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Branch line operations

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  • Member since
    January 2017
  • From: Southern Florida Gulf Coast
  • 18,255 posts
Posted by SeeYou190 on Sunday, April 5, 2020 12:37 AM

We have a very interesting triangle, or "wye" here in Fort Myers, Florida.

When the City widened Evans Avenue, the SEMINOLE GULF RAILROAD lost one leg of their wye.

If they ever need to turn a piece of equipment, which is very rare, they close Evans Avenue at night, and run a piece of panel track where I put the red dots on the image. Then they have a temporary wye track again.

-Kevin

Living the dream.

  • Member since
    December 2008
  • From: Heart of Georgia
  • 5,397 posts
Posted by Doughless on Sunday, April 5, 2020 11:06 AM

PATRICK A FLORY

Tom, what is so “rightful” about laughing at turning engines by hand? My layout is 11” wide, how wide is yours?  Better include staging and fiddle yards in the unprototypical feature comedy show, just to be consistent.  And be a little more sympathetic to those of us that don’t have basements to fill with railroad.

 

I think this is a misunderstanding.  Tom's original post was to the Trains Forum, guys who read about real trains, the big heavy ones.  The thought of a real train being turned by hand is laughable.  It was a joke, poking fun of Tom and his post.  It wasn't about modelers who turn model trains by hand.

Having said that, I agree with the concept behind your post.  If a layout is to have a ,say, 6 foot by 12 inch staging yard, why not just make that additional benchwork part of the layout itself and have the turntable completely conceptual.  Turn the loco by hand and place it at the new head of the new train and run it for the additional linear footage rather than a blank staging area.

If that's what you want, go ahead.  I don't see where others have the status laugh at that....and....I don't think anybody was.  Especailly since it makes a lot of sense, IMO.

- Douglas

  • Member since
    December 2004
  • From: Bedford, MA, USA
  • 21,333 posts
Posted by MisterBeasley on Sunday, April 5, 2020 10:48 PM

What's the era and locale of the OP's railroad?  Would an RDC be appropriate?  

It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse. 

  • Member since
    June 2008
  • 598 posts
Posted by tin can on Monday, April 6, 2020 9:42 AM

SeeYou190

We have a very interesting triangle, or "wye" here in Fort Myers, Florida.

When the City widened Evans Avenue, the SEMINOLE GULF RAILROAD lost one leg of their wye.

If they ever need to turn a piece of equipment, which is very rare, they close Evans Avenue at night, and run a piece of panel track where I put the red dots on the image. Then they have a temporary wye track again.

-Kevin

 

Thanks for sharing.  That is a neat and very unorthodox piece of prototype information.

 

Remember the tin can; the MKT's central Texas branch...

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