Ladder Layout Question


J

jwh192

New Member
In planning for an HO ladder I'm not sure of the track size needed or the procedure for laying and connecting. Do I run a straight track off each switch and how do I maintain the proper distance between each rail of the ladder. Is a small curved track required ? Would a Peco switch be used the same as an Atlas in the ladder conection ?
I'm planning a 5 to 6 track yard.

Thanks for any help.
 
One of the best explanations I've seen of yard and ladder track construction is at http://www.housatonicrr.com/yard_des.html. The configuration of tracks coming off your ladder is really dictated by the type and size of your yard. The easiest way to figure out spacing is to set up three tracks next to each other with a car on each track. Keep moving the tracks further apart until you can reach down and rerail the center car without knocking off either of the other two cars. Most yards have spacing that is too tight and this leads to knocking over about 15 cars to rerail one. You are better off with one less track and more room between the tracks. Peco and Atlas switches can both be used in a yard ladder but you're better off sticking with one brand since Atlas and Peco switches have slightly different geometry, especially on the diverging route. Read the article at the link I posted and let us know if you have more questions.
 
Thanks Jim I'll check that site out.

Lots of information at that site. Thanks for putting me onto it.
 
Wow, glad I caught sight of this thread! My yard is all wired up and I have started running some switch ops and staging cars. I have a caboose track and decent runaround capabilites but I need more space without clogging my 2 mainlines. These 2 links have given me some great ideas. Jim, you are a great source of information and your suggestions have led me to making my layout better and better! Thankyou for posting the 2 links!
 
Blue, you're quite welcome. I've become kind of an expert on yard ladders after doing a really crummy job on mine. I don't have a runaround track and my yard lead fouls a major spur. I'm just working up the courage to rip my yard out and rebuild it correctly.
 
Build a module(s), Jim. Then "cut" out the old yard and replace it with the new one. Unless, you wish to re-use the switches. That would make things a little tougher.

Bob
 
I am new here. I have been working on my new layout for 3 months now.If it helps, this is the yard I built.

1) an overview...track to the far right is a "run around" track...2 industry spur in foreground...main and passing siding to the far left.

2) yard office end with engine house (freshly built today)

all #4 turnouts with some flex track to parallel the tracks....1 wye switch on spur.
 
Kickem, that looks like a really great start. The yard looks very well planned and the engine house looks good. How long have you been in model railroading. I suspect a while based on your work.

Bob, I really do want to reuse the switches or building a new module and dropping it on would be a good option. I'm also space constrained by a lake and forest on one side of the yard and a highway overpass on the other so I need to look at how to fix as many flaws as I can without tearing up too much of the layout.
 
Jim,

Some visuals of the yard would help me. Forgive me if I have missed them in the past. Is this a stub ended yard or doubled? How are you fouling a spur? Your constraints pose a problem that even real railroads face!...:) Do what you can to save the lake. You may have to lengthen the overpass at one end. What car capacity for the yard are you aiming for?

I have used(operationally) compound ladders at a club layout. They allow for more tracks in a smaller space which is good for HO modeling. When it came to switching cars I found it a bit bothersome.

For me, flat switching has a more realistic feel with a straight ladder. Also, in my current case, compounding the tracks would have been overkill...2 tracks holding 3 or 4 cars a piece as opposed to 1 track holding 7. My layout is in a 10' x 12' space so I had to curve the leads on either end to get the most length out of my yard tracks without curving them as well.

1) right entrance to the yard...main to the far right, switching lead in the middle which ties into the main again 5' below the frame.

2) right entrance again showing the lead into the belly of the yard plus a connection to the passing siding. With confined spaces, I always try to have multi-purpose tracks(passing trains, classification or pick up/set off track)

3) the left entrance to the yard...main to the right...very small lead in the middle...industry spur to the left..VERY little switching will be done on this end...mostly block set offs and pick ups...so no need for a long lead.
 
