I hope this works. It's my first attempt at posting pictures.
This is the trackplan for my layout. The sections with the red connections are dummy tracks. Click on it to maximize the picture.
Nice track plan there Otto!...LOL!, very cute!!!
Mine always look like the dog drew them up for me...LOL!
Can't wait to see some pics!
There are things to like about this layout. I really like the idea of the static display.
Can I assume N scale?
When it comes to the actual layout, I have questions. To the outside observer, it appears you have a general idea what you are doing. But it seems strange to me that you would have 4 railroads converge on a massive yard that only serves an industrial spur. Of those. only one has interchange abilities and it is only a couple cars. Cutting down the size of the yard (or eliminating it entirely) and giving more space to the three interchange tracks will give you a lot more operational opportunities--read more variety in switching and more purpose to what you are doing.
Chip
Building the Rock Ridge Railroad with the slowest construction crew west of the Pecos.
I have to agree with Space Mouse that your yard seems to be huge for what it serves.
Another thing I find potentially awkward is in the town of 'upperedgeville' you have a single runaround track with 4 relatively long spurs on it. This might make it difficult to find the space for any but the shortest of trains from the yard coming into town, grabbing the pickups, dropping the setouts, and still managing to perform runarounds. If the run around area gets packed it will quickly turn into a switching puzzle and may cease to be enjoyable.
Since your concept seems to be an interchange yard serving an industrial branchline, I'm wondering why you didn't choose to add some industries along the track between the yard and upperedgeville?
I guess my suggestions for the plan would be:
1. Remove a track or two from the yard. You might also choose to swap the static display track for a few background flat industries. Perhaps put a diamond crossing out on the mainline for a static display crossing of the two railroads. A 90 degree crossing with a track curving off your mainline toward the other track would make for another interchange.
2. Enhance the interchange in the lower right to handle a few more cars. This interchange will also be a pain to switch since its connected to the yard at a place where there is no easy runaround available. If the bottom edge of the layout were given over to some backdrop industries with spur and a run around it would make that interchange easier to deal with.
3. Make the run around at the end of the line a tad longer so switching those 4 spurs would be easier.
4. Possibly distribute more industries along the track between the yard and upperedgeville.
Some general observations:
It's hard to tell what 'real estate' you have available as there aren't any boundaries (walls or benchwork edge) showing on your diagram. What size are the grid squares in your diagram? Are there any elevation changes in the tracks? What scale? What era (and size of the locos and cars you'll be running?
Good job for a first effort!
Regards,
Charlie Comstock
Thanks for the comments. The yard was never actually supposed to be a full fledged yard. It was only supposed to be a staging yard, actually it was only supposed to be three or four staging tracks. I have a son that never took any interest in my hobbies that started to make suggestions, and then started helping. The staging tracks became a yard through his ideas, and now that he's gone to the Navy, I keep it this way to honor him, and the memories of him and I sharing something.
This layout is a mass of memories of the area where I was born and raised. Oskaloosa (IA) had the C&NW (formerly M&StL) that ran north to south, the Rock which traversed east to west, and a spur from the CB&Q which cut off from Tracy and entered from the southwest. Oskaloosa had a small yard, which mostly served as a repair facility.
The Rock Island line came from the yard in Des Moines and worked its way east to the Mississippi and then to Illinois. In the process it serviced several industries in Pella, ancluding a window factory that I worked in. It also traveled from there to the before mentioned Oskaloosa. In the seventies the line east of Pella was severed, leaving the line from Des Moines to Pella as a sofisticated spur.
My yard represents a mingling of all of this plus the flavor of the City of Ft Madison. I always liked the way it sat above the tracks. A big city sits on a wall overlooking the yard. This city is located between several mainline railroads. Most of them just built short spurs from their mainline and backed the few needed cars to the yard entrance and left them. It was the duty of the dedicated yard switcher to bring them on into the yard, and to set out others.
The industrial city had been part of a mainline, but that has now been severed at the end of the town. Hence we get the Des Moines to Pella effect. There's enough action taking place to warrant keeping track to it. What happens is that cars are left by the railroads served. They're moved about to the industies that need them, and then moved back to the interchanges. Of course there's also the morning and evening commuter traffic which gets in the way, but is priority.
This is quite condensed, and probably clear as mud, but to go into it in more detail would make a book.
This is a view of the yard looking from the end of the layout.
This is the view looking from the other direction.
The city real estate is locked in, but the buildings and scenery is already going through renovations. The track will also be replaced when I get my dividend this fall.