Hello,
I'm planning on modeling a 1940s-50s mountain railroad town in HO scale with two stations, a yard, two reversing loops, and industry sidings. I'll also have locomotive maintenance facilities (an ash pit and railroad shop) on my layout, yet with my present layout configuration, I'll only have room for one track to go into the railroad shop. As the railroad shop can accommodate three tracks, I'm wondering if I should do some reconfiguration and add more tracks to make the railroad shop more prototypical in terms of operation, or if having a single track going into the railroad shop would be ok. Thank you very much.
That's a question for the MRR forum, but...
The question would be how many locomotives do you need inside? If you're talking a cold climate, you might want to get as many as possible inside when they are not in use. Having them inside a heated engine house means you can shut them down and save money on fuel.
There is also the question of the role of your engine house. If you are going to use it for "repairs," that means you have to provide access for that as well as heated storage.
A three-way switch may shorten up how much space you need to reach all three bays (as opposed to using two standard switches).
Have fun!
Larry Resident Microferroequinologist (at least at my house) Everyone goes home; Safety begins with you My Opinion. Standard Disclaimers Apply. No Expiration Date Come ride the rails with me! There's one thing about humility - the moment you think you've got it, you've lost it...
Thank you very much for your reply. I plan on running three steam locomotives maximum on my layout, and while I don't have room for a roundhouse, I do have enough space for a turntable and stall tracks. I'll be running PRR locomotives, and in doing research, have found that such engines were usually stored outside.
As far as the railroad shop, I plan on using it to simulate repairs, and while I might have space to incorporate a second switch (and thus another track), I don't believe I'd have room for a 3-way switch.
tree68 That's a question for the MRR forum, but... The question would be how many locomotives do you need inside? If you're talking a cold climate, you might want to get as many as possible inside when they are not in use. Having them inside a heated engine house means you can shut them down and save money on fuel. There is also the question of the role of your engine house. If you are going to use it for "repairs," that means you have to provide access for that as well as heated storage. A three-way switch may shorten up how much space you need to reach all three bays (as opposed to using two standard switches). Have fun!
Trainguy1988rainguy1988 wrote the following post 7 hours ago: Thank you very much for your reply. I plan on running three steam locomotives maximum on my layout, and while I don't have room for a roundhouse, I do have enough space for a turntable and stall tracks. I'll be running PRR locomotives, and in doing research, have found that such engines were usually stored outside. As far as the railroad shop, I plan on using it to simulate repairs, and while I might have space to incorporate a second switch (and thus another track), I don't believe I'd have room for a 3-way switch.
Why not skip the switch and just have a small transfer table that moves side to side. It's more space efficient and cuts out potential electrical / derailment issues with the switch. Should work OK unless your going to use large steam locomotives. The DCC reversing loops are plug and play now, you just need to insulate the rail joints in the right spot and plug in the packaged circuit.......pretty cool.
That is an option worth considering, though I foresee some issues with using a transfer table:
1) The smallest-size transfer table I could find (from Walthers) would still be too large for the area I'd want my railroad shop in, as I'll have other industries (i.e. ash pit, machine shop, factory) in place around it.
2) I've read on other model railroad forums that transfer tables work best with heavy locomotives, and while I do have a rather weighty PRR K4 4-6-2 locomotive, I also will be using a 2-8-0 engine and an 0-6-0 switcher, so I'm thinking their lighter weights could impact how well the transfer table runs.
3) Others have said that transfer tables are quite loud when they're running, and as I share the home where I'll be putting my layout, I want to be considerate to my relatives with regards to the overall noise level.
I've also included a picture of a portion of my layout plan that shows where I plan on having my railroad/engine shop along with the surrounding industries/tracks.
Trainguy1988 rainguy1988 wrote the following post 7 hours ago: Thank you very much for your reply. I plan on running three steam locomotives maximum on my layout, and while I don't have room for a roundhouse, I do have enough space for a turntable and stall tracks. I'll be running PRR locomotives, and in doing research, have found that such engines were usually stored outside. As far as the railroad shop, I plan on using it to simulate repairs, and while I might have space to incorporate a second switch (and thus another track), I don't believe I'd have room for a 3-way switch.
[/quote]
Welcome to the elements of real railroading 101 - making the operation you want to operate fit the area in which you have to operate.
Never too old to have a happy childhood!
Our community is FREE to join. To participate you must either login or register for an account.