Operations: Staging -vs- Interchange

[BRAKIE]

dehusman

But it is possible to consider it live staging or a fiddle yard and vary the cars being delivered to your road.

To my mind "live" interchange by fiddle or live staging is the best  way to stop the "Oh gee,there's that  green Hooten Hollow & Western boxcar again" blues and to keep fresh cars on your layout.

Even a small ISL can use "live" stagging when one sets up the inbound local to switch the industries.

I left the best for last..It doesn't take long to change out the train consist once the operation session is over.

[dehusman]

BroadwayLion

Think of an interchange as another business on your layout: You set out cars and pick up cars.

An interchange is more than an "industry".  An industry has limitations in that it is a "closed"location.  What goes in is what comes out and for the most part, cars change status between loaded and empty in the facility.  With an interchange those restrictions don't necessarily apply.  There is no expectation or requirement that all the cars placed on an interchange will come back through that intercange.  Nor should there be the expectation that the cars that are placed loaded will come back empty.

From that respect an industry and an interchange can be very different.  many modelers treat an interchange like an industry where they just shove a cut in and then put the same cut right back out as a delivery to their railroad.  And that works.  But it is possible to consider it live staging or a fiddle yard and vary the cars being delivered to your road.

[BroadwayLion]

Think of a staging yard as a hiding place for trains not on stage.

Think of an interchange as another business on your layout: You set out cars and pick up cars.

ROAR

[richhotrain]

Dave, thanks for that additional information. 

Rich

[dehusman]

richhotrain

I was the one who brought up the idea on another thread of using a proposed staging area (my 4-track siding) as an interchange.  So, it helps immensely to understand the difference between staging and an interchange.  But, then you go on to mention that an interchange can look identical to a staging yard, but an interchange is a visible part of the layout. 

The difference between a staging yard is that a staging yard is a model railroad conceptual device and an interchange is an actual real railroad facet.

An interchange can be staging, staging can be visible.

The real difference between making your 4 track yard staging or interchange is your concept of what and where it is.

If you concieve that the 4 track yard is staging then it most likely represents the extension of YOUR railroad.  If you concieve of the 4 tracks as interchange then it represents a DIFFERENT railroad. 

Any cars you put on an interchange track are leaving your railroad.

Staging is more versitile than an interchange.  You can have any type of train come out of staging, interchange is to a certain extent limited.  If you want to stage your primo passenger train in those tracks, no problem, when it pulls out, the Limited now arriving from New York.  On the other hand if you stage the primo passenger train in an interchange track, why is it on an interchange and after it completes the run on your railroad does it go to intechange again?

  And, that is what gave me the idea in the first place of using my 4-track siding as an interchange rather than as a staging area since the 4-track siding is a visible part of my layout.  But, I now understand the subtle differences.

While staging can be hidden it can also be visible.  You can also hide it  behind a low backdrop, a row of trees, row of building or a small hill.  You just need it to be tall enough to block your view when viewing it normally, but if you step up on a low step you can easily see or reach over the view block.

Staging can be visible or hidden.

Here is a train leaving my staging yard and entering the visible portion of the layout.

Here is the staging yard.  It is modular and is taken down between operating sessions.

[gandydancer19]

richhotrain

So my question is: can staging be a visible part of the layout as implied in this and other threads?

Rich

Yes.  It just depends on your situation with your Railroad.

If you look at the photo below, I have two staging tracks across the door at the end of the room, on the upper level.  These are in plain sight.  (The ones with the trains on them.)  These are dead end staging tracks.

The tracks on the bottom level that have cars on them are my interchange tracks.  Three tracks, two for the yard (Two Railroad intechanges, B&O and PRR, one per track.) and one for the runaround.  This is also the end of my Railroad and runing through the runaround track makes the layout a loop.

[richhotrain]

gandydancer19

Modeling the interchange can take different forms as well. It can LOOK identical to a staging yard, but IS a visible part of the Layout. It can have an implied connection to the other offline Railroad, or not. If there is room for a wye, that can be modeled as well, if desired.

Thanks for that info, Elmer, it helps a lot.

I was the one who brought up the idea on another thread of using a proposed staging area (my 4-track siding) as an interchange.  So, it helps immensely to understand the difference between staging and an interchange.  But, then you go on to mention that an interchange can look identical to a staging yard, but an interchange is a visible part of the layout.  And, that is what gave me the idea in the first place of using my 4-track siding as an interchange rather than as a staging area since the 4-track siding is a visible part of my layout.  But, I now understand the subtle differences.

So my question is: can staging be a visible part of the layout as implied in this and other threads?

Rich

I do have one question. You mention that staging is usually hidden. 

[gandydancer19]

To understand operations and the difference between Staging and Interchanges for our Model Railroads, we need to understand the real life Railroads first.

