The greenbrier logging and coal co


OleSmokey

OleSmokey

Well-Known Member
I am starting this thread for the new layout i am starting next year. Have a rough plan that i can show but this is first draft. Also looking at late 30's or early 40's. Using 1st generation diesels. The list is as follows. EMD SW1, EMD NW2, Baldwin VO-1000, Alco S-2, and Alco RS1. Shots of the layout. I use SCARM for drafting plans, DanView attachment 54886View attachment 54887
 
Good luck on the new layout. Diesels could make things a bit easier for you. One question, are you going to have access to the hidden track along the back of the layout ??
 
Not to put a damper on anything, but in addition to what Chet said about access to the track in the tunnel along the back, that hidden switch on the right will fall under "Murphy's Law".
Willie
 
I had the same kind of tunnel in the last one, and i can gain access to it no trouble. The turnouts under the logging tracks are open and is a staging yard i had added when i had the other layout plan. It worked ok for me. That end is open and the 3d of the scarm don't always work right. It shows cliffs. Should be smooth down to the bottom. Along the back it will have some cliffs and the left side it will be hills with a few curves that the track will have to work around. I forget where i got the idea for that. Somewhere. They also said i should have more curves at the sawmill area for the yard. Don't know about that. I know track wasn't always in a straight line but i am not sure about that one. Another thing. I am working on a idea about running the track into the river when it comes out of the sawmill area. i tried it out on the plan in 3d and it will work. I don't know about using Diesels with that kind of track but will think about that. Its not deep water anyway. Still have months before i start the layout up. Dan
 
I started this last night. Not to bad. The track follows the contour of the hill its climbing. Same on the other side of the bridge over the waterfall. On the left side the main comes out of the mountain tunnel, runs thru and can stage cars on two different tracks. the one piece on the right after the crossover is a open track for over flow or engines in standby, something... On the track going up to the logging camp the track leaves the yard going threw the water, (no bridge). See if i can pull that one off!! The 3d don't show correctly. it shows cliffs where the logging camp is. its going to be a slope hill to the bottom. the cliffs are where the river waterfall area is. will be rock. The three tracks on the left are car repair and engine house. Engine yard is smaller as you need fuel and sand. thats about it. new pics below. Next.....View attachment 54899View attachment 54898View attachment 54897View attachment 54896
 
Haven't been here much but for my phone. My hard drive crashed. Have new one but it isn't acting very good. Not sure what is happening. I have loaded windows 7 twice now, no change. Windows 10 download came up so what the heck. Its going in. Don't know if it will fix anything but will get to see if it plays nice with my motherboard and processor. I may have to go back and replace this hard drive with another. So no biggie if it screws up the hard drive or won't work right. Just having a bit of fun. Anyone else using windows 10?/ Any issues?? I will be using Google Chrome again once i get things working. Anyway, Later, Dan:cool:
 
There are a lot of things wrong w/ your plan. The biggest thing is the tracks make no sense given the topography. There's a switch on left that goes to two bridges very close to the river. Good RR design would have that switch on other side of the river saving the cost of 2nd bridge. Bridges are VERY expensive even in the 30s & 40s. Also there's no real yard just some spurs going off every which way. There's a gazillion track plans that can be found on the internet & this & other MR forums. Do a search using whatever parameters you want like layout size, era, prototype or freelance, industry types, etc, etc,etc.
 
Dan, looks like you are having fun and have the right attitude! Some people really go bananas when the computer goofs up but I think it is normal.

Andy above has some tips and I will not venture to comment because I am no expert on layout design!! except, maybe, what can and can't be reached, also know a little about what is fun!! (being able to go on a continuous loop is something I require for layout enjoyment)
 
Dave
To each her/his own if you like roundy round. But having worked for real RRs know they don't operate that way. Closest I've seen to that is the "circle" of track below the Santa Fe La Mirada yard in CA that is all industrial switching. It can be seen on Google maps & USGS maps.
 
