My Layout - Work in Progress

ModelRailroadForums.com is a free Model Railroad Discussion Forum and photo gallery. We cover all scales and sizes of model railroads. Online since 2002, it's one of the oldest and largest model railroad forums on the web. Whether you're a master model railroader or just getting started, you'll find something of interest here.


T

thadberk

New Member
Hello everyone. After following advice from UP2CSX, I purchased John Armstrong's book Track Planning for Realistic Operation. I also ordered a Bachman DCC equipped GP-9, and was able to score a NCE 524025 Power Cab off of ebay for a nice price. I have read many threads here and gone over the Beginners Guide at the NMRA site.

After much discussion with my son we (he) want to model a steel mill of some sort and maybe some passenger service. I really like the coal industry and always see trains headed to Indianapolis full of the stuff. My wife thinks it would be fun if there was a continuous loop that the train could run non-stop, I know I will become bored with that. I am going to incorporate that into our layout so that I can later acquire more space in our basement if need be. I have tried to make some informed decisions and keep the "must build everything now" fever under control. The only track I have bought at this point is 10 pieces of Atlas code 83 flextrack. I have 3 buildings I have bought, but not built as of yet.

With the possibility of running passenger service I opted for large radius curves - 30" to prevent problems with long cars or if we add a large steam engine. This is where I may have jumped the gun and should have waited to start before seeking advice. I discussed with my wife how much space I could have and below is what I was able to wrangle from our 24 X 23 game room in the basement:

benchwork.jpg


I bought lumber and started building:

011010.jpg


I tried a few different types of track planning programs and have come up with this layout:

layout.jpg


Where I am having some trouble is: deciding where to put elevated track. There are two places where the track crosses over itself; I am unsure if the track layout is workable, or if I need to make some changes. I would like the curve in the back to be elevated on some mountains or hills. The staging area in back can/will be hidden by scenery.

I welcome any help and criticism that you all have to offer. :)

Thanks!
 
Very nice bench work. It appears that one side is against the wall and the other is not. It might be a looooong reach into some areas for detailing.

Couple thoughts on the track - you may want to consider a crossover, a wye or, depending on the era, a turntable so you can reverse the direction of the locomotives. Elevation - if the Town area is 0 EL then the curve in the corner could be -3 EL. That would eleminate having the coal mine and steel mill in a "bowl".

Keep posting the pictures - you've got a great start.

Regards,
Jon
http://www.dollhousedesigns.com/ModelRR/ModelRR.html
 


Looks very nice, good to hear it's "Wifey Approved" as well!
Nothing wrong with continuous running, I have that on my layout.
I like to switch trains and send them out while there is other trafiic on the line, makes things more interesting. Also nice to sit back now and then and enjoy a beverage while a train passes by!
As for the trackplan... if you were to keep that steel mill in the same area but move the switch and lead to the track to the front and facing in the same direction you would create a better run for the train.
Something along this idea?
Over all should be a great beginning!
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Couple thoughts:

Nice folded dogbone. I'd not put that curve in the lower left corner though. I'd pull that to the foreground so crossovers would not be needed.

But! You could leave the plan as is if you put that curve on the lowest level and have your coal mine and steel mill on the top level. You'd need to work out the grades on that to see if it would be practical.

No matter what you consider, can you reach the small yard at the bottom, where the legend says "14 feet"? Looks like a long reach to me.

You might also want to reconsider the location of the floodloader. Looks like you'll have to back in one or two cars, load 'em, pull 'em out, back in a couple more and so on. That's fine if you want to do a lot of back and forth switching but probably not very prototypical. The mine experts here can comment more on that.
 
Thanks for the help :)
I plan on leaving a 1 ft gap along the 14' wall and the 12" section.

This is what I came up with this evening:

layoutedit.jpg


I attempted to do some math and figure out some grades. Do they look right?

Do most yards look like the one here?

I have seen some people use plywood for a base on just the part under the roadbed - does this work good, or is the school of thought plywood and foam board over the entire layout?

Thanks again :)
 
hey, thadberk. looks good.
as far as grade all i can say that with the space you have roughly it looks like your over under scenario is definitely a possibility even without any extreme grades.
 
The 1.5% grade is do-able and it looks like your calculations are correct with the exception of one killer grade from Town to Crane - right at the cross over. I looks like 1.29 rise in 4ft.

A wrench in the works is installing the turnouts on level bed. I don't remember where I read it nor how important it is: maybe others will jump in and add more insight.

I used a combination of plywood decking and openframe with plywood only under the track. Others recommend 1 or 2" foam in layers as needed.

Have you considered a way to turn a locomotive (or car)?

I'm glad you are taking the time to get the best use of that beautiful (and large) table work.
Regards,
Jon
http://www.dollhousedesigns.com/ModelRR/ModelRR.html
 
The revised layout is an improved version over No. 1.

Here are my comments:

1. Pretty much the whole layout is built on inclines. Only the short section of 'town' is at 0" elevation. That's not necessarily bad, but it leads to more questions.

2. Turnouts on grades? Sure, as long as you make provision to keep the rolling stock from rolling out onto the mainline. Also, make sure the grade is consistant where ever you have a turnout. You don't want the track to "roller coaster" just to make the turnout level.

3. The crane turnout. Is it associated with the steel mill? If yes, then it should be part of the steel mill complex, not located half a layout away.

