Due to loss of original space to a son returning to the nest, I am having to consider staging of some sort.
I am still early in the planning stage, but the space available seems to favor a sector plate. Did a search and after I spelled it right found some information. One club that has had a layout at some of the shows I go to has one, so I have been introduced to them.
In all the materials I have seen, I have not seen one that has a way to turn the locomotive once it has lead the train onto the plate. Has anyone seen or have an idea on how to accomplish this?
A second related question is how difficult is it to have two arrival tracks?
Thank you,
Richard
The only way to turn a locomotive, or a whole train, on a sector plate is to have a sufficiently large sector plate that can pivot 180 degrees. Or, you'll need to be able to lift it, turn it, and set it back down on its pivot or bearing surface(s).
What most do is to have a reversing loop somewhere, even in staging. Since staging is not really an option, but a sector plate is, make the largest one you can.
I think you'll find it isn't practicable. If you really want to change a locomotive's direction, a turntable is smaller, or make a sector plate that can turn your longest locomotive. Failing that, and wanting to turn entire trains, you are pretty much into the area of a full staging facility by the time you build a sector plate large enough to do that.
Innovative British modelers have placed an engine-length turntable at the pivot end of the sector plate.
A quick google search reveals a page (link below) from Tony Koester's Realistic Model Railroad Design (Kalmbach 2004), with an illustration. There are some other potentially useful search results, as well.
https://books.google.com/books?id=t0tkZwRg1ssC&pg=PA82&lpg=PA82&dq=model+railroad+sector+plate+with+turntable&source=bl&ots=hC72XOK9ZB&sig=LIlR-KiAJriKZt6qBltGPE3qXtM&hl=en&sa=X&ei=-Z85VanAKsfZsASxpoCYDA&ved=0CB4Q6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=model%20railroad%20sector%20plate%20with%20turntable&f=false
Layout Design GalleryLayout Design Special Interest Group
The Olympia Logging project layout on MR VideoPlus has a sector plate, and David Popp's videos have excellent tutorials on building and using a sector plate. He also showed me its operation when the layout was on display at last fall's Trainfest in Milwaukee. But as noted above a sector plate pivots at one end and the far end from the pivot meets all the other tracks perfectly, and slides on a smooth surface, so that a locomotive (or car) from one track can be transferred to another track without using turnouts. It is a tremendous space (and time) saver; imagine what a three way switch can do but with just one piece of track.
To turn a locomotive you might want to explore another British idea that being cassettes with track - the locomotive (or car) runs onto the cassette which is pulled away from the track and pushed to another track. It can be reversed. Peco actually sells a Loco Lifter that operates on the basic principle: http://www.walthers.com/exec/productinfo/552-43
The late Ben King had a staging area with a large turntable that could turn entire (short) trains. It isn't a model of a turntable but a functional turntable. I have seen smaller functional (not models of a turntable in other words) using a lazy susan type base.
The common theme to all the ideas, most if not all of them British in origin, is that the trains are not touched by human hands. Paul Dolkos did a thorough rundown on these ideas in his article "No Space is No Excuse" in the 1996 Model Railroad Planning issue - highly recommended.
Dave Nelson
dknelson But as noted above a sector plate pivots at one end
Apparently not all the time. See the layout Mainline HO in Upstate New York at the following link: http://www.carendt.com/micro-layout-design-gallery/layouts-using-sector-plates-contd/
In this case what is being proposed is a removable sector plate that can be turned end for end and can also be swapped out for identical sector plates as a form of staging.
Here are a few photos I found on the net. Sorry but I don't remember where they came from so I can't give credit to the author.
Ray
Oops, here are the ones that you would probably would be most interest in.
The loco plate is attached with a bolt or some other device to the slot in the base. Ray
The loco plate is attached with a bolt or some other device to the slot in the base.
Thank you all for the responses.
My space will be somewhat limited, so a full train turning turntable type plate would too big, even if for a short train. In some of the things I viewed, I saw a "tail track" at the pivot end of the plate. That could be a place to put a turntable, manual or powered, to just turn the loco 180 degrees, reset the plate and away goes the loco.
Certainly some different set ups of the plate than ones I have seen elsewhere.
Since I'm still early inplanning, I've got some time to think (awful thought) and do some more experimenting.
Thanks again,