Hello all,
I am posting a proposed plan for the 1st level of my new N scale railroad based on the Athabaska layout designed by John Armstrong and publised in MRP 1998. I am adapting the plan to N and making some revisions and have begun to lay out some of the major elements of the plan. I am hoping someone can cooment on the overall look so far and make sure I am headed in the right direction. I am not sure which era I will choose but likely diesel, around the 1980s or so. Operation will be point to point with staging at each end and the option for a helix down ONLY from level 2 to level 1 at the ends for continous run.
Above is my level 1 plan. I will have staging on the top right hand of the plan that ties directly into the yard that will be along the top wall. Once leaving the yard there will be a 2.4% grade up to the top of the lower level at the helix located on the right side of the plan. Although a passing siding is shown at the top of the grade I will probably add one at the bottom as well unless folks do not think it is necessary. The helix will be 2.5 turns and come back out to the upper level which has not been planned yet.
I am not sure what I want the yard to look like yet and it may become a combination yard/waterfront area. I want to have some switching opportunities on both the lower and upper level so I will plan for that. I may also have a helper yard just prior to the helix for a water stop if i decide to go steam era.
Please take a moment to comment or provide constructive criticism and feel free to let me know where I could make changes to get a better plan to operate with.
John
John, I'm not really sure what to comment on. I think you need to take a stand about what you are modeling, where it is located and what the purpose is of the railroad you are modeling. It's hard to tell if what you designed meets your criteria without it.
If you haven't already read it, you might look at my beginner's guide located in my signature. Takes about 5 minutes.
Chip
Building the Rock Ridge Railroad with the slowest construction crew west of the Pecos.
Spacemouse,
Well, I guess I do need to take a stand. You know what I need? A copy of John Armstrong's Given and Druther's worksheet he provided to clients. I have trouble making on of my own because i can not be unbiased while I am writing it. But here is an attempt nonetheless at an operating scheme:
- Locale: Pacific Northwest, most likely CP Rail territory in the Rockies
- Era: Late steam or modern diesel (depending on abilities of N scale steam at this point)
- Provide helper service from the coast division point up through the mountains to a summit drop off point
- Continue with some relativley flatland running from there to the next division point yard
- Provide switching opportunities at each division point
- The majority of traffic west would be grain/lumber products and such from the interior
- Traffic east would be imports from overseas as well as coastal commodities
I envision an eastbound train arriving from staging into the yard. Local freights are broken up in the classification yard. Through trains are fueled and helpers are added to tackle the 2.4% percent grade up the mountain. A road crew takes the train up the mountain while a local takes care of switching duty at the local industries and the switcher takes care of making and breaking cuts of cars. I envision 2 turns a day locally at the yards. Empty coalporters will be taken back upgrade as necessary.
Once the road crew crests the grade the helper is cut off and returns downgrade on the next train to act as additional dynamic braking if diesel. I think I will need a small coal marshalling yard ocated here as well as engine servicing. Once the helpers are cut off the train will continue to the next division point, and then on to staging as necessary.
Westbound trains will arrive at the division point from staging. Coal trains will be thorugh trains and will head to the marshalling yard at the start of the downgrade. East bound freights will stop and switched as necessary and continue to the downgrade where helpers will be added and will continue on.
I am not sure I want passenger operations other than maybe on train each way per day.
Does that help?
john
Givens and Druthers Worksheet:
http://forum.zealot.com/t110655/
Jeff But it's a dry heat!
Yes it does help.
At this point, I think it would be a good idea to fix your operating points as scenes on your railroad, work them around and see if they will fit.
One thing I don't get is the climb, you take up valuable space climbing, but right next to that area, you show a helix. I'm thinking you could add to your operational interest there.
I don't believe the helix will become a reality since I do not think I will need one. It could become a turnback curve that snake across the highest part of the mountains to level 2 or I can use a small bridge scene as a walkunder into the layout and keep the direction of travel the same across the laout. However, in doing so I lose any chance at a continuous run unless I use a hidden helix in the mountain have it exit back to the yard on level 1 via a small temporary bridge.
My operation centers have already been decided on but track planning for those areas is not complete. On the lower level (the one I have posted here) my operational focus will be the north wall (top of plan) since that is a yard/waterfront area, and the east side of the plan at the top of the grade as I will place a small helper/marshalling yard there and engine servicing and possibly a passenger station.
The lower level operation point will be the entire west wall with minor switching along the north wall. I plan on making sure that operations heavy areas are at opposite ends of each wall so most upper deck activity does not conflict with the lower deck activity.
I do realize the climb is long and space consuming but I want a good balance of scenery and operation and I believe a large mountainous scenic feature such as this will help operators feel like they accomplished something, especially using helpers as it is a 2.4% grade and I plan on 25-30 car trains so helpers will be necessary. It will take approximately 8-10 actual minutes to make the journey from the yard on level 1 to the top of the grade (at about 10 scale MPH) which is a nice long time to spend with your train and that would make me feel wonderful.
Here is a little more progression on the lower level. I had some time before work this morning and got rid of the helix shown in the previous plan and added a small yard at the top of the grade. This will give me a place for trains while helpers are added or removed. I still need to add engine servicing to this area.
I am working on the yard at the top of the image right now. I hope to have something in the next hour or so sketched out and uploaded for comment
the closer you stick to John Armstrong's plan the better off you'll be .
i had a quick look at the original plan in MRP 98 and it's a beauty . should have enough operating interest to keep a decent sized crew busy . swapping out industries you're interested in for the one's the original has shouldn't be too much of a problem as long as they're industries that fit with the geographical location of the railroad . so no grain towers or feed and seed suppliers!
just remember not to shrink the aisles when going from HO to N and if you're doing modern diesel instead of late steam remember that cars are longer now than back then , also you'll need space for a turntable/roundhouse and coal towers and several water tanks for steam