Edmunds in Latvia http://www.edmundsworld.net HO Transition Era modular layout being built with Faller Car System, DCCar, German Style Signalling, Computer Control and Automation
I dont know about you but those switches are going to be a PAIN. It would take you all day to deploy a train out of that yard.
Keeping track of all of those points is going to have me running from the house screaming for versed.
I will say that trackwork is pretty brave for what you are trying to do with it.
Staging yards are supposed to be simple arent they?
thats pretty intense alright.
Chip
Building the Rock Ridge Railroad with the slowest construction crew west of the Pecos.
Edmunds,
I would eliminate the row of double slips. The only thing they accomplish is to shorten the staging tracks leading to the right. I drew through the elimination suggestion in red:
Don Z.
Research; it's not just for geeks.
You will regret building that plan every operating session.
The key to staging is simplicity. Lose all the double slips. Keep the ladders very simple. Keep the switches as close to the front or edge as you can for maintenance.
Dave H.
Dave H. Painted side goes up. My website : wnbranch.com
What era are you running, and how long are your cars and engines?
If you're running modern era, then you can get away with bringing a train in, running the engines around to the other end, and bringing it out again. Any other time and you've got to deal with getting the caboose around. If this is a lower-level without much access, that could be a problem. Steam engines need to be rotated, too.
Likewise, running passenger trains will also have direction issues, with boat-tail observation cars and head-end baggage cars to contend with.
I would save all those double-slips for something like a large passenger terminal, when the trackwork can be appreciated and even used effectively. Staging should be simple. Maybe even use 3-way turnouts to get longer sidings. If you can't put a whole train on a siding, it's too short for staging.
It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse.
dehusman wrote:You will regret building that plan every operating session.The key to staging is simplicity. Lose all the double slips. Keep the ladders very simple. Keep the switches as close to the front or edge as you can for maintenance.Dave H.
Or have no ladders at all. Use a traverser table(s). I am using two 6' 6" 5 track ones on my layout, and they give me 52' of storage/staging (The middle track isn't used as it is a dispatch/through track)
My staging yard:
And it only takes up 4" of aisle space when used. (Will not be the case on one with more tracks) Which is never for a very long time anyway.
I would highly suggest the recent "How To Build Realistc Layouts - Freight Yards" and to start with Byron Henderson's 6-page article, "A baker's dozen yard ideas for design and operation." You can't beat the advice in this special issue for the price.
$7.95 USD => https://secure.kalmbach.com/offer/Default.aspx?c=IF77M3
P.S.: The PDF download you mentioned would be helpful if you are looking to incorporate both helix and staging elements to gain vertical elevation, perhaps say 12-15 inches, between two or more levels of a multi-level layout.
Conemaugh Road & Traction circa 1956
Modeling B&O- Chessie Bob K. www.ssmrc.org
First you need to determine how you plan to "operate" your staging yard.
Each of these scenarios call for a different design to function properly. Or you may want to incorporate more than one concept into your staging area: A "parking" area and a "fiddle" area. A parking area does not need a lot of access but a fiddle area does.
An "escape" track is just a design that allows an engine to "escape" from a train after it has brought the train in engine first. Typically this might be a crossover at the end of a single ended yard that would allow the engine to move to an adjacent track and back out. Large passenger station designs are good examples of this.
Good Luck,-John