waredbear
Member
Working on my son-in-laws set-up a few weeks ago got my fire rekindled for working on my own layout. I had a couple of designs rolling around in my head and decided on the one I liked the most for what I want. That is....
1. I want two trains rolling around in opposite directions to give excitement.
2. I want a yard to be able to switch local cars without disturbing the mains for a long period.
3. I want tunnels to hide what is going on so you don't know what to expect.
4. I needed large radius turns for my passenger cars.
5. I also wanted a track that had some interesting lines to it and not just a plain oval.
I searched and searched and found three designs that caught my fancy in a book of 101 tracks designs about two or three years ago. I'm still trying to find the magizine so I can give credit where credit is due for the original design. Of the three designs this is the one I settled on.
Now I am the type of person that can't leave well enough alone. The track was good and right up my alley....but not quite there. So I looked the plan over and figured in my head what I wanted to change to meet my desires and this is what I came up with.
Inside the mountain, which is the dotted (hidden) track, I have three long tracks that will enable me to have five train consists ready to roll in two different directions....say north and south. The third track in from the top left corner will be my main. This will allow me to have a train circle continuous if I want. This train can come into the mountain and stop and another train leave in the opposite direction. This gives me two things. First variety in the amount of trains all ready so the action will last longer and excitement for the viewer because it is not the same train running around the track in circles.
Located in the top center of the mountain I have three more tracks for the east/west line. I have the same set-up here as on the north/south line. The top two lines will be for one train waiting to go east and one to go west. The bottom line will be my main for thru traffic.
I expanded the yard here and there and everywhere to make it user friendly and to give me more action. I added several turnouts so the switchers could move around more freely and transfer cars from point to point. I also added a passenger terminal. My plan is to replace the three spurs sticking out on the left with a roundhouse.
I also added some main line switchovers so the trains could get into the yard easier witout having to circle around under the mountian. I also added a passing track at the bottom so the switcher could do this local switching without clogging the main. I am thinking of a coal mine or something of this nature on the bottom center spur so I can have empties in and full cars out. Either that or a lumber mill as in the original drawing. Speaking of the original drawing gives you a really good idea as to what the finished product will look like. It shows the elevations, scenery and buildings.
My only "sharp" curve is the one leaving the yard and going into the mountain at 18". I think this will be okay since the passenger train will be going slow at this point. What do you think?
So there it is. I should say I will be running Great Northern equipment set in the glory years of the 50's. Of course this is not set on anything prototypical as I had originally planned but that is okay too. My goal is to one day have a GN running the lines from Spokane WA to Seattle.
So there you have the Paragon & Neushore. What do you think? What can I do to make it better or easier to run?
Thanks for all you comments.
1. I want two trains rolling around in opposite directions to give excitement.
2. I want a yard to be able to switch local cars without disturbing the mains for a long period.
3. I want tunnels to hide what is going on so you don't know what to expect.
4. I needed large radius turns for my passenger cars.
5. I also wanted a track that had some interesting lines to it and not just a plain oval.
I searched and searched and found three designs that caught my fancy in a book of 101 tracks designs about two or three years ago. I'm still trying to find the magizine so I can give credit where credit is due for the original design. Of the three designs this is the one I settled on.
Now I am the type of person that can't leave well enough alone. The track was good and right up my alley....but not quite there. So I looked the plan over and figured in my head what I wanted to change to meet my desires and this is what I came up with.
Inside the mountain, which is the dotted (hidden) track, I have three long tracks that will enable me to have five train consists ready to roll in two different directions....say north and south. The third track in from the top left corner will be my main. This will allow me to have a train circle continuous if I want. This train can come into the mountain and stop and another train leave in the opposite direction. This gives me two things. First variety in the amount of trains all ready so the action will last longer and excitement for the viewer because it is not the same train running around the track in circles.
Located in the top center of the mountain I have three more tracks for the east/west line. I have the same set-up here as on the north/south line. The top two lines will be for one train waiting to go east and one to go west. The bottom line will be my main for thru traffic.
I expanded the yard here and there and everywhere to make it user friendly and to give me more action. I added several turnouts so the switchers could move around more freely and transfer cars from point to point. I also added a passenger terminal. My plan is to replace the three spurs sticking out on the left with a roundhouse.
I also added some main line switchovers so the trains could get into the yard easier witout having to circle around under the mountian. I also added a passing track at the bottom so the switcher could do this local switching without clogging the main. I am thinking of a coal mine or something of this nature on the bottom center spur so I can have empties in and full cars out. Either that or a lumber mill as in the original drawing. Speaking of the original drawing gives you a really good idea as to what the finished product will look like. It shows the elevations, scenery and buildings.
My only "sharp" curve is the one leaving the yard and going into the mountain at 18". I think this will be okay since the passenger train will be going slow at this point. What do you think?
So there it is. I should say I will be running Great Northern equipment set in the glory years of the 50's. Of course this is not set on anything prototypical as I had originally planned but that is okay too. My goal is to one day have a GN running the lines from Spokane WA to Seattle.
So there you have the Paragon & Neushore. What do you think? What can I do to make it better or easier to run?
Thanks for all you comments.
