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Trackplan fun: revisiting the Pennsy Middle division...
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<p>While I'm a long way from building a layout (don't even own the house to put it in yet), I like to think about various possibilities about a future permenant pike.</p><p>I've seen plenty of plans, from intensely complicated switching layouts, designs that go around the room several times, multi-levels that take full advantage of limited space, but there's one basic design that always sticks in my head: Dave Frary's execution of the Pennsy middle division as built for MR back in 1993.</p><p>I don't havve the original track plan from the magazine anymore, but a very rough (not in scale) diagram looks like this, and is 16' X 12' in size:</p><p>[img]http://img207.imageshack.us/img207/481/pmdte0.jpg[/img]</p><p>There are several things I like about this layout. The setting with a double track mainline reminds me of the old Reading Bethlehem branch I grew up next to. Secondly, it allows for (maybe even encourages) continuous running. I understand the theory and some advantages of point to point operation, but I've decided it's just not for me. Often I just want to watch the trains run. Finally, it fits in a reasonable space of the sort I expect to have available in the future.</p><p>No layout is perfect though, and my biggest dislike about this plan is that it seems very light on operating possibilities. Basically, there's the main town (top right) with a small spur yard in it. A tiny hamlet with a single siding, and a branch line leading to a coal mine in the bottom left. That might actually be enough to keep a single person (ie me) busy enough when I do feel like operating, but there's still some problems.</p><p>The yard has 5 spurs and... that's it. No A/D track, no real lead, no service tracks. Obviously there's a space limit here, but I wonder if it couldn't be redesigned a bit to work better.</p><p>The coal mine branch is nice, and fitting for the region, but there's no runaround anywhere on it, which means operating is limited to pushing a string of empties up it and leaving them, or running an empty loco up it to pull loaded cars back down. Space is again the culprit I suspect.</p><p>I'm hoping the layout design gurus here might be able to make suggestions on how this plan could be modified for a little more operating potential, while still retaining the basic elements (size, continuous running, double track ML) of the design. Or am I just asking for too much?</p><p> -Thanks</p>
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