Switching or Mainline Layout...or Both?
- Thread starter Greg@mnrr
- Start date
Genetk44
Active Member
Ideally both. Unfortunately my apartment isn't big enough for that so I have to settle for a simple 6ft long by 1 ft wide switching layout, no continuos running. Its big enough that I can test-run/ break-in locos,programme decoders and set-up switching puzzles that will take 30-40 minutes to complete. I'm going to lengthen it by another 8ft. but that will be the max I can go to. I have to go to the club when I want to get some continuos running or run long trains.
santafewillie
Same Ol' Buzzard
I prefer both. On my lower level (85% complete) I have 165' of point to point main line to run on. There's staging at both ends and 34 industries off the various sidings and spurs. My upper level (50% complete) so far has 80' of main and 17 industries to switch. Six of the industries have multiple spurs, two of my 5 grain elevators have two tracks, one of which can hold 16+ cars on the two tracks. All six of my currently built passing sidings are 15' or longer and all can hold 24-26 car trains, engines and caboose included. I have no industries directly on any of the passing sidings, however I do have one spur to a scrapyard that comes off the main about 2' past the end of a siding.
I do run alone as there are no other modelers nearby. I run things in sort of a sequence. I have several unit trains that only run from end-to-end, such as Autoracks and container trains since I don't have any facilities modeled for them. While I currently run ethanol tankers as a unit train, I do have plans for a processing plant on the un-built upper level.
Willie
I do run alone as there are no other modelers nearby. I run things in sort of a sequence. I have several unit trains that only run from end-to-end, such as Autoracks and container trains since I don't have any facilities modeled for them. While I currently run ethanol tankers as a unit train, I do have plans for a processing plant on the un-built upper level.
Willie
logandsawman
Well-Known Member
I have a mainline and several areas for operations but don't find that moving freight around is enough to keep me interested. I seem to have a lot more fun making plans for different scenes and putting them in place on the layout, or upgrading the scenes that I have.
Then, I like running the train around the folded dogbone and maybe a couple drop offs and pick ups and parking the locomotive in the maintenance area before I retire for the night.
Then, I like running the train around the folded dogbone and maybe a couple drop offs and pick ups and parking the locomotive in the maintenance area before I retire for the night.
DairyStateDad
Mumbling in the corner
I always wanted both, and the layout I'm building reflects that, with switching opportunities (and more to be added) but also continuous running capability.
But it's also one reason I procrastinated forever back at a time when I would have had room for either a simple, small 4x6 or else a shelf switching-only type operation. Looking back, I've often regretted just staying in the armchair as a result.
Actually, my "mainline" concept itself is more of a short line, although I do intend to have some true "mainline" traffic running through from staging back to staging, with one stop at the principal on-layout location (eg, a through freight dropping off a collection of different cars to be delivered by way freights to local customers on the line, or a passenger consist in which riders will change trains for the local serving the rest of the stops on my layout), but otherwise basically just for show.
But it's also one reason I procrastinated forever back at a time when I would have had room for either a simple, small 4x6 or else a shelf switching-only type operation. Looking back, I've often regretted just staying in the armchair as a result.
Actually, my "mainline" concept itself is more of a short line, although I do intend to have some true "mainline" traffic running through from staging back to staging, with one stop at the principal on-layout location (eg, a through freight dropping off a collection of different cars to be delivered by way freights to local customers on the line, or a passenger consist in which riders will change trains for the local serving the rest of the stops on my layout), but otherwise basically just for show.
IronBeltKen
Lazy Daydreamer
Greg, since my entire available real estate is a 24x24ft garage, long main line runs are not an option for me. [And I definitely don't want to attempt to "double-deck" my layout!]
The track is fully circular so I could run continuous if I wanted to; but as of now I run point-to-point with double-ended staging. I do have a peninsula that offers some opportunities for mainline-type scenes, but the rest of my layout is heavy industrial switching and yards. I host group op sessions whenever I can manage to get the trainroom sufficiently clutter-free, seems like I've always got something under construction...
The track is fully circular so I could run continuous if I wanted to; but as of now I run point-to-point with double-ended staging. I do have a peninsula that offers some opportunities for mainline-type scenes, but the rest of my layout is heavy industrial switching and yards. I host group op sessions whenever I can manage to get the trainroom sufficiently clutter-free, seems like I've always got something under construction...
montanan
Whiskey Merchant
I guess I am also interested in both, but switching is by far my favorite, and that is what my layout was built for. Picking up freight at shippers is where all of the loaded freight cars come from that make up long trains on the main line. I do enjoy seeing a train snake its was through scenery and towns but for me it can be boring after a while on my railroad due to the short mainline.
I have had the opportunity to have attended some great operating sessions on extremely large layouts, both on club and home layouts with numerous trains running and being controlled by dispatchers. This was extremely interesting.