Now, I am not a modeler who studies railroads and duplicates their every aspect, but a modeler who likes to run trains and operate, so my explanations are going to be simple. Just enough to give you the idea of how things are set up so we can duplicate them in a very basic way on our layouts.

I have also selected some excerpts from some comments Any S. made in another post sometime back, and these are in quotes below.

A large Railroad is divided into divisions. At each Division Point there was usually at least one yard and some loco facilities. (See Figure 1)

“A division was a management unit, under a superintendent, consisting of two or more subdivisions. A subdivision was basically the length of line an engine and train crew was expected to cover in one day's work. Nominally that was about 100 miles, but by the 50s and 60s could be longer. In some cases passenger crews, who traveled faster, might work over two subdivisions or districts.”

“(As "division point" is often used in model railroad terms, it might be a terminal at the meeting of two subdivisions or districts just as often as between two adjoining divisions.)”

“There were many ways of designating branch lines, but the most common was to make each branch line its own subdivision or district. In that case, a crew might start on on a mainline subdivision and complete their run on a branchline subdivision. After a layover, they might start out the next day on the branchline sub. Or they might work a turn, starting on a mainline sub, running out and back on a branchline sub, and returning to their home terminal on the mainline sub. Almost any permutation of these patterns was possible.”

“On the Santa Fe, mainline districts were generally numbered, first, second, and so on, while branchline districts were named for a station on the district, often but not necessarily the district terminal. And there were places where a named district was a mainline route. Other roads might number or name subdivisions. Some large terminals were designated as subdivisions or districts, and again in that case a crew might start out on one subdivision and complete its run on another.”

Staging

First, Staging is strictly a Model Railroad term. Staging does not exist on a real Railroad.

Because our Model Railroads take up a defined space, some smaller than others, we tend to model a Division, Sub-Division, or part of a Sub-division. We also tend to model a yard with locomotive facilities. These are shown in the red blocks on Figure 1. Block D shows a Railroad with the Division Point & Yard at one end, while C shows the Division Point & Yard in the center. Block A shows the Division Point & Yard at one end and a Branch line or other Railroad connecting to and branching off from the mainline of the main Railroad. If our Railroad is built in a loop, looking at block C, B1 and C1 would be connected. The points at B1 and C1 are where our layouts end, but in actuality, the Railroad in real life continues. It is at these points where we represent staging. (See configuration 1 of Figure 2.)

Staging is also know by other names. Staging yard, fiddle yard, staging tracks, and others, BUT NOT interchange tracks. Looking at Figure 2, if our layout is a loop, Configuration 1 can be used with a double ended yard or some passing tracks. If our layout is point to point, then Configuration 2 can be used, with staging at each end. Staging can be just one track, or many. Staging holds COMPLETE TRAINS, including locomotives, cars, and a caboose if we use one. Staging represents where a train leaves our layout to go to the next division point. If Figure 1, this is A2, B1, C1, C2, and D1.

Modeling staging on our Railroads can be done in different ways. Normally, staging tracks are hidden. They can be hidden behind a mountain, a false backdrop, or a row of buildings so as not to be a visible part of the layout. Or it can be on a different level, such as a lower level with just enough room to retrieve a car or locomotive that has derailed. Maybe just a foot of space from the tracks to the bottom of the layout benchwork above it. We also want enough room to be able to work on the track if necessary, but it doesn't have to be sceniced. If you have built your Railroad with no staging, you can designate a siding or two for it if you desire, or add a narrow extension off one end that is wide enough for one or two tracks.

Trains are normally staged (arranged on the staging tracks) so they arrive on our layout with the locomotive in front, pulling the train. If our staging tracks are single ended, the trains that go in them during an operating session are usually turned around (re-staged) after the session is over and before the next one begins. This now represents a train coming in to our territory.

Interchange

When one Railroad (1) meets another Railroad (2), a couple of things can happen. Railroad 1 can have trackage rights over Railroad 2 and the train continues on its route. Or, Railroad 1 can drop it's cars on a siding or small yard (interchange yard) operated by both Railroad's, and then return. Then a train from Railroad 2 comes and picks up the cars just dropped off by Railroad 1 and goes back from where it came. In the process, Railroad 2 may have some cars for Railroad 1 and drops them off there also for later pick up by Railroad 2. So you can say that an interchange is a place where cars are swapped between two or more Railroads. This yard or track is part of the visible Model Railroad. The Interchange can be a single track or multiple tracks. Normally, only CARS are dropped off and picked up at the interchange, not complete trains.

Track arrangements and locations can vary. There can be a wye for turning locomotives or not. It can be located at the end of both Railroads or in the center of one or the other. It can be in a city, or out in the country.

Modeling the interchange can take different forms as well. It can LOOK identical to a staging yard, but IS a visible part of the Layout. It can have an implied connection to the other offline Railroad, or not. If there is room for a wye, that can be modeled as well, if desired.

I hope this has cleared up the differences between Staging and Interchanges, as used on our Model Railroads.