Thank you all for your words of wisdom.
My Layout Photos- http://s1293.photobucket.com/user/ajwarshal/library/
An old friend from the train club said that your wife should never see the engine catch the caboose. I have over 750 cars and made sure the loco can't get near the caboose, each one of my 2 mains are over 250 feet each. I have 10 yard tracks that are 42 feet long and 3 ready tracks 65 feet long so no worries here. Great pic of your layout, we all started here just like you and it takes a lot of time and money to get to where your dream layout is going to be. It took me about 30 years and I'm still building. Never lose that dream, it's a learning experiance and never stop asking questions. Good luck, Jim.
dehusman Put bends in tracks and roads, it looks more realistic (unless you are modeling Kansas).
Put bends in tracks and roads, it looks more realistic (unless you are modeling Kansas).
Alton Junction
Things to consider for your next layout.
Put a backdrop/divider down the middle of the layout to break the layout into two or more scenes.
Put roads and lines of buildings at an angle to the tracks. (angles are more visually interesting.)
Don't put tracks exactly parallel to the edge of the benchwork if you can avoid it (angles are more visually interesting.)
Use flex track to get closer track spacing and more "natural" track lines.
Vary the elevation of the scenery, some parts higher than the track, some parts lower.
Plant trees in odd numbered clumps.
Dave H. Painted side goes up. My website : wnbranch.com
up831 A wise man or maybe it was a wise guy, once said that you can never have a train longer than your shortest passing siding. When you think about it,it makes a lot of sense.
A wise man or maybe it was a wise guy, once said that you can never have a train longer than your shortest passing siding. When you think about it,it makes a lot of sense.
Hi. Train length varied from single digit to 3 digits, depending on location and use. There are great photos all over the net about the incredible variety of possibilities, in freight and/or passenger. Your only real limit is individual car and locomotive length. Enjoy!
Alex, given the type of track you are using it would be very easy at alter the track plan incorporating some of the suggestion mentioned above. doing so would increase your options as far as mainline running and switching industries. Given your current setup you appear to already have an adequate number of rolling stock. Don't completely rule out changes, the interest level would go up and the ease of assembly already exists.
PM Railfan First, let me say nice layout and room! In answer to your question I only saw one true answer posted so far..... "your longest train can only be as long as your shortest siding." Anything past that, will entail problems.
First, let me say nice layout and room! In answer to your question I only saw one true answer posted so far..... "your longest train can only be as long as your shortest siding." Anything past that, will entail problems.
Not if you are spotting cars along the way.
Rich
But think of it like this.... railroads often had to play this exact scenario out. So if you are into operations, certainly a longer train would give you more time of enjoyment operating. If you are just running a train around the layout then 'short' trains that can pass each other will suffice.
Look up the words "Saw By". Maybe brush up on the "Casey Jones" story to see what happens when you dont move trains safely into sidings. There are aricles (probably from Trains or MR) I have read in the past that were dedicated to showing how real railroads handle 2 trains with one short siding.
Thank you all for the imput. This is my first layout and I will eventually expand. I don't like the s curve either, but I take the train in slow and negotiate it pretty well. I thank all of you for you imput.
On our 26'x26' HO layout, we like to keep four trains of 25 To 30 cars running on the double track mainline continuously. The largest train ever to run on our layout was 63 cars pulled by one Rivarossi C&O Allegheny. The locomotive could've handled more cars, but the curve at the top of our 2% grade would cause the lead cars to implode from the trailing Weight of the rear cars.
-Stan
ALEX WARSHAL I forgot to mention that the layout is finished, and the tracks are set. Also I can't add a spur or siding on the other side because of scenery. Here's a pic of the overall layout.
I forgot to mention that the layout is finished, and the tracks are set. Also I can't add a spur or siding on the other side because of scenery. Here's a pic of the overall layout.
LOL
We must be looking at different photos.
I see lots of room for expansion on that layout.
Ooh, I don't like that S-curve at the upper right.
ALEX WARSHAL I have two yellow Labrador Retrievers and they aren't tasty, but they are very fierce.
I have two yellow Labrador Retrievers and they aren't tasty, but they are very fierce.
The Route of the Broadway Lion The Largest Subway Layout in North Dakota.
Here there be cats. LIONS with CAMERAS
Jim (with a nod to Mies Van Der Rohe)
Who and or what lives in that kennel under the table? Is he TASTY?
Ya I know I'll never be finished, but I'm getting close to it. I have the track, road, buildings, people, cars, and most of the scenery and details done. Thanks all for the comments and ideas. Keep em coming.
Well...based on your photo, I believe you have enough power and rolling stock on the layout for your railroad to do business...for now. But...there is ALOT of locomotives and rolling stock out there. And I am certain you will acquire more.