My layout, built for switching has a yard and engine terminal at each end. An operating session for me, myself and I can take quite a long time depending on the industries being served with a local freight. It can take as long as three to four hours from when an inbound train comes into one of the yards and is broken down and a local freight train is assembled and services the numerous industries on my layout. Any loaded cars along with empties that are returned to one of the two yards and after being broken down and made into an outbound train, it will head "off stage" into one of my hidden staging track later to become an inbound train.
If I leave a drop down bridge up in my hidden staging tracks I can run a train continuously. What I sometimes do while I'm working on the layout is to let a train just make laps around trhe layout. When visitors come over and ask to see the trains run or when the grand kids come over I'll let tem run laps. Also, when running a passenger train, what I might do is to have the train make an entire lay before stopping at the next station t make myself feel like there is more of a distance between stations.
Maybe you can have the best of two worlds.
[video=youtube;xgYnKg9EFnw]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xgYnKg9EFnw[/video]
I have had the opportunity to have attended some great operating sessions on extremely large layouts, both on club and home layouts with numerous trains running and being controlled by dispatchers. This was extremely interesting.
My layout, built for switching has a yard and engine terminal at each end. An operating session for me, myself and I can take quite a long time depending on the industries being served with a local freight. It can take as long as three to four hours from when an inbound train comes into one of the yards and is broken down and a local freight train is assembled and services the numerous industries on my layout. Any loaded cars along with empties that are returned to one of the two yards and after being broken down and made into an outbound train, it will head "off stage" into one of my hidden staging track later to become an inbound train.
If I leave a drop down bridge up in my hidden staging tracks I can run a train continuously. What I sometimes do while I'm working on the layout is to let a train just make laps around trhe layout. When visitors come over and ask to see the trains run or when the grand kids come over I'll let tem run laps. Also, when running a passenger train, what I might do is to have the train make an entire lay before stopping at the next station t make myself feel like there is more of a distance between stations.
Maybe you can have the best of two worlds.
[video=youtube;xgYnKg9EFnw]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xgYnKg9EFnw[/video]
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BN8002
Did someone say B-unit?
I mainly enjoy industrial switching and yard transfers so I designed my layout around that. I didn't have a ton of room anyway so this fit my space best. Ideally I'd like to have some continuous running and my next layout will have that capability but the main focus will still be switching and just have mainline trains that get in the way. I have access to a couple friends layouts if I need a mainline railroad fix. I tend to run formal sessions on my layout with one or two more people. It's capable of having 4, but 3 works best since my layout houses three different railroads to operate. Being a dead end aisle on mine, it can get a little crowded sometimes. But my operating scheme is setup so that I can run any of the railroads alone and it doesn't disturb the overal operations. My scheme allows you to start and stop at any time and it doesn't need to be restaged.
Both. I had a 12x23 ft layout and am rebuilding it in a larger space. I had two industry switchers, one yard engines, one local and two road crews during an op session. the road crews typically handled one or two passenger trains and 2 or 3 through freights in a session, the local operated in one direction per session over the whole main line. Over a roughly 2 year period I had about 8 formal operating sessions. The theme was the northeast coast, between Reading, PA and Wilmington, DE. My era was 1900-1905 so it was all small steamers and 30-36 ft cars.
Both. I feel personally that both are necessary to keep me from getting bored. One of my early layouts was mainline focused and I soon built an extension covering a branchline for local freight operations.
I also believe in making the most of connecting railroads and branchline during operations. I try to design my railroad so that it can be operated under several different operating schemes. For instance tropical storm X has damaged the bridge at Y and we only have a northbound connection until it's repaired. Or connecting line X went bankrupt and we now operate it as a branch. Branch X was sold to railroad Y and now they have trackage rights to get to our Interchange in town Z.
My layout has 6 sidings, 1 passing track and 1 branchline, + 10' of staging. This supports a passenger train (that gets reused as several trains), northbound and southbound locals based out of the staging yard, branchline and shortline connecting trains and I can pull cars from the staging yard to run through freights when I get a larger mainline locomotive. I can spend a long time operating and could use up to two other operators.
My railroad includes everything I want. I still have space to install a narrow shelf for the branchline/shortline extensions. I love operations as you can probably tell.
Sent from my XT1080 using Tapatalk
I also believe in making the most of connecting railroads and branchline during operations. I try to design my railroad so that it can be operated under several different operating schemes. For instance tropical storm X has damaged the bridge at Y and we only have a northbound connection until it's repaired. Or connecting line X went bankrupt and we now operate it as a branch. Branch X was sold to railroad Y and now they have trackage rights to get to our Interchange in town Z.
