Please Critique new layout.

[NZRMac]

Hi again I'm back for another go!!

HO Code 100
N&W but freelanced
Mainline only so far!!

Green track is top level Blue is lower.

Not sure if the helix will work, tracks coming off it may clash?

anyway here goes!!





Ken.

[Anonymous]

Wish I had the space! like it! If you made the top color red, it would be easier to see, thanks, Danny

[trainboyH16-44]

I'm finding it a bit hard to understand too, could you break it into the two decks?
Matthew

[selector]

Looks good right now, although I am concerned about the S-curves at the bottom end of the Coal Mine loop, where your line splits. That top track has a nasty S-curve right out of the turnout.

I don't quite follow your colour coding at lower right. You seem to have a helical rise, or is it a descent clockwise? The top layer green peters out at the left, where the lower tracks meet.

[NZRMac]

Where the green track (upper ) enters the helix that's 50"
The blue track enters the helix at 40"

The idea is so far for 15 -car coal trains in the coal mine get loaded as they pull thru, locos uncouple and run around, couple back on at other end and pull out onto main over trestle bridge, round end and under bridge, into helix, out thru staging round peninsula and back round to bottom yard, coal unloading (port, power station ). reverse loop and back to mine.

Ken.

[jon grant]

Only 1 industry. I'm guessing you like mainline running.

Jon

[NZRMac]

QUOTE: Originally posted by jon grant

Only 1 industry. I'm guessing you like mainline running.

Jon

[:D]it's a work in progress, I'm new to this designing stuff. I usually just biff some track on a board and get bored!!

I'm not sure where else to put yards industries etc, but I'm out there thinking about it!

Crandell I fixed that S curve, I'll repost a pic.

Ken.

[ClinchValleySD40]

Looks like a pretty good start. Before going too much further, lay out your towns/industries so see how they'll fit. Scenery, you seem to have a good idea of what you want to do, be sure to leave benchwork open where you need to.
Good luck, keep us posted.

[SpaceMouse]

Don't take this wrong. If you want other things that you have not put on the layout, you are not ready for comments. It's time to go back and do some more research. Re-ready Track Planning for Realistic Operations by John Armstrong. Look into the prototype and see what industries are in the are you are modeling. If this freelance then look into the area you are taking your freelance from and see what they are modeling.

At some point, you will have an ah-ha momment and you will know what to do.

[Anonymous]

NZRMac,

I just want to throw this concept out there - the concept of letting trains only go through each scene once. Not everyone is into this concept, but the most realisitc (in my opinion of course) layouts that I've seen in the magazines have trains only going through the scene once. That is, they don't fold back on themselves.

Some examples:

David Barrow's Cat Mountain & Santa Fe
Pelle Soeborg's California Dessert layout
Joe Fugate's Siskiyou Line
Rick Rideout's layout (aka the Rix products guy).

If I was creating a new layout in the space you have, I would DEFINITELY create it in such a way that trains go through each scene only once, with narrow benchwork.

This often means a liftout or hinged section for entering the room if you want continuous running. In my opinion, it would totally be worth it.

Just some food for thought as you're getting into the design...

[ereimer]

other than it not always being obvious when the blue and green tracks were joining or above/below each other , it looks really good . keep us posted . as chip says , there isn't much to critique at this point , once you get into the details we can start telling you what you did wrong [:D]

[NZRMac]

Thanks Chip, I was wanting you to comment, I thought you might say what you said!!

CARRfan, yup I know your right, it was in my list of wants but couldn't do it without going over doorsways, but I think I will[:O]

Ereimer, back to the drawing board!!

Cheers guys back to reading John Armstrong books.

Ken.

[knewsom]

Ken, It would be nice to have that much space. I don't think that you need to know where everything will go with your plan, but it makes it easier to critique for others if you do. But my favorite layout (George Selios FSM) was planned as he went. It all depends on what you want. I will say if you plan on pulling long trains, make sure the grades are very small, especially with your LL P2K 2-8-8-2. Due to space limitations, I have a 3.5% grade on my layout and I can only get my 2-8-8-2 to pull 9 coal cars up it.

[selector]

Yes, I agree that this is a very good start, and that you should use what you have as "resistance" to anything else that you add...barring the stuff that you purposefully left out of what you showed us. By resistance, I mean that this ostensibly has a strong first need-fulfillment for you, so don't be too rash and revise it overmuch. Keep it as a great first draft, and tinker with it to get to the "meta" that Chip and (genuflects) John would ask you to seek.

Play with some ideas, but stay true to your heart-of-heart druthers; they are drawn large in what you presented.

I could have made this a lot simpler by saying, "Don't throw the baby out with the bathwater."

I don't know if this is confusing...I sure hope not.[:I][:D]

[NZRMac]

Fellas, I wanted to stay with once thru the scene, but didn't want to go past the two entry doors (top left) but the scene choice overrides the past the doors option so I am redesigning with a gate/ liftup thingy
It is hard for a beginner to know where to put yards, turntable etc, but I'm thinking hard.

Kevin I've kept the grades to under 1.5%!! (aaahh the space!!)

Crandell, perfect sense as always!!

Ken.

[dehusman]

1. It looks like the unloading loop breaks off in the wrong direction. I don't see how a train can leave the mine and drive directly into the unloading loop. Since the tracks overlap so much I might be missing a connection.

2. the coal mine is in the wrong place on the tracks, it needs to be nearer the center of the tracks. You put half the train on both tracks above the loader and then load them towards the main, with the loaded halves ending up on the two tracks below the loader. You should have another run around or else leave that run around there and put in two seperate single ended spurs breaking off where the coal mine shows now and put the coal loader over the middle of those. an empty train pulls into the branch "main", runs around its train. Puts the caboose from the main to the "siding" and then pulls the loaded cars out of the two mine spurs, putting them on the caboose in the siding. It then takes the empties off the main and shoves them up above the tipple on the coal spurs. It comes back to the loaded train on the siding, gets an air test and departs.

3. If you are planning to use steam you could move the coal spur up towards the edge of the benchwork and have room for a wye in the blob to turn the coal power.

4. i think you need some additional mainline sidings.

Dave H.

[NZRMac]

Dave H, I'm kinda using American rolling stock and modelling the way we do things here, the mainline loco's pull the train thru the coal loader then runaround it and pull back onto the main, that's why there's alot of track off the main. Same thing happens at our local port where they unload. Your way is alot more interesting tho ( more switching)

I'm redesigning for better operation anyway, only once thru a scene etc.

Thanks for the input, Ken.

[Anonymous]

Hey Ken
I posted to your "New Layout" thread over on the Dark Side that I think might interest you, but I don't have time to retype the whole message here at the moment. Go on over there [MRF] if you want to see it.