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2 Year Hiatus, little help with a yard integration

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  • Member since
    January 2016
  • 139 posts
2 Year Hiatus, little help with a yard integration
Posted by SpartanCook on Monday, January 3, 2022 9:08 PM

Hello Again Everyone,

I spent the last two years moving/building a new house. Now that the family is settled and its 20 degrees here in Michigan its time to start rough finishing the layout room. As i work on getting everything done i wanted to get some switching going to see some trains move. I have this benchwork all set-up from my last house. I lay track here at the industries and start on the yard adjacent to play around as i go about getting everything together.

  " alt="" width="300" />https://imgur.com/Sm1FXoB

Does anyone have a yard design that may get me started? I dont want to forget anything i need. The space for the yard is around 10 Feet by 2 Feet and this is in N scale. Here is the full rough draft of the layout.

https://imgur.com/rVGgjBk

The goal of the layout is being able to run long trains while i am working on the layout, and have the industrial Spur for switching. Most of the rest of the layout will be winding scenery. I may cross the loops over each other at the bottom of the layout in the scenic area to make it not look like there are two tracks in that section.

Again any help with a suitable yard to start from would be very much appreciated.

Thanks

Spartan

  • Member since
    November 2013
  • 2,775 posts
Posted by snjroy on Tuesday, January 4, 2022 11:21 AM

Hi there. I don't know if anyone reads books anymore, but if you do, I would recommend John Armstrong's "Track Planning for Realistic Operation". It covers a lot of things, including yards.

I did take a look at your preliminary plan. That's a lot of space for n scale. I'm in HO scale, but I believe the same principles apply. The idea is to create ladders to access tracks to the mainline. Not rocket science really, but in your case, make sure that your turnouts are long enough for the equipment you use. You might want to try out some options before nailing anything down. You don't need a roadbed - you can use a sheet of cork or elevated foam for the entire area.

Do you intend to use under-the-track uncouplers?  Magnetic types work OK in a yard. They work better on straight and level track. They look better when underneath the track, so now is the time to think about them.

Simon

  • Member since
    December 2015
  • From: Shenandoah Valley
  • 9,094 posts
Posted by BigDaddy on Tuesday, January 4, 2022 11:24 AM

Henry

COB Potomac & Northern

Shenandoah Valley

  • Member since
    January 2016
  • 139 posts
Posted by SpartanCook on Sunday, January 9, 2022 9:12 AM

Thank you for posting the photos! i couldnt remember how to embed them

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