My layout has 6 sidings, 1 passing track and 1 branchline, + 10' of staging. This supports a passenger train (that gets reused as several trains), northbound and southbound locals based out of the staging yard, branchline and shortline connecting trains and I can pull cars from the staging yard to run through freights when I get a larger mainline locomotive. I can spend a long time operating and could use up to two other operators.
My railroad includes everything I want. I still have space to install a narrow shelf for the branchline/shortline extensions. I love operations as you can probably tell.
Sent from my XT1080 using Tapatalk
DairyStateDad
Mumbling in the corner
Back in April 1970, Model Railroader had a track plan, "Class One for one man" that, for a small space (probably a spare bedroom) allowed both. There was a multitrack oval,half of it hidden, around the walls for through trains and a small yard. Then there was a branch line that went back around over the hidden track for industrial urban switching. Always thought that was a pretty clever design.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G930A using Tapatalk
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G930A using Tapatalk
My first real (thought out) layout had a two track circle divided in half with a backdrop and a single track branch coming off it.
Sent from my XT1254 using Tapatalk
A combination of both is after all how the real world is, but for space constrained layouts, switching gives more interest than just watching a train go roundy, round. I came across this English girl's layout some time ago and was impressed with the amount of switching movements in such a small space, easily expandable if required. Relies on a double slip and 3 way turnouts.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SLrEaZIpuT8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SLrEaZIpuT8
Aerojet
Active Member
This has been a problem since day 1 on most model railroads. Let's start with what most have in house and go from there. First, looking at most layout books, you will note that it is built on a sheet of plywood, only because it is a 32 square foot unit which is dead smooth, with no jumpy sections between boards to make up the thing.
Next is the problem of what to do? Let's face it, an "all in one" layout is going to be a massive bowl of spaghetti track work. How long will your attention be held with one train chasing it's collective tail, the same cars around the same loop, 4 x 6 or 4 x 8? Even with spurs it is still doing the same thing. you need to get the train to go away and another one to come into play as it was.
So depending on what you in the end want to do with your pike, you need to decide if it is going to be a long run tail chaser, or a short run switching affair. Looking at over 30 years of train layouts, you end up with either one or the other - not both in one 4 x 8.
What you need is more space. A second 4 x 8, or start building a shelf pike is the next step. Both depend on how much real estate you have gotten for your pike. If nothing else, make more room, like I am currently doing by cleaning out the house, junking old stuff, and in general clearing out the place. this give you two things. First a cleared out house which doesn't look like you are a hoarder, and second that feeling that anything is possible if you only applies yourself to the task. Trust me it does.
NOW that you have more space to run, make one 4 x 8 the long run, and the second 4 x 8 a switching area, and connect the two into one big pike. OR tear down what you have now, and start a long shelf pike with all the things you really want from the pike on a long, very long shelf.
Back in the 70's I had most of the basement to myself, and built all over the place. Economic changes in the country forced me to move the biz home. This meant the pike had to go out and the biz move in. It is now 25 years later. I am now cleaning out the final mess of the biz and other stuff down here which we no longer need, while retaining the essential parts of it to keep on working, and moving the pike over there into that now cleared space.
Planning this in the early 00's I knew I could not do it all at once, or have a do it all pike on one board. This was a given. SO do what I could to make it a multi phase build, with the future in mind, but not yet on the ground. If you go back over my posts, you will note that on the original Woodland Scenics pike, there was a very short stub with a bumper. this was meant as a handle to connect eventually with another board.
In this record photo of track work / scenery fixing you can see the actual stub below the Husky car. This did change when I added the new yard, but it shows what I had planned from the start.
In time I did make the next expansion, the yard and engine service facility. Now I had two parts of a major pike. A 4 x 8 long run 3 times around going up and down fully scenic ed, and a yard operation. This meant I could make up and break down rains, while making one sit some place and hide while I was working the other one. Not the best, but will do for now.
This will give you an idea of what I have been doing down here. The new board will go right where the caboose is now. It will be a two foot overlap and extend down to the bottom 8 feet. This shows phase one, the River Pass behind, and the yard extension on the front.
We are into the third phase as I write this. I am building another 4 x 8 - only this is not a total 4 x 8, it will be in effect two 2 x 8 shelf units stuck together on one board, with a ridge between them, and enough room to move around behind the unit to work the back. The interconnect will be a two foot over lap on the front of the switch yard and the edge of the second board. You will see when I start the build photo work.
This gives me a total run of almost a mile and a quarter of HO track (scale) and three to four minutes between times when the train rumbles past one point and the next time to comes in to that same point, covering the total of two outside runs of two 4 x 8 boards.
Meanwhile, there is switching going on on the second board, serving industry and a intermodal yard. The old main yard will also be in action as it was added to the front of the original long run.
