My track plan, finally... Would appreciate some critique/advice.

[Doughless]

The spur curve is what initially caught my eye about the plan. So for me, visual interest is definitely the reason I used it - apart from having no idea that it may or may not be prototypical . Also, I'd like to try my hand at scratch-building the diamonds.

Thanks for the comments!

I'm glad Stein showed up to give the proper explanation for the crossing.

An idea to make it seem more prototypical...if you're interested....

You could scenic the tracks in such a way as to make that crossing track appear like a former mainline of another railroad that's been repurposed as a spur. Many times, as railroads consolidate, not all trackage is taken up. The more useful stuff remains to serve other purposes. In your case, a newer industry cropped up to use the former mainline as its spur. You could model abandoned trackage or right of way by "extending" the angled crossing track farther to the south to run off the edge of the benchwork. Just the former right of way, not the actual track. You can use a different color ballast on the crossing track to sort of visually separate it from the rest of the layout too.

 

[fotoflojoe]

I'm glad Stein showed up to give the proper explanation for the crossing.

An idea to make it seem more prototypical...if you're interested....

You could scenic the tracks in such a way as to make that crossing track appear like a former mainline of another railroad that's been repurposed as a spur. Many times, as railroads consolidate, not all trackage is taken up. The more useful stuff remains to serve other purposes. In your case, a newer industry cropped up to use the former mainline as its spur. You could model abandoned trackage or right of way by "extending" the angled crossing track farther to the south to run off the edge of the benchwork. Just the former right of way, not the actual track. You can use a different color ballast on the crossing track to sort of visually separate it from the rest of the layout too.

If I'm reading your suggestion properly, that's a very interesting idea. I'm planning to scenic the lower part of the layout to look like a tiny bit of the town that "butts up" against the industrial area. Abandoned trackage/repurposed right-of-way would fit nicely into that theme. Thanks!

 

[steinjr]

The spur curve is what initially caught my eye about the plan. So for me, visual interest is definitely the reason I used it - apart from having no idea that it may or may not be prototypical .

Oh, it is prototypical, albeit not all that common.

See e.g. here: http://www.pbase.com/jtunnel/image/88845625

Smile,
Stein