Locomotive servicing-where is it?

[Anonymous]

The thing that seems to command the most attention for my layout planning is a diesel locomotive service area, with a small roundhouse, turntable, car shop, inspection pits, and fuel/sand area. Am I the only one? While I try to find pics of prototypes for ideas, this area seems to be lacking. Do any of you do service areas? Even the magazines fail to give much attention to something that most railroads would have to have. Is the interest just not there, or is there a reason to avoid this area?
Tim
By the way, if any of you have service areas, do you have pics?

[Javern]

I have noticed that many modelors seem to have all the service area near roundhouses.

[snowey]

there was an exellent article in MR back about 96 or 97 about how to build a steam locomotive servicing area, complete with pictures and descriptions and drawings. Going back even further, MR had a pair of articles in, I think 81, about servicing areas for locomotives with complete descriptions and drawings. The first one was for a steam locomotive servicing area, the next month was for a diesel locomotive servicing area.
Also, KALMBACH has a book about servicing areas for locomotives.

[cwclark]

don't forget a refueling station and a sanding tower...Chuck[:D]

[Anonymous]

STEAM is a well covered area, not diesel. Steam and eastern U.S. I guess I just picked the wrong era and area.
I do have the Marty M book, but was extremely disappointed by it. Great for the majority as most of you do steam or transition era, but not good for diesel era. Only a handful of pages, and not much real info. Now I see why everybody does steam (oh, maybe that's backwards). I would just like to look at some good, clear pics of facilities so I can better understand the flow of traffic. I would also like some pics of fuel, sand, and inspection areas, but the web seems weak in those areas. I have gotten some good info from the Diamond Scale site showing a few pics of one of their service areas, but can't find much more.

[Anonymous]

steam and diesel repair facilities, for the most part, are almost exactly alike. this is due to the fact that most roads continued to use the old steam systems for decades after they retired their steam. just take some old steam repair setup and modernize it for steam, that is unless you want a pure New diesel repair center (they're quite boring btw).

[dehusman]

The most I have seen ers use engine facilities for is a place to park the engines waiting for their train to be built.
I have never in the last 20 years operated on a layout where an engine was actually put through the full servicing routine as part of the operating session. Not to say that there aren't people who do actually use the engine servicing area for more than parking engines and turning an occaisional steamer, but they are the minority.
I my opinion the major reason people have a large engine facility is to display their engines and because they think they should have one. You could get by just as well by ling the "ready tracks" where railroads hold power waiting for trains and "inbound tracks" where inbound power is parked by the inbound crew and waits for a hostler to service it (the tracks could be the same ones). This is especially applicable for diesel era layouts.

If you've got the space to donate, then go ahead and build engine facilities. If you don't just put in some engine tracks and leave it at that.

Dave H.

[Anonymous]

My diesel engine facility is also a big part of my layout, in my eyes and the eyes of my kids. What I found was that if it is not part of one of the huge classification yards, railroads built the facility any way it would fit into the available land.

Since my layout is only 2' X 15' along one wall in my home office (hoping to claim another wall and add another 2'X 15') I made the painful decision to not have a roundhouse and turntable. My engine roster is really starting to grow. I have an old style, 2 stall, long, brick engine house, and an old 3 stall wooden engine house. A few out buildings. A lean-to to provide some cover for ourdoor repairs. Tanks to store fuel and lubricating oil. And many , little detail accessories that really make the scene. Dual tracks for refueling and resanding. A couple old ravaged diesels out back being used for parts.

My point is, it may be kinda a freelance thing. And everyone I see in MR and other places, they all look cool.

Jim

[Anonymous]

Didn't Kalmbach put out a book about modeling locomotive servicing facilities? I think it collects a lot of those articles from past MRs. You can find it in the online store here.

