join the mainlines crossing the double track bridge I will be placing across the entrance way.

The combination of my being a tall person, with long arm reach, AND working with a small step ladder, I thought would solve the problem? But I was getting frustrated trying to get it laid exactly way up there.

Why not cut out that piece of brown paper I was using for full-scale track planning,...the take it out to my carport work bench?.....YES, it is going to work out great. I'm going to cut all the track sections and incoporate the proper turnouts, and solder most of this together before I install it back up on that upper deck.

1641390597767.jpeg


1641390623448.jpeg


1641390649008.jpeg
 
Back here I was mocking up how I might configure the stacked containers, and particularly how I might hid that one track behind the containers,..
https://modelrailroadforums.com/for...er-port-ideas-images.31671/page-2#post-464109

I was too happy with the rigidity and squareness of that piece hiding that hidden track against the wall and behind the container yard.
mockup of cover over hidden track.jpg



So I set about constructing a new one built of an alum sandwich material I had,..
DSCF7800.JPG


DSCF7798.JPG



I then painted it the same color as the background sky, and made it longer to hide the trains all the way behind the station next door,..
DSCF7805.JPG


DSCF7806.JPG
 



Back
Top