Diesel Fueling & Sanding Facility


beiland

Well-Known Member
I've started laying track on my main deck. Combining it with assemble of 'groups of turnouts' so as to maintain their close spacial relationships. Turns out I have also been able to substitute a larger size Pecos in place of my original plan,....all good as it opens up the radi of those turnouts from small to medium, and medium to large.


I've also located a possible alternative location for my sanding and fueling structure,..
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Those pieces are just a portion of a plastic structure I have for that facility. I'm not even sure I have the entire structure.


Does anyone recognize what that structure kit might be??
 
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Mistaken Identity,...so what might I have?

I think I may have made a mistake about the identity of 'my kit'?
When I looked again at the diamond scale site I read this,...

"Our kit includes a Hydrocal cast platform directly mounted to a wood composition base, and is designed to be installed from beneath your layout The platform features two parallel pits with steps, and has been designed for laying rail without ties on the ledges above each pit. The pits were lighted by fluorescent lights immediately below the tracks. Our pit has been cast to receive grain of rice bulbs (not included in kit) should you desire to install lighting in your pit."

My platforms are NOT cast plaster, and do not have pits in them, ....Rather my concrete pads are plastic,...
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So what might I have ??
 
Corrected location


Turns out I placed those 'plastic concrete pads' of mine between the wrong 2 tracks. They belong here,..
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I do not have enough space between those 2 tracks for the Diamond Scale model, so I am going to kit-bash a facility of my own based upon the Diamond Scale one combined with the Bachmann one. Actually this should be fun, and can wait until a later time when I have more time for such a project.

I also like the longer length of the 'plastic one'.

Taking that vertical support post out between the 2 decks, and replacing it with a cable to the ceiling, opens things up nicely,..

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Now that it is confirmed that those 2 tank structures are sanding towers, I may just have to put one each at either end of the platforms,....or make up something like the 4 tanks and walkway similar to the diamond scale model.


As for fuel storage tanks for this facility, I thought I might use an old athearn tank car or an old propane tank sitting on a foundation between the 2 tracks a ways down from the platforms.


Going to be an interesting project for later on,...I'll see what misc junk I come with in the mean time.


And if anyone wants to make some suggestions,...feel free
 
I recent brought my entire corner plywood deck piece back into the train room, and I am integrating it back into the layout as a whole. It is the piece that supports the steel mill, and also connects with the freight yard. So I am installing all of those tracks of the freight yard that mate up across that gap in the plywood decks.


That gap in the decks occurs almost half-way thru my diesel engine fueling/sanding facility. In other words half of fueling structure will be located on one deck piece, and the other half on the other deck piece,...you can see that split here
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My problem at the moment is that I have NOT figured out exactly what this structure is going to look like in its final form, so I don't want to glue those facility tracks (nor the adjoining ones) down in a permanent manner. I have decided I am going to just tack them down with small nails/brads so I can later lift them to do more permanent work.





  1. I do know that the 'paved' facility will likely be as long as that pictured.
  2. I do know that I do NOT have any room for large fuel storage tanks anywhere near this facility.
  3. I am considering having some sort of 'holding tank' for fuel between the incoming 2 tracks that might allow for a 'most urgent / immediately available need', that itself would be fueled by piped-in fuel from a remote tank supply. I have a number of those cornerstone piping kits that could be configured to represent fuel coming into that holding tank, then fuel sent down the length of the fueling platform.
  4. I'm debating whether or not to have any inspection pits beneath the tracks as shown on the Diamond Scale model
  5. I think I would like to have the 4 small sanding tanks and arms similar to the DS model.

There will be NO tall cars (perhaps no freight cars at all) run thru these 2 tracks,...ONLY diesel locomotives, and perhaps an aux fuel car like that CSX one.
 
Use of Fuel Tenders

I was fooling around with my fueling and sanding structure ideas the other day, and a new idea arose in my head,...wonder if such an idea was ever tried on the prototypes?


Here is what I came up with. Lets say we are running some long freight trains some long distances,...so we have at least 2 big diesels with a fuel tender car between them ( I first saw such an arrangement with a CSX fuel tender). I had to have one of those, and I like the looks of the combo engines with a fuel tender between them.


Now lets say our long freight train is on a cross country trip that would require a refueling stopover. Could it be 'refueled on the main'? Certainly we would NOT want to tie up our mainline track while the locos go off to a refueling station.
What if there was one of these fuel tenders (already fueled) sitting on a siding just off the mainline. Couldn't just the lead engine pull our empty fuel tender off the main, then hook up the new full tender and bring it back to the consist? Wouldn't take up much time at all,...this 'refueling on the main'.


I think I am going to have a number of these fuel tenders (variety of road names) on my rr, .....perhaps sitting on a side track near my fueling structure,...ready to go to work on my mainline trains.,...BNSF, CSX, SF, etc.


FUEL TENDERS https://model-railroad-hobbyist.com/node/31532


CSX 29 & Fuel Tender






CSX Transportation
 
Had a couple folks on another forum asking about this facility and the adjoining freight yard.

Yard Size and Operation

One of my givens (desires) for my new layout design was to include a maximum number of different industries (and structures) that might be associated with railroads. And on my relatively small layout that meant I could NOT include space hungry yards/etc to their fullest extent. I had to limit the size of my freight yard and my 2 container ports.

I also wanted a good number of my steam and diesel engines 'displayed' on my layout rather than sitting in a display case. My turntable/roundhouse/coaling tower scene takes care of my steam engine 'display'. The fueling/sanding tracks of my freight yard are destined to 'display' a number and variety of my diesel engines.

Of course this further limited the size of my freight yard (as did the encroachment of the steel mill scene),...ah compromises. So lets see if I can explain my freight yard.
These are a couple of the latest track plans,..
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The track back against the wall is the access track for trains coming up from, and going down the helix to staging tacks below.
The next 2 tracks inboard of that are the 2 mainlines (that actually make a reverse loop inside the big external helix room).

Next in we have the first of 4 freight yard tracks (the one with the BNSF engine and cars sitting on it).

Then comes the 2 fueling tracks. That fuel tank car sitting there is a 'converted tank car' I hope to fit in there as an interim fuel supply that's being supplied via pipes by an off site bigger tank.

The last 3 tracks are primarily related to the steel mill..
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I had original thought that at least 2 of these would be constantly full of steel mill products ready to ship out of the rolling mill, BUT during my planning I realized I was trying to bring in my scrap steel to the EAF via one of my fueling tracks,...so I had to add another crossover pair of turnouts to alleviate this situation. Now that steel products track is going to play 'musical chairs' with the other center track.

The steel mill track at the outer edge is going to have to remain clear for all of the traffic that needs to utilize it,...incoming ore cars, coke cars, and limestone cars,...outgoing slag cars, maybe some hot metal cars, etc.

Both my steel mill tracks and freight yard tracks are going to be VERY busy tracks due to their limited number. So think my freight yard tracks are NOT going to be holding any cars for an extended time,...things need to keep moving..... at quiet a pace!!
 



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