4. Yard or staging on the 14' wall? It, too, is on a grade. It's okay to have the turnout on the grade but the yard/staging tracks should be level.

5. Turnout positions on the mainline: whenever possible, the mainline should go through the straight portion of the turnout, something that you have done. But it restricts your operation somewhat. A train leaving staging comes downhill into the town, then starts uphill heading for the mill. The mill siding is too short to allow a train to work the mill without fouling the mainline. And remember, that whole area is on a 1.5% grade!

6. Run-around tracks. You have two run-arounds, one at the steel mill, one at the coal mine. To switch a car into the crane siding, you'll have to run the engine around the cars at the steel mill, then pull it around to the crane, then return to the mill to reassemble the train. The run-around at the mine is pretty much restricted to mine use and is further impeded by the coal trestle location.

7. Location of the yard/staging area and crane turnout: You WILL have problems at both locations, Murphy demands it! Those turnouts are far from the working side of the layout. The yard is essentially against the wall, therefore you can't stage trains by hand in the yard. A 1 foot clearance between layout and wall isn't wide enough to work in.

8. There are NO passing sidings anywhere on the layout. A passing siding would be long enough to hold a westbound train while an eastbound train passes it.

9. Ruling grade: While most of the grades are 1.5% or less, that section from Town to Crane is pretty steep. I'd estimate over 2%. That's still do-able, just be aware of it.

10. Reverse loop: you possibly can get a reverse loop in by fitting it in from the Crane turnout to the yard/staging turnout. You might be able to fit it in between Crane and the 3"+ mainline to the left of the yard, but it would be a shorter run and higher grade, maybe 2.5% or more.

Having said all that, does that make this a bad layout? Not at all! This looks like a fun layout to build and operate. Where ever you can make any changes to accomodate these suggestions and comments will give you better operations overall, but NONE of my suggestions NEED to be done! It's just some more food for thought.

As to construction, you already have a great base from which to work. Since most of your mainline will be on grades, I'd consider a cookie-cutter plywood top with the grade areas supported by risers. You can cookie-cut foam to do the same thing but plywood would be stronger.

Hope these comments help. Even if you build it the way your have it laid out, you are going to have a lot of fun operating it.

Darrell, quiet...for now
 
Looking better all the time!
Some good points there Darrell...
I may have missed it but what era are you aiming for? Maybe just a run what ever thing,? I model +/- 1984 but steam shows up now and then, or what ever I feel like.
This layout would be great for shorter cars and early trains.
Keep us posted!
 


Darrel - thanks for the in-depth analysis, which is very helpful. I'll take a look and see what I can do to make things run smoother and be a bit easier to work. I am rethinking the folded dog-bone and considering taking the fold out of it. I'll post a revision when I get time this week :)

I am aiming to model 1950's - present. Might be a large timeline, but I have not taken the steam era off the drawing board just yet. I do like the Chessie system logo and have a few pieces from that line. I am not shooting to do just one line, more of what I (we) like and less strict on an era or line :)

Most of the structures I have bought so far are more modern that not.

Thanks again for the help!
 
Had a chance to do some work on the track layout. I added passing sidings to the mill complex and coal mine area. I also tried to incorporate one on the mainline. I made the coal mine area on a hill which covers one of the turns. The grade is steeper than I wanted, but I think 2.5% is not too bad. I added some turntables so that I can reverse an engine if need be; also added a small staging yard that is close to where we can reach. Layout will be 18" from the wall.

I will cover the entire table with plywood, and then add some of the pink foam board to that. Is 1/4" too thin for the plywood?
 
You have a roundhouse track crossing the main near the coal mine

How does the passing siding reconnect with the main near the coal mine?

Does your grade calculation include the easements?
 
The round house and the entire coal complex are on a hill/mountain. The mainline is underneath the coal complex.

I fixed the picture, grades are calculated at 144.4 inches for a total of a 3.5 inch rise total which is 2.42% if I divided correctly.
 
Is that whole area under the coal mine one long tunnel? If so, how do you plan to access the track inside. Muphy will for sure strike inside a long tunnel. :)

You really don't need two turntables. It looks like you have plenty of room for a wye track at the coal mine and that would be more in keeping with an industrial spur. You can also have a wye on a grade. Turntables need to be absolutely level.
 
Jim - I probably will have the line come out of the tunnel in at least on place, but will have either an access panel on the side, or part of the area open from the bottom in case I get a derailment.

Dumped the turntable and added the wye.
 


Thad, its looking good. Where will you be adding the wye, in the coal mine area?
From painful experience, let me suggest -
If you have a long tunnel, make sure the track work is perfect where it is to be covered - even if you have access. Put in expansion joints. Then test that section through continous running of trains in different outside weather conditions - hot, cold, humid and dry. If your train room is under constant climate control you may not have much problem. If, however, you open windows during spring/fall/summer you may have problems with expansion/contraction. It can be corrected after construction but what a pain. I had to crawl up under my layout yesterday with mirrors, flashlight and files to make some more corrections to my under the mountain loop. :[
Regards,
Jon
http://www.dollhousedesigns.com/ModelRR/ModelRR.html
 
You must log in or register to reply here.




Affiliate Disclosure: We may receive a commision from some of the links and ads shown on this website (Learn More Here)

Back
Top