[Anonymous]

Well if your doing steam it uses a lot of area but diesel can be easier.
I am doing Green River Wyoming 40-50's HO Scale
I have a few pictures of aerial shots of Green River and Cheyenne
I also picked up a publication of the UPHS and it featured Green River during that time. Some of UP's sites were so big that there are satillite images where you can see where tracks used to run to a turntable and a roundhouse.
Just depends on what the focus of your layout is. There was a Great Model railroad magazine where a guy did the entire servicing facility of Cheyenne during steam era its a huge area.
Just depends on what your goal is
You can go to railpictures.net and actually search just for servicing facilities modern ones.
It just takes a bit of scouring the net

[Anonymous]

Hi,
My first N scale layout (built late 1999-2002) and now dismantled due to moving (twice) did have diesel servicing facilities. A friend gave me the Kalmbach book on servicing facilities and I, too, was disappointed. I do have some ideas for photos, however. One is some of the books from Morning Sun and Four Ways West and McMillan Publishing have some photos of facilities. Since I am modeling a northern Mid-West (WI / MN / IA) prairie "system", Preston Cook's CNW book (I'm not sure it is still in print), has some very good photos of small servicing facilities.
[8D]

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the tips!! I will do some more searching and see what I come up with.
Tim

[Anonymous]

I couldn't help but notice the phrase "this is one of my many hobbies." I also have a similar situation: currently unemployed, laid off on 09/10/04 from a job in the Mortgage industry (that did not pay well), trying to get my N scale layout to the point where I can run trains by Christmas, but not certain that will be accomplished, and a composer of classical music. As of 10/23/04 I can now claim professional status as a composer as I am both a member of ASCAP and have received a grant of a few $ K to compose a new work! So where am I going to get the time to work on my layout?
[%-)][sigh]

[Anonymous]

I have seen "servicing facilities" anywhere from right adjasent to the RR's Roundhouse, Engine Storage Facility or wherever the put the locomotives when not in imediate service to as far distant as a couple hundred yards. I live in the state of Florida - OK no voting jokes [:o)] - and I can remember when the Seaboard RR use to park a U28B on a local team-track/siding and service it by truck. I have also read an article in the 1978 issue of MR, pg 78+, on the old A&A (Arcade & Attica) RR and they got their fuel from a local distributor. So it's a matter a scope that would dictate your "need" for this type facility and what it would incorporate to do to fulfill a need.

[Anonymous]

As far as operating goes, a diesel service facility has far more operating potential than the typical string of old shacks and 1920's era structures I see on most layouts that depict a town near a RR, but don't actually serve a purpose other than scenery. My layout is trains, RR buildings, and industries serviced by a RR. No corner auto repair shack, Emil's Dry Goods, or Phils Barber Shop.
What I am shooting for is a pair of inspection pits for 2 parallel tracks. I have cast the pits, but I am looking for more details on what accessories I should include, where they should be, more details on the fuel cranes and spacing, hoses, piping, pumps, whether I need raised platforms, etc. The kalmbach book doesn't show detail. I ordered 3 more books from Kalmbach that just arrived, and they are all the same. Reprints of magazine articles with little to no useful detail. Good for toy trains, but not much else. I have an Atlas 3 bay roundhouse that I modified for 10* bays, a Walthers 90' turntable, a 2 bay diesel shop, plus a 3 stall car repair shop. I am looking for proper spacing and track routing for it to look believable.
I have gone to the terra-servers for ideas on structure placement and track routing and I beleive I have that down, but I still need details for around the structures and the inspection pits. Any ideas on where else to look?
Thanks!!
Tim

[markpierce]

Investigate prototype locations. Or better yet, someone who already has will contact you!

[CBQ_Guy]

QUOTE: Originally posted by enduringexp

STEAM is a well covered area, not diesel. Steam and eastern U.S. I guess I just picked the wrong era and area.
I do have the Marty M book, but was extremely disappointed by it. Great for the majority as most of you do steam or transition era, but not good for diesel era. Only a handful of pages, and not much real info. Now I see why everybody does steam (oh, maybe that's backwards). I would just like to look at some good, clear pics of facilities so I can better understand the flow of traffic. I would also like some pics of fuel, sand, and inspection areas, but the web seems weak in those areas. I have gotten some good info from the Diamond Scale site showing a few pics of one of their service areas, but can't find much more.

I recall a layout in MR back in the 1990's which the entire layout was a diesel servicing, storage, and ready area.

Poke around on the Index of Magazines link at the top of each of these pages, and see if you can find it.

Good luck!