Hello,
I am designing my PRR Elmira Branch (set in 1944), which will go in a large basement about 25'6" x 37'8". I'm looking for some advice on the following (please note that with a lot of space, that isn't as much of an issue.
Siding length:
My planned train length is 40 cars (measuring using 40-foot cars) plus 3 I1sa-class 2-10-0s and caboose. How long should my sidings be and how much room should I leave on each end?
Grades:
The prototype was a roller-coaster railroad, with a 9-mile section of 3% grade up the Ralston hill. I would like to have a continuous-climb layout with a helix in the same room as staging to enable loop running. How much should my average grade be, other than the Ralston hill? I probably have about 4 feet of vertical space for the layout.
Yard size:
With traffic of about 10 trains per day using the Williamsport yard and 20 using the Southport yard, how much capacity should my yards have? If I make the yard tracks shorter, I can split trains.
Engine terminal capacity:
Ralston terminal was closed in 1930, but in my version it remains open. Servicing pushers, and with a small yard, about 4 trains a day will operate in and out of the yard. Every train gets a pusher from Williamsport and picks one up at Ralston for the hill. At the top, the rear pusher cuts off and goes back to Ralston. The prototype engine house held probably 2 I1sas, so how long should my ready tracks be? There's also a 24-hour switcher.
Branch line:
I plan to model a section of shortline Susquehanna & New York (not to be confused with the NYS&W), going from South Ralston and Marsh Hill Junction to a small coal tipple and logging camp. How do I transition from the South Ralston scene to the S&NY branch across the aisle? The junction features the logging company's yard as well, and I can only imagine the branch junction being towards the interior of the peninsula. The same issue comes up with Marsh Hill. Switching which side of the main the junction is on would make the scene look wrong. Would it work if I had two backdrops with space between them for the S&NY to run across the main onto a movable bridge across the aisle?
Benchwork:
What types of benchwork would work best for the upper decks? I'm planning to use L-girder for the lower one. Some will have to be freestanding, as I the house is old and I don't want to mess with structural elements if at all possible.
Pests:
There are occasional mice in the basement. What is the best way to protect my layout from being chewed up when I'm not home? When I'm home, I have three cats, so that's that.
Thank you in advance for your patience and assistance.
Victoria
That's probably a 25-30 foot long siding you will need. Figure about 6" for a 40 foot car. You might be reconsidering your train length, despite having what seems like a lot of room. A 40 car train with two locos and a caboose takes up a significant portion of the 150+ foot long side of our club modular layout. Most trains are instead 25 cars or so. I'm figuring on ruinning 20 car trains in what amounts to the same space you have, though not neatly rectangular, so it snakes around a bit.
Totally freestanding multi-deck isn't easy. Perhaps a variation of Jim Hediger's picnic table legs - unless you don't mind having vertical supports between the lower and upper deck along the front, between the viewer and track. Freestanding supported only in the back, without being able to brace the verticals to the wall or ceiling joists means they WILL sag frontward.
4' vertical, total, or in the layout ares not counting how far above the floor the lower deck is? If it's 4 feet total from the floor, triple deck is almost certainly out unless one deck is just staging with minimal clearance. 4 feet from the top of the lower deck is enough for 2 more decks above that with 16" separation, inclusing thickness of benchwork.
Mice? I would fix the problem rather than manage it. Find where they are coming in, keep them out, and catch the ones that are already there. I had a mess until I found the hole and plugged it - they decided that under my oven was a good place to hoard their food. Until baking something set the whole thing on fire.
--Randy
Modeling the Reading Railroad in the 1950's
Visit my web site at www.readingeastpenn.com for construction updates, DCC Info, and more.
rrinker That's probably a 25-30 foot long siding you will need. Figure about 6" for a 40 foot car. You might be reconsidering your train length, despite having what seems like a lot of room. A 40 car train with two locos and a caboose takes up a significant portion of the 150+ foot long side of our club modular layout. Most trains are instead 25 cars or so. I'm figuring on ruinning 20 car trains in what amounts to the same space you have, though not neatly rectangular, so it snakes around a bit. Totally freestanding multi-deck isn't easy. Perhaps a variation of Jim Hediger's picnic table legs - unless you don't mind having vertical supports between the lower and upper deck along the front, between the viewer and track. Freestanding supported only in the back, without being able to brace the verticals to the wall or ceiling joists means they WILL sag frontward. 4' vertical, total, or in the layout ares not counting how far above the floor the lower deck is? If it's 4 feet total from the floor, triple deck is almost certainly out unless one deck is just staging with minimal clearance. 4 feet from the top of the lower deck is enough for 2 more decks above that with 16" separation, inclusing thickness of benchwork. Mice? I would fix the problem rather than manage it. Find where they are coming in, keep them out, and catch the ones that are already there. I had a mess until I found the hole and plugged it - they decided that under my oven was a good place to hoard their food. Until baking something set the whole thing on fire. --Randy
The vertical space is the total I estimated I have while still leaving enough room for the upper deck operations and scenery. The total height of the ceiling is about 6ft 6 in, minus air ducts, pipes, etc.
Also planning a helix, not used during ops sessions, but to transfer equipment when setting up or continuous running during any open houses.
As for the mouse issue, I'm trying to figure out how to get rid of them, but it is an old house and I might not be able to find all places they're coming in.
I used old fashioned mousetraps, the spring loaded kind from Victor. The best bait was peanut butter. Mouse-proof as best you can. I used to live in Massachusetts, and found that I trapped a lot of mice in the early fall, but then I was better off stopping the trapping because I was actually bringing mice in all winter, but if there were no traps they stayed outside. A few sticky traps can handle the occasional stragglers.
Don't use poisons. In older houses, the mice will eat the poison and then crawl between the walls to die. That smell lasts 2-3 weeks, but you can't do anything about it because you can't get to the mouse cadavers.
But, you might find that cats can cause significant damage, too.
It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse.