QUOTE: Originally posted by phatpony If it's only 2.5" a train will never fit. Min clearance is like 3.5 ". You almost need a full 4" between levels to have room for track and road base.
Larry
http://www.youtube.com/user/ClinchValleySD40
http://www.flickr.com/photos/52481330@N05/
http://www.trainboard.com/railimages/showgallery.php/cat/500/page/1/ppuser/8745/sl/c
QUOTE: Originally posted by stuinstra Guy. The Helix you built is very interesting. It's had to tell from the pictures, but I'm guessing its about 32 to 36 inches in diameter with 2.5 inches height between deck loops. Made of 1/2 inch thick plywood. Does that sound about right?
Originally posted by Trainnut1250 Guys, One thing to keep in mind is the difference between a fiddle yard and a (strictly speaking) staging yard. Staging only parks trains. Fiddle yards allow for the 0-5-0 arrangement of rolling stock. Fiddle yards will need quite a bit more vertical clearance to operate sucessfully. True, but you will need 0-5-0 access to staging also. Murphy will bite you if you don't. Larry http://www.youtube.com/user/ClinchValleySD40 http://www.flickr.com/photos/52481330@N05/ http://www.trainboard.com/railimages/showgallery.php/cat/500/page/1/ppuser/8745/sl/c Reply CharlieBedard Member sinceFebruary 2002 29 posts Posted by CharlieBedard on Friday, December 23, 2005 8:32 PM I'd like to add to this thread. My first caveat is that I have not built my current HO layout. I have finished the design phase and am just starting construction. But I have spent a lot of time (too much?) planning it. It has 2 staging areas: one with 6 tracks and another with 5 tracks. The 6 track yard is double ended so no fiddling is needed between operating sessions. It's about 12 feet long The 5-track yard is a loop so trains entering as one entry in the timetable return as a different entry in the opposite direction. It's about 10 feet in length not counting the loop. Grades are limited to 2% (except for cheating in one place at 2.5%). The staging yards are reached by traveling the length of the mainline which runs twice around the room and up a central peninsula. The room is 24' by 16'. I was very concerned about hidden yards for the reason everyone has discussed: access. I mocked up an arrangment with a typical "town" above and staging tracks below. I observed that 6" is what would be needed to rerail a car. So that's the minimum. The 5-track yard has 6" of clearance and the 6-track one has 8". I also located all the turnouts near the front edge of the yards to avoid deep reaches when trying to adjust troublesome turnouts. And, I am going to use a diferent support structure above the staging yards. I will use metal brackets from the wall edge of the benchwork to support the upper road bed surface. I'm using 1/2' plywood with 1/2" extruded foam as the base. That thickness is an inch and I didn't want to give up more clearance for thick supports. But here's the part where I'm trying something different. As has already been mentioned, if all you're doing is reailing an occasional derailment, 6" is OK. But guess what. I know I will have an issue with one of those staging turnouts someday. And, the 5-track yard is underneath a large classification yard which has its own complex of turnouts above. I know that I'll need to work on the underside of that large yard as well as on the staging below. So both of my staging yards have been designed on moveable platforms! There is the "outer" benchwork which supports the upper part of the layout. The staging yards are built on an "inner" frame that is mounted to the outer benchwork using drawer slides. For the double ended yard, the track break occurs at each end's yard throat so only one track needs to be connected at each end. The loop yard has only one break in the track at the throat after the loop closes back upon itself. I am hoping that the small number of gaps will make it more convenient to raise/lower the yards. In all cases the track break is in a length of straight track. I do not expect to raise or lower the yards very often. In normal operation, rerailing can be done by simply reaching in. However, if I need to do major work on either the yards or the underside of the layout above, my plan is to unlatch the yards, pull the locating pins and drop the whole thing about 2 feet. That should give me plenty of clearance. The yards themselves are expected to weigh less than 50 lbs. total so moving them will be clumsy but possible with 1 person. It should be simple with 2. If doing it alone is a struggle I have a contingency plan that uses a simple winch to raise or lower the yards. But , I'm not planning to do that unless I discover that is is too hard for 1 man operation without it. I have not seen another design that uses quite this technique but I woudn't be surprised if someone else has done it. I have seen some slide-out staging and other movable designs. If someone has tried this and discovered some major problem that I've missed, let me know :-). I am in the process of making a foam core model of both staging yards to verify the design will work before I actually build it. Charlie Reply Subscriber & Member Login Login, or register today to interact in our online community, comment on articles, receive our newsletter, manage your account online and more! Login Register Users Online starcraftguy1 see all » Search the Community ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT Model Railroader Newsletter See all Sign up for our FREE e-newsletter and get model railroad news in your inbox! Sign up