My Version of the Space Mouse Plan


HaggisKennedy

Coal Shoveler
This is the first version of Chip's plan after I made modifications to it. As you can see, it's a mirror image and rotated. From this perspective, you are sitting in the 'operator's pit'. The existing module is to your left, so in essence, you are sitting in the inside elbow of the L.

The two red lines, on the left, and the angle on the bottom center, are the turnouts that will connect with the existing module. The left one is pretty much a given, it's the easiest to do. The one on the bottom is nominal, it's actual location will be dependent on whether it's a #6 turnout or some other size, as well as the connecting track to the existing module.

BTW, the little black dot to the left of the bottom red line is where the edge of the existing module will fit.

Having not built to this plan yet, I've been looking at the yard. While it's adequate to serve SpaceMouseVille (as it's a stand-alone plan), in my version, space might be tight. As I mentioned in my other post, the existing layout will generate about 10 cars by itself. Chip's industries in SpaceMouseVille look to be able to handle up to 10 cars, depending. That means a possible total of 20 cars. I say this because from an operations perspective, I envision a manifest freight coming in to the yard with possibly the max number of cars each 'town' can handle. The yard switch job has the responsibility to assemble the trains for each.

What this might mean is that the yard leads are short, and there's probably a need to have more escape tracks. 20 50' freight cars, at 7" per car, equals 140", which means nearly 12' of yard tracks. While the yard leads appear to be about 4' per, I've measured out a need for about 20" of escape trackage, if your road power is a pair of, say, Atlas GP38-2s. So, that cuts into the available storage even more.

Coming out isn't the problem, it's that one incoming train that is. I may end up setting up a side track off of the engine house lead that will come onto the mainl line somewhere down by the inside loop on the lower left corner. That will allow a switch engine to come out and push the cars into an open lead.

I don't think that there's any operation out there that actually does that, but I don't know for sure. Still, a yard that's too small certainly is prototypical.....

But, once I temporarily lay down all of the track, a lot of these issues will sort themselves out. Though it's a given that more issues will crop up!

:D

Kennedy
 
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