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Kikckem, (do you have a real first name I can call you?) here's a really old picture of the yard when I was still working on the layout. It's just a stub end four track yard with a track to the engine house. I used a compund ladder to get the most tracks in but there's no room for a runaround track. The yard lead crosses the spur leading to the downtown industries, which makes it difficult to run two switch jobs at once. You can see the lake on the left and the highway overpass on the right. What I'm thinking of doing is curving the road and overpass going out of town to give me the extra space I need since I don't want to take out the lake and forest. Since I modeling an impoverished shortline, a 10 or 12 car yard is enough. I really need a runaround track and a way to reroute the downtown spur so it doesn't foul the yard lead.
 
Jim,

First thing I'd do is move the engine house next to the road...eliminates the crossings to get to it. That will give you more space on the left side also. You may have room for a left hand switch just before the switch to the spur...creating a "straight" crossover. Here is an idea.

Jason
 
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Dang, Jason, I never thought of moving the engine house but that's a great idea. It would free up room for a runaround track on the left without disturbing too much and it would only take adding one switch the the far right track. Adding a left hand switch before the downtown spur as the yard lead would also solve some problems but I'm not sure I have enough room between the existing lead and the main line. I'll have to go down and measure it out and see if I can shoehorn another switch in there. As you can see, my main is right up against the layout edge now so I have no flexibility there. Great ideas though.
 
I'm using Atlas code 83 #6 Super Switches (HO) which seem to have a straight section on the diverging route, so if they are laid one after the other with no additional track, the track centers come out at around 2", which is fine for me, some people may prefer more space and thus a small section of straight track will be required. Just my 2c worth.
 
Sorry to butt in, my creative flow is blocked here:confused:. Does anyone have any suggestions on what I can do to improve my yard? Both mainlines run past the west side of the yard. For now the inside mainline is doubling as the yard lead. I have 2 Arrival/Departure tracks, 2 caboose tracks, (one is not done yet), and a branchline which leads to future industry spurs. My problems arise from fouling the inside main in order to have a "run around" and to shunt cars between the industrial area and the A/D tracks. I have about 6 and a half feet to work with. The first pic is from the Southeast entrance, the second is the Northwest entrance right out of the future tunnel.

Steve
 
Well, using the second main as a runaround and having virtually no yard lead without using the second main is not going to work. I only see two solutions offhand. The first would be to begin the yard lead much further back, somehere under the current grade leading up to the bridge. The other is to move the whole yard further in so you have a long enough lead. I guess another option would be to curve the second main outwards around the exisiting second main with new trackage so the existing second main can be uses as a runaround. Even if you do this, I'd still add space to the ladder track and bring my first yard track about foot in from where it's at now so you have some room to manuever.
 
kickem98 said:
Last edited by kickem98; Yesterday at 04:56 PM. Reason: forgot my name
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LOL... Jason wait till you get older, it won't matter that much!

Steve, would it be possible to face the yard the other way and start the lead back on the curve coming off the grade? That and the compound ladder Jim mentioned earlier on should help a wee bit?
 
Jim, by suggesting that I move the yard in, are you also saying to make each track of the yard shorter, therefore giving me the space to create a yard lead? Then add another "rung" to the ladder for more car storage? Sorry if this seems like a silly question, but I have a much easier time with visual aids:eek: I just want to make sure I understand your idea. I like your other thought of beginning the yard lead much further back, but I think something more along the lines of Rico's suggestion, starting the lead at the beginning of the curve coming off the grade. The area under the current grade leading up to the bridge is going to be dockside to a harbour. The opening in the benchwork will be the harbour itself, doubling as a lift-out for access. You both have given me great ideas to work/start with that I just was not seeing by myself
 
Blue, if you can start the yard lead further back, as Rico suggested, that would be the best solution to the problem. You can connect to the current yard ladder track but have a long lead track that won't foul the main. My other suggestion was to lengthen the ladder before the first switch, so the yard would shift inward, toward the the straight track that comes off that long lead. If your first yard switch was just before that opening in the benchwork, you'd have a long enough lead to switch and not foul the main. By using a compound ladder, you should have no problems fitting a five or six yard track in the area. You can also use a compound ladder to make a fan type yard, where one part of the fan is shorter tracks that go to an engine house and the caboose tracks and the other side of the fan is longer tracks for the freight yard.
 
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