Circle of track has a hidden staging yard under the layout. Also that is the main line. Second there is only one bridge past that turnout. The line going to the logging camp goes right through the water. Saw a video and worked for the same company in Wv. Company is out of business now,(closed in 1976), but you can see some of the things it had still. Based on someones idea, the main coming out of the tunnel with it in front of the waterfall is not really a bad idea. it looks good on paper but will see if it works on the layout. Engines should be always in front of the load so thats for the runaround up by the logging camp. Can't see it but there are some places that just look open but actually are a town and sawmill in that area. There is a tree line going up the mountain to the logging camp. looking at the layout, upper right is another mountain going up. The scarm doesn't do a very good job of slopes, also turnouts on a hill. it flattens them out till the track hooks up with it. On the left is also mountain. That gives me the tunnel for the main line and on the right a staging yard. I hope that answers your questions. Dan
 
There's a reason Scarm does that. It discourages you from designing something that won't work. Turnouts on a grade are generally a bad idea. I do like that you seem to realize that visually breaking up the circle of track is a good thing. One thing I would work on is realizing how short the passing siding is. The way its laid out is real short. You want to try to make them as long as you can.

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RBMNfan said:
There's a reason Scarm does that. It discourages you from designing something that won't work. Turnouts on a grade are generally a bad idea. I do like that you seem to realize that visually breaking up the circle of track is a good thing. One thing I would work on is realizing how short the passing siding is. The way its laid out is real short. You want to try to make them as long as you can.

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Would also add from experience that turnouts immediately after coming out of a grade is a bad idea. You end up having to shim them a ton in order to keep large steamers from teetering their way over the points and onto the wrong track.
 
k4kfh said:
Would also add from experience that turnouts immediately after coming out of a grade is a bad idea. You end up having to shim them a ton in order to keep large steamers from teetering their way over the points and onto the wrong track.
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AMEN! I'm purposely going to have a 'flat spot' at each end of each curve, at each end of a turnout and at each grade change, a wee straight bit where everybody can 'line up' with each other before the next change in the stresses on each pair of couplers and the line of cars as a whole. I have spots right now of both kinds and am going to be including the 'flat spots' as SOP with all future track plans! "Pulling both ways" side to side is an invitation for a non good time!
 
OleSmokey said:
View attachment 55206I don't know, I have seen many turnouts on a hill.
RBMN fan, Is this better?? :confused:
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I don't think turnouts on hills are bad, I think only turnouts near a change in grade is bad. I've never had any problems with one I have that's directly on a hill, but the ones right at the top and bottom give me fits

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Yes that's better. I prefer to make it so trains can enter the mainline from either track of the passing siding. One day you will have the urge to run two trains.
Turnouts can be in the middle of a constant grade. It might be ok where the train is moving slowly too.
I am a thinking you might want to test how many cars your locomotive can push up a grade like the branch you have. In my experience I had a branchline grade of 6%~ and my switcher locomotive could only push 2 cars up the grade at a time. Having the branch come off the other direction would allow a gentler grade.
Your yard area on the left is not very useful either. I would reduce it to one or two tracks. Then the tracks left will hold 4-5 cars each instead of 2-3.

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There have already been some great ideas/suggestions, reasons & logic, that said;

BOTTOM LINE: As the railroad baron of YOUR layout, you can do ANYTHING, (true to prototype, impossible or even completely imaginary) you want, make any rules you want etc. As for MY layout, I have 3 personas I need to please, they are ME, MYSELF & I, ....... and if they are happy, that is all that matters!
 
arealgijoe said:
There have already been some great ideas/suggestions, reasons & logic, that said;

BOTTOM LINE: As the railroad baron of YOUR layout, you can do ANYTHING, (true to prototype, impossible or even completely imaginary) you want, make any rules you want etc. As for MY layout, I have 3 personas I need to please, they are ME, MYSELF & I, ....... and if they are happy, that is all that matters!
Click to expand...

TOO TRUE! As much as we would like that it was otherwise, it's NOT a "real railroad", it's a TOY, PLAY with it and have FUN!!!!
 
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