track plan critique please

[MPRR]

 What I got is a logging RR. The entire left side is all logging in the hills.. Track here is at its highest elevation.  As the track comes off the left penninsula onto the main section its drops to about half its highest elev. as it passes through the towns modeled on the middle section on both sides of divider. Track then passes around bend to approach onto right section. dropping down to lowest grade. Here there is an engine house and a mill. I'll have other servicing facilities, just not sure where to put them there. The yard on top is hidden behind short backdrop of hills. Tell me what you think.... Another approach into yard maybe??

Thanks,  Mike

[Trax21]

Here is my,

 Not being very experinced in this area and just by looking I would say the first problem I see is in your penninsula. You have a turnout to lead in but there doesn't seem to be enough track to be extremly functional you might be able to move a couple cars at the most in and out of there. The second thing I see would be your engine yard. For just working engines it is probably fine, My question would be do you plan on having any sort of staging yard for rolling stock not in use? If so you may want to look at your turntable placement. I would personally shift everythigng up a bit and maybe put a small marshalling yard bellow my engine house. And last you have two tracks leading off of your turntable that lead into one. This seems a little redundant unless you are planning on turning a couple of locos at a time in a consist. If not you may want to look at possibly moving that second line up to the track on the right and maybe putting a maitnance facility in there. Just my Like I say I'm new to this and don't have a lot of experince with track plans yet. Also it might be helpful to know a time era you would like to use.

[OzarkBelt]

My suggestion- extend the yard longer and take advantage of that extra space on the right penisula to expand your engine terminal. other then that, your plan looks good!

hope that helps!

[wmshay06]

A few things to think about:

There are 3 choke points where the aisle width really needs to be increased by atleast 6 inches or more

Check reach to some of the far track - some portions look real hard to get to.

You could make a bit more of the yard area perhaps modeling interchange track/yard along the back wall - maybe at a higher elevation like the Graham County RR interchange with the Southern near Topton NC.  This way you could work down grade to the engine service area and then back upgrade to the logging spurs.

 

Charles

[loathar]

I agree. That one turnout on your peninsula directly to the left of your turntable looks pretty useless. You won't be able to get more than a loco and maybe 1 car through it.

[Texas Zepher]

I don't remember from the other thread if you are going for the "big scenery" look or not. 

BUT:
1. I would take the lower left hand track around 360 degrees just to get the additional run.  This would let there be a bridge over rails, and a tunnel through the scenic devider.
2. Seems the lower right area is rather vacant.  I don't remember if the track to the staging is supposed to be a separate railroad or not.  If so there needs to be an interchange track wth a run around where the other railroad's locomotive can cut off and return to home.
3. For a layout this size I would definitly move the staging down and under so it can be accessed from the front rather than behind a barrier against the wall ( or is that on top of a wall).  A little confused here because you say the engine house is lowest part.  Does this climb dramatically up into the staging?   Could also make it longer if it was below.
4.  Have you considered running the far left back through the divider, back to the right along the back, and then out onto the center penninsula?  Once again longer run, more bridge & tunnel possibilities.  The center penninsula could be made into two levels, and would eliminate the short lead on the one switchback.
5. Extend #4 down the entire back wall to the upper right corner and put a logging camp there too.

[Beach Bill]

My observations would be:

Is that "top yard" an interchange?   If not, you have no interchange for the supplies to come in and the cut lumber to go out.   It appears that you have room for an interchange track on that right peninsula.

If this is HO, with the squares representing one foot, then there are multiple places (especially on the right peninsula, where you will be reaching in a long distance to work on the railroad.  This could be reduced without taking away from the layout, but if you are reaching in more than 3', construction can get to be a real headache (2' reach or so is better).

There appear to be two tracks going to where the sawmill will be, and I agree with the earlier statements about the difficulties with the "lead" to this area.  Some other spurs on that right peninsula could lead to interesting related structures, such as a repair shed for the logging equipment or a supply wharehouse.

I like the space that you have allowed for that meandering woods trackage.  You should have plenty of opportunity to create some great "mini-scenes" in there as the trains appear in and out between the trees.

Bill

[SpaceMouse]

I can't tell from your drawing how you plan to operate your layout. I get no sense of a log pond or a logging camp or a tree harvest area. I see you have a turntable, why? 

I also think that you might have a problem when it comes time to place your structures. The obvious places for them are very crowded.  

 

 

[dehusman]

I am assuming the area on the left can be reached by an aisle on the left side of the layout, if not the benchwork is way too wide.

The aisles are pretty narrow but with no run arounds/passing tracks, you aren't going to have more than one or two people operating this anyway. 

The switchback on the center peninsula is waaaay short. 

There is only one runaround and it will be in the middle of town.  I would put another track or yard someplace on the layout.  The only place to put extra/surplus/not spotted cars is on the only run around track through the middle of town.

The comments about the turntable are pretty much correct, you don't need one, since there is no reason to turn an engine.  A backwoods logging operation would not have a big service facility anyway.  maybe an engine house, a fueling facility, several water tanks and a sand house, maybe a car shop.  More than servicing facilities, you need a yard to sort stuff.  I would put it on the right side of the right peninsula, either that or in place of the town in the center and move the town to the right peninsula.

Dave H.

 

[gandydancer19]

Well, as I understood the first use of the plan from the other post, the larger area on the right was to be for a town and a sawmill. I think the space is there, and I also think a TT is needed to turn loco's on the trains from and to the staging tracks at the back. I think that he also said that there was an aisle on the right side.

However, the space for the town and mill have to be worked on. I think more research is needed to see what size mill you want to use, and how tracks around a sawmill were arranged. This is very important when the major part of you RR is to be logging. The mill would have a small working yard of just two or three tracks, and the town would have a track or two for industries. The engine facilities should be associated with the mill, but other motive power would have access to it when needed. Drawing in the buildings for the mill and town is almost necessary for a good evaluation.

The tail tracks of switch-backs should be the same length, and I also agree that the one on the end of the center peninsula is too short. Measure your engine and log cars, then figure out how many cars you want the tail of the switch-back to hold with the engine.