Yes you can have it all, but in time. Not all at once, and not on one board. there just isn't enough room to do justice to everything you want to do and scenic the thing so it doesn't look like a plywood central.
For now, as you start, you can use the all in one for awhile - but you will get tired of it quickly, and want to build more. Enjoy the hobby, once the railroad bug bites, you will find it is a fatal disease. It will consume you for a lifetime.
Enjoy the hobby!
The Aerojet
Next is the problem of what to do? Let's face it, an "all in one" layout is going to be a massive bowl of spaghetti track work. How long will your attention be held with one train chasing it's collective tail, the same cars around the same loop, 4 x 6 or 4 x 8? Even with spurs it is still doing the same thing. you need to get the train to go away and another one to come into play as it was.
So depending on what you in the end want to do with your pike, you need to decide if it is going to be a long run tail chaser, or a short run switching affair. Looking at over 30 years of train layouts, you end up with either one or the other - not both in one 4 x 8.
What you need is more space. A second 4 x 8, or start building a shelf pike is the next step. Both depend on how much real estate you have gotten for your pike. If nothing else, make more room, like I am currently doing by cleaning out the house, junking old stuff, and in general clearing out the place. this give you two things. First a cleared out house which doesn't look like you are a hoarder, and second that feeling that anything is possible if you only applies yourself to the task. Trust me it does.
NOW that you have more space to run, make one 4 x 8 the long run, and the second 4 x 8 a switching area, and connect the two into one big pike. OR tear down what you have now, and start a long shelf pike with all the things you really want from the pike on a long, very long shelf.
Back in the 70's I had most of the basement to myself, and built all over the place. Economic changes in the country forced me to move the biz home. This meant the pike had to go out and the biz move in. It is now 25 years later. I am now cleaning out the final mess of the biz and other stuff down here which we no longer need, while retaining the essential parts of it to keep on working, and moving the pike over there into that now cleared space.
Planning this in the early 00's I knew I could not do it all at once, or have a do it all pike on one board. This was a given. SO do what I could to make it a multi phase build, with the future in mind, but not yet on the ground. If you go back over my posts, you will note that on the original Woodland Scenics pike, there was a very short stub with a bumper. this was meant as a handle to connect eventually with another board.
In this record photo of track work / scenery fixing you can see the actual stub below the Husky car. This did change when I added the new yard, but it shows what I had planned from the start.
In time I did make the next expansion, the yard and engine service facility. Now I had two parts of a major pike. A 4 x 8 long run 3 times around going up and down fully scenic ed, and a yard operation. This meant I could make up and break down rains, while making one sit some place and hide while I was working the other one. Not the best, but will do for now.
This will give you an idea of what I have been doing down here. The new board will go right where the caboose is now. It will be a two foot overlap and extend down to the bottom 8 feet. This shows phase one, the River Pass behind, and the yard extension on the front.
We are into the third phase as I write this. I am building another 4 x 8 - only this is not a total 4 x 8, it will be in effect two 2 x 8 shelf units stuck together on one board, with a ridge between them, and enough room to move around behind the unit to work the back. The interconnect will be a two foot over lap on the front of the switch yard and the edge of the second board. You will see when I start the build photo work.
This gives me a total run of almost a mile and a quarter of HO track (scale) and three to four minutes between times when the train rumbles past one point and the next time to comes in to that same point, covering the total of two outside runs of two 4 x 8 boards.
Meanwhile, there is switching going on on the second board, serving industry and a intermodal yard. The old main yard will also be in action as it was added to the front of the original long run.
Yes you can have it all, but in time. Not all at once, and not on one board. there just isn't enough room to do justice to everything you want to do and scenic the thing so it doesn't look like a plywood central.
For now, as you start, you can use the all in one for awhile - but you will get tired of it quickly, and want to build more. Enjoy the hobby, once the railroad bug bites, you will find it is a fatal disease. It will consume you for a lifetime.
Enjoy the hobby!
The Aerojet
new guy
Active Member
Well said Aerojet, and that is an awesome set up you have there! I had no clue when I got started how right you are! It becomes all consuming, time and money wise! It is very nice getting rid of tens of cubic yards of "life waste" from the property and replacing it with tens of cubic yards of layout! I've been at it for a while and am still laying track, not a blade of grass, a building or even one tree...yet.
I get to hang out with my best bro from HS and listen to music while we argue over track plans and
"Tappa-tappa-tappa" that track down today. Going to get the yard laid out and the curves nailed down. Gotta git hot on this, Thanksgiving will be here soon and I've got relatives to impress!
I get to hang out with my best bro from HS and listen to music while we argue over track plans and
"Tappa-tappa-tappa" that track down today. Going to get the yard laid out and the curves nailed down. Gotta git hot on this, Thanksgiving will be here soon and I've got relatives to impress!
