Rock Ridge & Train City--Got Curveball--Need Help


SpaceMouse

SpaceMouse

Fun Lover
Remember just this morning I said I was done and ready to build. Well, a person commented that the layout was good with landscape and scenery, good with the yard and interchange, but lacking in industrial switching.

Well I couldn't make the changes he wanted in terms of staging, so I had to find a new source. And I did. And fixed something I hadn't quite allowed for.



Changes:

The obvious. The old staging area is

There was a pipe running through the layout. I thought the upper track missed it, but it didn't. I moved the upper track forward and ran the passing track to the back. The turnout that was in the hidden track came back into sight. There was some loss of real estate to the TC industries.

I had to move the brewery to the new switching area. It has several support structures.

Staging is now in the laundry area. This forces me to remodel that area ahead of schedule (but I think I'll start work on the visible side and run point to point). IT also gets the layout halfway around the room making it tempting to finish the whole basement in 1885. It will cover half my workbench, but I can still set-up my reloading equipment in front of the layout. There's also about 18" between the workbench and the loop. I'll be able to set-up the Zephyr, which means the programing and test tracks (with computer interface) can all occur on the bench.

Lots more staging.



Now for the help.

When it comes to industrial switching, I think like a box. If anyone has some creative ideas... I need the runaround obviously. And the brewery is pretty much 4 x 10" with at least one 3 x 3 support building, and really could use a corral for hoses for the delivery wagons, and a silo for grains (or whatever 1885 breweries used to store grain.

The other industries are up for grabs. They can be false fronts

The curve into the area must remain. The area is 15" wide and the top of the brewery can be 7' from the bottom of the drawing.

The small rectangle at the bottom provides access to the phone and light switches.

The switcher pocket at the top can go. The construction of new track is cute, but I can work it in somewhere else.

The new plan.

rockridge11a.gif


rockridge11b.gif


rockridge11c.gif
 
Very nice chip, not sure what would go one either though, myself, maybe after a few more posts I'll have ideas.
 
Hello Chip,

Had an idea about staging....
Is there any place under the layout, or is it possible to lift the upper level so there will be more space left for a (large) staging yard too. So you can fit this into one room. But you have to make a helix or something like that ,I think.
Add a picture to make it clear( or is it something you already thought about...)

Jos
 
grove den said:
Hello Chip,

Had an idea about staging....
Is there any place under the layout, or is it possible to lift the upper level so there will be more space left for a (large) staging yard too. So you can fit this into one room. But you have to make a helix or something like that ,I think.
Add a picture to make it clear( or is it something you already thought about...)

Jos
Click to expand...

Nice thought. I don't like the idea of having to walk to the other room to work the staging yard. I liked the idea of no having to leave the operating area. This layout clearly needs to have the staging switched at the staging area. I can't see it running clearly from the layout even with block detection, etc.

But the room is dual purpose and split vertically. From 4ft dow, it is the entertainment room. TV & stereo system built under Rock Ridge. Shelves for DVD's under Train City.
 
This is the structure I plan on using for the Brewery. It's footprint is 4" x 10" and you see the support building. I would also need grain storage and corral for horses.

105HOEastonmill1RetakeLg.jpg


I have a Muir Models Lumber Yard that is 12" x 5" The rails can either run to the front or the back , but if it runs to the front, a couple inches must be added for customer access. No Picture. I'll try to get one tonight.

Here's a photo of a building I might use as a template to scratch for the false front. I would then build the side of the building around the corner. I woud go well for the phone area.

49382299923484.gif


The other industry that I would like to bring in, though I don't know how is this tool and die company. The footprint is 11x5 plus the support structure.

204durhamlg.jpg


********************************************************************

Funny. I keep telling Newbee layout designers that they need to know what structures they are going to serve before they lay track, so the first thing I do is lay track without buildings and feel it's not right.
 
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Okay, I'm gradually coming unstuck. There is no reason why the curve has to come in at that point. Track just has to get from Train City to the new area. I would still like a runaround in this area so I don't have to use the A/D track. False front industries can be added pretty much at will.
 
Okay, I can do this.

Here's my first stab at it. Comments?

Question: Would a tool and die company need iron and coal or would they build from finished steel? The question has to do with whether a tool and die company would exist in California, or if they would import from back east.

rockridge12c.gif
 
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I definitely like the new plan. The way the track ducks behind the brewery and The tap & die shop is nice. It will make the trains seem like they are traveling further with view blocks like that. The whole layout of the switching area is more fluid, more natural looking. With tracks at an angle to the front of the layout, that always adds interest.
 
You'd be more likely to get imports of Iron to the Tool and Die shop than Coal. Based on what you show in your plan, it doesn't look big enough to need coal for any reason. And, in California, it's probably cheaper to use some petroleum product. Which would be why the SP were mainly oil burners.

I think you'd find the T&D shops in CA. They'd probably bring in most of the steel they'd need; Kaiser's mills are relatively close by. The only long-distance stuff would be oddball specialty steels. I don't see your shop producing any specialty steels, which would preclude coal, metallurgical coal, or coke shipments inbound. If you're thinking of the heat treating process (for tool steel), I'd say the furnace would be petroleum-fired. Maybe even using that cheap-o Bunker C.

BTW, I'd think you'd find T&D shops next to shipyards, auto factories, or any other heavy industry that has a lot of nearby subcontractors who supply said industries.

Kennedy
 
Kennedy,

The Tool and Die Shop has morphed into a foundry which did exist in this time period. There is still a need for fuel, but CA had a working coal mine in Northern CA in 1885. SP didn't start using oil burners before 1904 (or so), they were wood burners.

Here's the new model I'm looking at:

HO109Delaney400.jpg


I'm using the power plant off the Tool and Die (which I already own) for the foundry.
 
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