HP and Sackville Railroad

[BigGRacing]

Hey everyone, any suggestions on getting as much yard track as reasonable in a 3x8 foot section? Mainly want parallel tracks and with turnouts that are readily available today? I never planned properly for my turnouts down into a yard and now have to rework that end of my layout.

 

[dennis461]

Go with the 3-way turnouts so save space.

 

[Rico]

On my last layout I went with a compound yard ladder, it uses the same type of and number of switches but gains mucho trackage. Someone on this forum helped me with this.
Heres a good example, (not my sketch):

As Dennis mentioned a three way switch with a left and right turnout also gains real estate!

 

[boatwrench]

Rico, how would the compound ladder look with the turnouts made for yards? Micro Engineering I think?

 

[Iron Horseman]

Hey everyone, any suggestions on getting as much yard track as reasonable in a 3x8 foot section? Mainly want parallel tracks and with turnouts that are readily available today? I never planned properly for my turnouts down into a yard and now have to rework that end of my layout.

Are you going for a fully functional yard, or is this just stub end storage for trains? Does there have to be a main line going through? Where does the track enter the yard space?

 

[BigGRacing]

I like Rico’s pic above, but with the long end at the top. It is a stub end yard that I want to make look like this yard that someone posted about two weeks ago. It just has to be able to link into my code 100 track.
How can I get that offshoot to the go back up the opposite direction I wonder still.

 

[Iron Horseman]

How can I get that offshoot to the go back up the opposite direction I wonder still.

In that case it is a double slip switch that allows the offshoot in the opposite direction.

 

[BigGRacing]

This is where i am trying to get to, just don't know if I can get there or not?

 

[Rico]

Rico, how would the compound ladder look with the turnouts made for yards? Micro Engineering I think?

Yes it’s micro engineering, it looks like a good space saver although I’ve never seen one up close. I wonder if the track centres are closer together or just the switches are closer, ...

http://microengineering.com/Micro_Engineering_Ladder_Track_System_v1.pdf

 

[Iron Horseman]

This is where i am trying to get to, just don't know if I can get there or not?

Is the 8 feet the entire length or the length after the 90 degree curve entrance?

I ask because here is my sons 4x8 that has a stub end yard in it. Any more than 5 tracks and they are too short to serve any purpose. Of course if you had the 3 way at the throat, that would add at least one more. Using a compound ladder might squeeze in a couple more.

Regardless, angling into the space might net you more storage space.

 

[BigGRacing]

Hey Iron, the entire length is 10 feet, about 8 like you say from the top half of that 24 inch radius, is that plan with atlas track

 

[BigGRacing]

That plan looks like an excellent suggestion though as well!

 

[Selector]

Depending on your minimum curve radius, you could curve all of your ladder tracks. Make them issue from a three-way parallel to the top edge of the benchwork, and they could then start to curve toward the lower left. I don't know that it would leave you with the same trackage lengths as in the previous diagramme, but maybe it would afford you some possibilities for structures.

 

[Iron Horseman]

That plan looks like an excellent suggestion though as well! ... entire length is 10 feet,

With that, here it is drawn to scale with Atlas Custom Line #4 turnouts (which are really closer to #5s). There is room to play with locomotive storage/shops and make them anything you want. Maybe even locomotive service facility tracks (sand and coal in, heavy machinery, oil and grease to the round house etc.), or yard side industries. So the answer to the whole thread is that one can fit a large yard here. Especially large considering the size of the layout.

And then I'll add. With a huge yard like this, I would highly recommend a reversing loop out on the layout. That would make it what is called and "out and back" configuration. It would allow a train to be made up in the yard. Head out onto the main loco first. Do 1 to infinite -1 loops, go through the reversing loop and return to the yard locomotive first. That way your operation includes turning the power on the turntable and you don't have to back a whole train out, or back a whole train in.

 

[BigGRacing]

Thanks IronHorseman, may I ask what radius those look tracks are, am I correct in assuming 22 inch. I am also pretty nervous of doing a reversing loop as I was trying to mimic a prototype line in theory only. I considered that a lot this year while planning and haven’t ruled anything out yet as I am still just starting my roadbed. I looked at atlas track this past weekend as the radius was 22 inch, but was mind stuck on peco as I always heard they were better switches, but their curved radius are 30/60 which I think are to large for me.....your plan is the closest I have got so far. Thank you.

 

[Iron Horseman]

may I ask what radius those look tracks are, am I correct in assuming 22 inch. .... I looked at atlas track this past weekend as the radius was 22 inch, but was mind stuck on peco as I always heard they were better switches, but their curved radius are 30/60 which I think are to large for me.....your plan is the closest I have got so far. Thank you.

The outside curve going into the yard is 24" as is the one going to the turntable. The curve on the last yard track is unmeasured radii flex track. The separate inside loop is 22".

The only reason I used Atlas track is because that is the "library" my software has. I mostly just wanted to verify the scale of my hand drawing. Sometimes one can draw a whole lot more than will really fit into the space.

 

[Iron Horseman]

As requested in private mail.

Below is something I threw together to illustrate what I was thinking. In the grey color. The red would be an alternate more obvious and more boring reversing loop. The loop could join in slightly different places and different angles. Could even fit it so your original plan of the industries wouldn't need to be moved so much.

I threw in an additional industry, as to me this layout seems yard rich and industry poor. Industries on the reversing portion operationally can be two towns. There are unlimited variations, for example you could put all the industries off the reversing part.

 

[BigGRacing]

Iron Horseman, that looks really good. I did spend time working on the plan again today working with the reversing loop up in the top instead of the turntable. It’s in any rail though and I don’t have it on my iPad. I will email myself a copy tomorrow night to post. It was done on my sons computer and I have but the lowly iPad....lol. Thank you for posting today, it’s awesome!

 

[Rico]

Unless you’re set on having the double crossover in the yard think about using a single.
Railways don’t like them on the main let alone off.
A single crossover still lets you run around the cars and you will gain more storage in that you won’t need to run a loco on to that track.

 

[boatwrench]

Iron Horseman that's a nice edition. Do you think there is enough room on reversing loop besides being between two towns possibly used as a paired loads in / empties out industry?