Designing a layout... need a bit of help


monkeys

New Member
Hello! I've posted on here in the past asking for help 'redesigning' my yard, but I never went through with building it. I (quite foolishly) started laying my mainline tracks immediately when I got them, and as such I sort of limited my future possibilities.

layout_2.PNG


It's an HO layout, 10 x 5 ft, DCC controlled. I've used Micro Engineering track for the mainline, and Walthers for the pointwork. I really like mainline operations, and I have mostly passenger equipment/road freights, rather than switching locomotives, so I'm not worried about the lack of industries.

I had initially planned for a run-through station at the top (1 ft section) and a yard at the bottom (2 ft section). I added the track on the right to lead to the yard. I now realize I do not want a yard as I don't think they're a particularly attractive feature, and on top of that I don't like switching much at all, so a yard doesn't seem like the best course of action. I love watching trains roll through stations (I had 2 on my old layout) and I was thinking I might be able to add a large station (maybe four tracks) in the bottom section, instead of the station in the top, but I'm just not sure if it's possible given what I've already laid.

Do you think it's possible to add a station in this space? Is there anything else I could add?

Thanks,
Austin
 
Yes, you can still accomplish what you want to do. Just continue the curve, go to tangent as soon as you can, place your station on the inside of the new smaller oval created by the turnout at right that you show (you cant the trains between you and the station for a nice view), and then duplicate what you have at the right with a similar, opposite, entrance to radiused track and now you'll need a new turnout at left.

One idea....place the double-crossover on the other side, where you were going to put the station. As you show it above, it's not going to allow your station-departing passenger train to cross over shortly after joining the inner oval. You'll have to go all the way around to the current location and cross over there. One other possible problem...the dreaded S-curve. You have one on the right end of the crossover because cars will immediately have to turn left...or right...depending on their direction of travel.

I know that for most newcomers to the hobby, getting to run trains on a main at speed is a big motivator. However, almost all of us, in time, come to regret making a permanent track system, held down with glue or whatever, that has begun to become boring and repetitive. I suggest you leave some small provision, even an unused turnout built into one of the main ovals, to allow you to finally build in an industrial spur or whatever.

Secondly: your hobby will probably grow. Wouldn't you rather have the capacity to park, or to store, unused rolling stock on a storage track, and not have to pack stuff away? Where will you store them? Maybe that's as good a reason as any to have even two short parallel 'yard ladder' tracks that you can use as you need to whenever you need them.
 
You are going to need a yard, if for no other reason than to to store the trains that are not running. You don't want to handle the trains any more than you have to and constantly re-railing rolling stock gets old after a little while. What you basically need is a staging yard.
 
I mean, I don't have a yard and yes, I get worried every time I have to pick up my Gs4, but I don't think I need one currently. What kind of station are you planning on building? If you are planning on building a large, multi-track one like you mentioned, first of all, awesome, second of all, you're going to need to build up a mid sized city around it, so it doesn't look too out of place. Personally, I don't really like large cities and I love watching my mainline freights and namesake trains run through fields of corn and thick forests of trees.
 



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