Aaaaaalright.
I have altered my layout to have small track sections over the gaps instead of trying to accomodate odd track sections.by not gluing down these small portions I should be able to lift them off fairly easily for mobility's sake.
I've put the red lines where the breaks in the modules are.
Here's my current design:
Julian
Modeling Pre-WP merger UP (1974-81)
The yard area still seems very complex, which makes the tracks much shorter than they could be -- and thus less useful. Fewer turnouts in a simpler arrangement would likely provide a better result.
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Okay, I'll work on it.
Okay, I've simplified the yard plan and changed the lower turnout into a spot for 1 or 2 more industries.
It's crowded, but I think it will work. I'm thinking of making the lower right spur section a team track for a large warehouse of some kind, or perhaps a quarry. I'm not really sure. The mostly-open left hand section will have a lot of town scenery served by truck, which should support the team/warehouse section. The lower RH section is pretty open anyway, I probably won't build it out at first.
Hello all,
An observation:
Your yards are overly complex or put in a corner of the pike.
Try to keep your yards within the oval(s) of the mainline and close to your access, easily in reach.
Once you have a reliable mainline; single- or double-track, you shouldn’t need to have constant access to it (them).
With yards and their switching, uncoupling and coupling moves, having them within easy reach will promote your using them more than if they are tucked in a corner or overly complicated.
The BNSF yard at La Junta, Colorado, is a two track main leading to a ladder yard. If you "flip" the yard to the inside of your oval this might provide the potential for industries you are looking for.
The yard at La Junta has several ladders. You could eliminate some of them and in place put the industries where these ladders were.
Hope this helps.
"Uhh...I didn’t know it was 'impossible' I just made it work...sorry"
jjdamnit Hello all, An observation: Your yards are overly complex or put in a corner of the pike. Try to keep your yards within the oval(s) of the mainline and close to your access, easily in reach. Once you have a reliable mainline; single- or double-track, you shouldn’t need to have constant access to it (them). With yards and their switching, uncoupling and coupling moves, having them within easy reach will promote your using them more than if they are tucked in a corner or overly complicated. The BNSF yard at La Junta, Colorado, is a two track main leading to a ladder yard. If you "flip" the yard to the inside of your oval this might provide the potential for industries you are looking for. The yard at La Junta has several ladders. You could eliminate some of them and in place put the industries where these ladders were. Hope this helps.
So here's a change based on (what I think) you are saying; others may have objections? Sorry I got lazy on editing.
Your spurs don't seem to have much purpose to them. They're in such tight spots that there's no room for an industry to be served. They exist just for the sake of existing. Think about what industries are going to be served, and what kind of space they'll need. If space is tight, industries can be represented by building flats against a wall, or having most of it "off layout", while the portion that receives rail cars is modeled.
Steve S
Steven S Your spurs don't seem to have much purpose to them. They're in such tight spots that there's no room for an industry to be served. They exist just for the sake of existing. Think about what industries are going to be served, and what kind of space they'll need. If space is tight, industries can be represented by building flats against a wall, or having most of it "off layout", while the portion that receives rail cars is modeled. Steve S
A mile-long prototype yard is not a great inspiration for a layout of this size, IMHO.
Since I have not been able to communicate clearly in multiple posts, I just sketched the darned thing. Maybe this will help.
Outer oval radius is 24" minimum or larger, inner 22", industry spurs 20" and up. I did not take time to consider your section breaks, so you might want to lay out the industry spurs differently to make for fewer tracks crossing those seams.
The longest yard track is a just over 5½' in the clear. The curves in the yard ladder are very broad (30" or greater) so that the tracks may be only 2" apart center-to-center.
PECO #5 turnouts are quite compact and the tightest radius through the diverging leg is about 30", so they work fine with the 24" curves. If you want to substitute other turnouts, what is drawn here may not fit. All the industry footprints shown are typical HO kits, of course replace them with your choices.
At the very top and bottom of the sketch, tracks are pretty close to the edge for a short distance. A piece of plastic as a guard would be a good idea.
Feel free to use this sketch for inspiration. It is to-scale, but since it was done fairly quickly, it’s offered “as-is” only.
Good luck with your layout.
Byron
Byron's layout design is your best bet for what you're looking for.
Larry
Conductor.
Summerset Ry.
"Stay Alert, Don't get hurt Safety First!"
My roommate is moving in a few days, I'm going to take over that room which looks like this:
I had hoped to get my workbench in here as well. I haven't worked out how to deal with the window or closet either.
You'll probably receive more views (and thus help) by starting a new thread for the new space.