My layout takes up my living room, dining room and kitchen...I have enough locomotives and rolling stock to go around the layout 4 times and I continue to look for more. Can't have enough engines and cars.
Finished! LOL! You're only finished in the immediate sense. The model railroad is never finished.
If I ever reach a point where I say my layout is finished...I'll have to tear it down and start over.
Have fun
Mark H
Modeling in HO...Reading and Conrail together in an alternate history.
First, I'd do as Lion suggests and lengthen your passing siding. Next, I would put another spur on the top portion of the plan, another industry, another place to have a car or two. When deciding how many cars to run, I would put the loco and caboose, if applicable, on the passing siding and see how many cars will fit there with them, that would be your train length. Then add a car for each spot at an industry you have set up. Put those two figures together and that would be a sensible number of cars for the layout. Might do with one or two less, if your industries fill a siding. Should you plan to run two trains, remember you can only meet at one location, so don't exceed the siding limit.
I would suggest a scenic divider to make it so your trains go somewhere out of sight. If you do not center it exactly or have it parallel the the sides, it seems to make it less noticable. My layout is only 4'x6', but I managed a passing siding on each side by not using a pure oval loop. Makes it so trains go out of sight and if I have visitors, I can make a different train appear, going in the same or opposite direction, depending on how I'm running my trains that day, they don't see the change. To disguise the ends I have used a clump of tall trees on one end and a deep rock cut on the other. Other ways of hiding the ends are going behing a building, under a bridge or going into a tunnel, there are probably others. My short siding will hold a loco, three cars and a caboose. The longer one will hold a four car train, but that is the one my spurs come off and I use it for switching. I have the possibility of five spots and a place for one or two more cars on the team track. Makes it so I can get eleven to thirteen cars on the layout, though leaving a spot or two empty makes the siding look less crowded. If I were doing it again, I would have put a short spur off the second passing siding, but with a new layout in the planning, I'm not going to change things at this point.
Good luck,
Richard
I once had a train so long... The lead engine was pushing the caboose at the rear! Can you say "Train wreck in the making"!
http://www.trainboard.com/railimages/showgallery.php?cat=500&ppuser=5959
If one could roll back the hands of time... They would be waiting for the next train into the future. A. H. Francey 1921-2007
In practical terms, the prototype starts to get a lot less "fluid" or able to move cars around efficiently somewhere in the 60% range for yards. So the goal you want is not full up, but somewhere short of that.
Here, if you have more than about 8 cars, things start getting cramped up. Consider you might have 4 loads between the two sidings. Bring in a 4-car train of empties. Switch and swap. You'll find the is very little elbow room once you account for a caboose or any need to keep a track clear for other trains while switching. Sure, you can do another car or two, but it won't be easy. Even then, you'll quickly find you need to use the mainline for a runaround track, which is probably not the goal here.
Mike Lehman
Urbana, IL
Doesn't really matter. In a short time you will be the proud owner of more cars than will fit on your layout. And then you start scheming to make the layout bigger, so it will hold more cars. Typical prototype freight trains are 100 cars long. Passenger trains aused to be a dozen cars long. Nobody (except maybe a LARGE club) has that kinda track. We fake it running much shorter trains.
Consider laying a double track main line. This allows you to operate two trains at the same time. Consider putting in some more spur tracks to serve industries. If you stay with a single track main, try to squeeze in the longest passing siding possible.
David Starr www.newsnorthwoods.blogspot.com
LION rus SUBWAY TRAINS. Cars are 50' long. Him runs six car trains, they platform at stations that are 4' long. Obviously him has not a 4'x8' layout, but figure that a four foot long train will look about right. These are not very big industires, nor have you a very long passing siding, so the length of your train may be further limited by that passing siding.
Remove the two passing switches from the straightaway, and put them on the curve, this will give you about two feet more of usable passing siding.
The industires on a layout of this size are not the huge movers that we have here in Richardton, but a small brick factory might move out two to four cars a day, maybe a small newspaper plant would handle box cars of paper and tank cars of ink. You railroad can only move what your industries are able to produce or consume.
If you keep all of your cars to a similar size sahpe and color, there will look like there are more of them than there really are. You cannot tell if enclosed cars are loads or empties.
Well, I can tell, by the amout of compression that is on the truck springs, but that does not mean much in HO.
ROAR
I have a 4x8 HO scale layout, and I was wondering how many cars (40' or so) to keep on the layout at a time. Is there a formula to find out the desired number of car correlating to the siding length? The spur inside the oval is 32'' long; the spur on the outside of the oval is 27'' long; and the siding is 16'' long. A 40' car in HO Scale is 6'' long. Also there are two warehouse on the inside spur. (There are photos on the link below to help you visualize the layout). Thanks in advance.