Working on combining the suggestions I've gotten so far and coming up with a different design. Main thing I'm looking at is making the main double track, with the whole layout basically a long dogbone, witht he loops at either end stacked - and the staging as part of the loops. I have room in the laundry area to do loops at 28", 31", 34", 37", and 40" radii, although til all the turnoutsd get fitted the tracks may be too short. 3" clearance center to center I will test but at those radii it should easily clear anything I run (no 80ft cars or modern long cars). This portentiall can be more staging than I have had in any previous plan, yet less space, and no worries about any rise over the mainline run and my want of a continuous run option. Heck if I can go 3/4 around a circle at 34" radius, that's a staging track long enough to hold 2 trains, back to front for linear staging, at my 10 car expected train size.
Still working on the drawing part, this is effectively a complete redo of the main, staging, and branches. Thought of another idea that would make it freestanding, linear walkaround without the lift gate, but I need to test fit that and see if it fit. For want of another foot or two.
--Randy
Modeling the Reading Railroad in the 1950's
Visit my web site at www.readingeastpenn.com for construction updates, DCC Info, and more.
Randy,
Your track plan sounds very similar to mine....a sort of elongated dogbone. In a few spots, the double track mainline runs behind the city backdrop. I have no grades....it just looks like there are. I went down in some spots,with scenery, rather than up, with 36''/32'' radius curve's, tested with 89ft Intermodal flat car's and spine cars with nothing but trailers on them....no derailments....but I'm a stickler when laying track, Atlas flex on Homasote, spiked, not nailed.
Have Fun on Your Build.
Frank
I did get a rough outline of what ends up as a freestanding layout in my space, other then where it goes through the wall into the laundy, so you can follow the train around with no duckunders or liftgates, from one end to the other. ANd then either leave the area, or pick up another train going the opposite way (or run yours around the loop and keep going). Upside, plenty of aisle space, downside no long stright side for a major uard, though I probably could build a yard with a curve in the middle of it along the longest side. Just the double main around nets about 3.4 miles of track, but that's barely over 1.5 miles per direction, which is the lowest of any of the options I've tried so far. Also, there is a lot of wasted floor space, where i can't just add bump outs to extend the run and remain within my minimum radius. Problem is, those open areas tent ot be on the inside of curves, so it's not like I can fill the area with interesting stuff so the extra space can be used by railfanning operators without crowding the actual operator. Back to the drawing board. I'll post this design later, just for completeness.
Working on making the end loops with concentric sidings for staging - yes this eway uses a lot more turnouts, but not a big deal.
Now, I know this is going to be all over the pace - what do people think is the best way to arrange this:
1. Loop is the smallest radius, with the additional sidings arranges as larger radius loops around the outside of the continuous track
2. Loop is the largest radius, with the sidings arranges as smaller radius loops inside the continuous track
3. Loop is the middle size radius, sidings arranged both smaller and larger radius inside and outside of the continuous track.
I drew it as #1 for now. The result is that even the continuous track (this being the one you loop around on if all turnouts are lines normal - it would be the only track if not for the concentric staging tracks) is longer than the straight staging tracks I was able to fit in previous designs, and as you go out, they get even longer - third and fourth tracks are long enough to stage 2 trains each if I wanted to.
Hmm, with option 3, splitting the difference, I could probably increase track length by using 3 way turnouts. Might be more trouble than it's worth though, as it won't be the most ideal spot to work on track, especially the lower level loop.
I think your plan is called a folded dog-bone type layout. Our N scale club layout is designed that way.
My previous home layout had staging on a loop such as you are thinknig of. It worked well. Either way you want to do it will be OK, except for using a center track for continious running. However, whichever track you want your mainline to be, should have the fewest number of turnouts to run over. Usually one coming in and one going out. The staging tracks will go through more of course.
Now on to the electrical part, even though this is a bit early for comment. Each loop should be wired as a reverse loop and be powered through an auto-reverser. That way you can have the same polarity or phase between your parallel mainline tracks. This makes crossovers work without shorting from one track to the other. This is the issue that we are having on our club layout now, and we have started rewiring one of the mainline tracks to correct it, as well as isolating the loops and adding auto reversers.
Elmer.
The above is my opinion, from an active and experienced Model Railroader in N scale and HO since 1961.
(Modeling Freelance, Eastern US, HO scale, in 1962, with NCE DCC for locomotive control and a stand alone LocoNet for block detection and signals.) http://waynes-trains.com/ at home, and N scale at the Club.
Yes, I think we had that discussion a few months ago in the Electronics & DCC section - there are multiple ways to wire a dogbone that will work, but the EASIEST is to isolate the end loops as the reverse loops and then making sure the shank is all wired the same way - then any number of crossovers in the middle can be used freely. Such that the rail closest to teh wall on both tracks has the same color bus wire.
Kiss principle. I have no reverse loops in my double track mainline dogbone. It is truly....a double track mainline. Both mainlines can run continuously in either direction, while I mess around with the third cab switching industries, which also includes jumping on one of the mains to accomplish that. I run both mains at a set speed, (volts) so I know how long I can occupy the block that I use. Surely a lot easier in DCC....but it works very good on DC also, if You know what You're doing. Like You said before, I can't see creating a short on purpose. LOL.
Take Care!
That must mean you have no crossovers between mains, because as soon as you add even one crossover in a dogbone layout, you have a reverse loop.
Rinker,
I have eight (8) crossovers. They crossover each main in both directions. A bone within a bone. You can not go around a loop going one way and come down the other. If they were to go around and come down side by side, there would be four (4) tracks side by side, not two (2). I run DC so the crossovers are gapped in the center of the crossovers, both rails gapped, is how it's wired for 3 cab control. There is some some spots, only 3ft separating four tracks, two mains on top, two on bottom. They do not cross, instant short, reverse loop. No where on the entire layout does a train come back on it's self. I do not have to worry about the old line,'' beware of the dogbone".
Below is a control panel from the east end, which is 15ft long, there are no reverse loops. The whole layout is wired that way. At one time is was 121/2X 40X 121/2, I shortened it....8 1/2 X 32 X 6 1/2, the 6 1/2 is the pic.
Well that's different, you have TWO dogbones, then it works. You cannot have a single dogbone with crossovers in the shank without it being a reverse loop. Nothing to beware of with DCC, even if automated reverse loop controllers are not used, since you can flip the polarity under a running train at any time. None of that "mainline direction switch" and "reverse loop direction switch" complication which makes so many people avoid reverse loops on DC layouts.
So long as you isolate the end loops to make reversing sections, and wire the feeders to the shank properly, you can add as many additional crossovers in either direction without any complications.