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couldn't help the temptation and started on several small "proof of concept"/test area display stands like many of you guys do.
while glue is curing on main layout are and drywall mud is drying on several test pieces i tryed to plan out my upper area yard.
i read up on yard designing guide that is posted here and tried to implement what i could out of it to my best abilities and within size limitations.
so far here is what i cam up with :
visio is not the most track planning software but workable.
arrows show travel direction of inbound/outbound trains.
left grey section is 30x37 inches and is semi permanent, blue is 48x28 and is removable. blue cross-track is actually a double slip. all sections (apart from short ones) are standart 9". while capacity is not great i do have a runaround. possibility for engine facility/industry on uper left part and couple stubs for a switcher to hide in (needed at all?)
Is the blue track a double slip switch or a crossing? A double slip switch at the yard throat soesn't really make sense. Simply have your arrival track enter the yard throat with a standard right hand switch. Your other crossover tracks will allow departing trains to leave the yard on the departure track. I'm not sure what the track on the gray area is for but that could be an industry spur. The upper left area could be expanded by one more track so you can have a small engine house, a RIP track, and an engine/caboose track. I don't know what the rest of the layout is like but, if you can make the yard double ended, it will make the yard much more useable.
Is the blue track a double slip switch or a crossing? A double slip switch at the yard throat soesn't really make sense. Simply have your arrival track enter the yard throat with a standard right hand switch. Your other crossover tracks will allow departing trains to leave the yard on the departure track.
yep, i was thinking industry spur (maybe 2 lines via curved switch) on the gray part and the upper part is going to be an engine area.
does that make more sence to replace double switch with crossover like this it seemed like the doubleslip was saving some space... or what did you mean by ""your other crossover"?
Yes, replace the double slip with a crossover like you have shown. It will give the road engines an escape track and will really not us any more space. A double slip takes up a lot more space than it looks like on paper.
hmm, from what i see my double-slip is just a little bit more footprint then two 9" streight sections intersecting at 12.5 degrees. i'm not arguing, i'm just trying to understand your thought.
can you explain this operation wise? basically it looks like there will one more back-and-forward motionwhen trying to get cars and engines when building train on departing tracks. or am i grossly misunderstanding the topic?
i was playing with actual track pieces on surface last night. seperhaps the very first switch on entrance can be a 3 way - see attached. that way arriving train can reach all the tracks and getting cars to and from will be 1 motion. i don't have a 3 way though and it look like they not very cheap
The main problem with the double slip is the radius of the diverging curve. If it's only the size of a 9" standard track section, the curve radius for the switch will be about 15". This is way too sharp for most trains. You want your largest radius curve switches at the yard entrance sine that's where the road locomotives will enter the yard and deliver or pull a train and you don't want them runing through sharp radius switches. You can use #6 switches for the crossover and have a less problems with derailments.
A stub end yard only needs one way in and one way out. The arriving train will just drop the cars and the departing train will just bring the motive power to the yard and pick up the train. Everything else will be cone by yard switchers. The crossover will add one extra move when making up trains but it also provides the easiest way for the switcher to get cars to different tracks, since some will have to be pulled from middle of a cut of cars from the top track. The crossovers allow the A/D tracks to be used as tail tracks for cuts of cars when not occupied by road freights. If you've already got some track, lay it out with some freight cars and a switcher and you'll see what I mean.
A stub end yard only needs one way in and one way out. The arriving train will just drop the cars and the departing train will just bring the motive power to the yard and pick up the train. Everything else will be cone by yard switchers. The crossover will add one extra move when making up trains but it also provides the easiest way for the switcher to get cars to different tracks, since some will have to be pulled from middle of a cut of cars from the top track. The crossovers allow the A/D tracks to be used as tail tracks for cuts of cars when not occupied by road freights. If you've already got some track, lay it out with some freight cars and a switcher and you'll see what I mean.
again , not to appear arguing, but i was test running stuff through that double slip immidiatley as i got back home with it. even the car that 80% of times derailed on atlas snap switch got through diverging path of double slip ok...
actually the entire reason behind that purchase was me being simply captivated by the complexity of many passages and desire to own it rather then need so naturally i'm looking for slightest reason to put it to use somewhere
that said, i definetly going to try running different configurations before nailing track down.
The main problem with the double slip is the radius of the diverging curve. If it's only the size of a 9" standard track section, the curve radius for the switch will be about 15"..
hmmm, no. right after i read your post i calculated it at about 35-40R (9"/tan 12.5 degrees which comes to even less). now that i'm home, i just put R22 section on top and as i said it is significantly more the 22, significantly. maybe not twise but close.
Hey, if that double slip is burning a hole in your work bench, go ahead an use it. I'd have to see a picture of the double slip to understand how you can have a 30-35 inch radius curve coming on to the diverging route but, if your cars run through it, that's the acid test. There's nothing wrong with using a double slip at a yard throat, it's just unusual. I'm sure there's a prototype somewhere so put that baby in and run with it.
it seemed like the doubleslip was saving some space... or what did you mean by ""your other crossover"?
I'd have to see a picture of the double slip to understand how you can have a 30-35 inch radius curve coming on to the diverging route but, if your cars run through it, that's the acid test. There's nothing wrong with using a double slip at a yard throat, it's just unusual. I'm sure there's a prototype somewhere so put that baby in and run with it. 