jfugate wrote: I find this site to be useful:http://home.earthlink.net/~mrsvc/gallery/index.html
I find this site to be useful:
http://home.earthlink.net/~mrsvc/gallery/index.html
I recently sent the following message to the owner of that website.
Hi Byron,
I read your discussion on your track-planning website on the limitation of switchbacks for industry and agree with it as far as it goes. Still, the practice was frequently used in urban and large industry sites although the length of the switchback track was often longer than as provided on most model layouts. For example, see maps covering the areas (1) west of Mission Santa Clara Historical Monument, (2) the long-spur-ending-with-a-wye immediately east of Hwy 80, west of Emeryville High School, (3) Kaiser steel-pipe factory at Rocktram (south of Napa), (4) Potrero Pt. industries, east of Irving M. Scott School (San Francisco peninsula), and (5) Mare Island in the area adjacent to the railroad bridge crossing the channel.
You showed a wonderful example of the switchback in your LD Journal "SPINS" article which included a diagram of the tracks serving a tannery in the Stockton(?) area. It is similar to the second example above.
I particularly like examples where the switchback turns 90 degrees so that trains, with the use of a crossing diamond, can serve an industry on the opposite side of the "mainline" like (1) the south end of Mare Island and (2) near the corner of Tanner Lane and King Road in the San Jose area.
One very useful and practical application of the switchback is when the switchback track is used as a switching lead for multiple tracks serving a large industry (or swarm of smaller industries.) See the area west of the SP mainline, east of the South San Francisco High School. It keeps the switching activity off the main line.
I don't know if tracks still exist at those sites, but they do show on government topography maps.
I presume I'll see you again at the LD/OPS SIG "convention" in Santa Clara next February.
Mark
Martinez, CA
In the end how much track you need is going to be a guess. Of course, turnouts, crossings, and other special trackage you can count. Then you just look at the diagram and add it up. A piece of wire that you can bend along the plan and then straighten to measure can help, as well. Some extra probably won't hurt to allow for oopsies and other unanticipated things. It isn't an exact science, though.
Jeff But it's a dry heat!
I'd like to jump into this with a slightly related question, if I may. When you find the plan of your dreams, how do you measure the length of track needed so to order from a supplier? If the plan is not done with CAD, or does not specify the parts? Thanks,
Bill
Well, I don't have a pic, but a 3% grade will rise 3.5 inches in 3.5"/.03=116.7", just a little under 10 feet. To get the same 3.5 inch rise with a 2% grade will take 3.5"/.02=175", almost 15 feet.
Looking at your pic, it looks like you've got a semi circle with about a two foot radius (maybe a bit more?) with a bit of tangent leading in and out, so it might be pretty close.
Thanks for all the links. I still need to think about what I want and the other plans have helped.
I was going to do this.
But it seem like it would be a little to much for the new section. New section is 9.5 X 5 foot. Here is where I am at this point.
That is from the command center.
The new section, rails have been laied but will be coming off Thursday.
Now for a real dumb question. Can any of you find folks post a PIC of a 2% grade that that goes up 3.5 inches?
Reason I ask is I bought a Foam riser kit that was a 3% grade. It went up fast as far as the grade. In other words it went 3.5 inches way faster than I thought it would.
Did I install it right, there was still say 12" I cut off of the risers. I have added 1.5 foot to the bench and bought a 2% grade kit after I installed the kit in the PIC.
Looking forward to more answers. Boy I sure need answers! Seems I won 2 yep 2 Y-6B's tonight on E-stupid.
Cuda Ken
I hate Rust
Even for us old timers, sometimes it's good to have a refresher. This one is pretty good and it only takes a few minutes to read. (Remember, some designs are better then others, so know what makes a good design before you choose!)
http://www.chipengelmann.com/trains/Beginner/BeginnersGuide01.html
This one is a bit more in depth.
http://ldsig.org/wiki/index.php/Category:Primer
Now, track plan links......
http://www.trainplayer.com/Site2/Track%20Plans.html
http://s83.photobucket.com/albums/j319/pcarrell/Track%20Plans/
Sometimes a small plan can be expanded or it can be one area of a larger layout.
http://www.naisp.net/mfischer/m_train2.htm
http://carendt.com/microplans/intro.html
Joe Fugate Modeling the 1980s SP Siskiyou Line in southern Oregon
Here are a few links I've found while googling in the past,
http://www.layoutdesigns.com/plans-medium.html
http://www.bcsj.org/rr/bcsj/trackplan/4x8plan.html http://hoexbroe.tripod.com/train/id21.html
http://www.vetmed.auburn.edu/~smithbf/BFSpages/LDSIGprimer/TOC.html
http://www.thortrains.net/ http://www.atlasrr.com/Code100web/index.htm
http://www.atlasrr.com/WebTrue-Track/index.htm
http://www.layoutdepot.com/
/Ulf
Ken,
If you're a subscriber to MR, there are about 400 track plans available at http://www.trains.com/mrr/default.aspx?c=tp&id=93 . It would be worth it to subscribe for a year just to get all the track plans.
I like what I have but still not what I want. Not looking for coumpter programs just samples of plans. I found a few in a book I bought that I liked. Then I saw the posting about views of your track while standing on ladders. Made me back up and re think yet again. All so don't want to keep buy books.
Hope there are some links to be shared.