So with the home renovation finally (mostly) complete, including reconfiguration of the basement, work has finally commenced on the latest, and final, rendition of the Lehigh Junction & Greenville RR. Before posting progress photos (now 2 weeks in) I wanted to post the current plan, noting that it is under constant revision, as actual conditions and issues during construction are revealed.
First, as an avid disciple of John Armstrong, my "Givens and Druthers":
Givens:
Lehigh Junction & Greenville RR (LJ&GRR)
HO Std Gauge
Prototype & Region: PRR in New Jersey and Pennsylvania
Era: Fall, late 1950s, with modelers license to run desired power i.e. T-, Q-2 duplexes, streamlined K-4 Pacifics.
Space: Semi-finished approx. 14 x 22 basement with small annex for work area and storage. Nominal access required for electric panel. Minor encumberances include overhead piping and 69" head clearance valence near entrance.
Governing Rolling Stock: PRR Q-2, T-1, J-1, Baldwin Centipedes, 85' passenger cars
Track/Operation vs. Scenic Realism: a slight bias toward scenic realism is a nod to the large number of FSM-type craftsman kits - both built and unbuilt - that need to find a place on the layout. If there is a choice between (even) more track or making room for a particular structure kit, the latter will take precedence.
Mainline Running s. Switching: A preference for mainline running i.e. railfanning, with simulation of the heavy mainline traffic of the PRR, requiring substantial staging on both ends of the railroad. However a plausible industrial base with interesting switching possibilities should also be provided to the extent practical.
Operation Priorities:
Min Radii, max Grades:
A base-level view gives a good overview of the room parameters and footprint (planning was done in 3rd PlanIt - I really enjoyed using this program, and found the 3D views very helpful in particular for envisioning how the levels interact):
Despite many attempts, it was not possible to achieve the Givens and Druthers without crossing the room entrance. For the first level, a swing-out door is envisioned for access to the inner walk-around portion. Visible at top is the "New York and North" staging yard, as well as the return loop with a couple staging tracks and continuous run connection off the NY&LB branch. Traditional L-girder construction will be used for the first level.
First Level - New Jersey
Trains emerge from north-east staging and the double track main joins with the (admitedly very short) Jersey Shore branch. Trains to Keyport skirt a bay scene, disappear under an overpass, and return via a loop. Urban scenery and a large station at Rahway, and an industrial switching area in Linden. The main crosses the swing open door at the entrance, crosses a bridge over the Raritan River, and approaches the main yard at Camden. The Raritan River Railway, with its ubiquitous red SW-9, interchanges with the PRR here - the RRRR extends to the port in Greenville and industrial switching area in West Camden, where the large (Korber) Campbell's Soup company is the major customer. The RRRR unobtrusively disappears behind the building to make a continuous run connection at Keyport. The PRR continues through West Camden and proceeds up the 1 1/2 turn spiral helix.
The first level will allow for early operation - first on the port branch, then out-and-back from staging to the yard, then to/from the seashore loop and finally via the continuous run connection - before having to cope with engineering of the second level.
Second Level - Pennsylvania
The PRR trains emerge from the helix at Subury, where there is a small yard that marshalls traffic from the Rocky Top Branch. There is a reversing loop inside the helix that allows engines off the branch to reverse direction. On the branchline itself, there is a large coal mine as well as a couple smaller mines and industries, and a Y to allow trains to reverse direction. The PRR mainline continues through bucolic Pennsylvania scenery until it reaches Loc Haven and the interchange with the Lehigh Valley. Continuing west, the railroad passes through a tunnel below a city scene (Pittsburg), and emerges under a large city station to visible and partially hidden (station tracks) staging and a couple of large industries.
The second level at the end of the peninsula will also be L-girder, but most of the second level is proposed to be shelf brackets with structural Gatorfoam members. Note that the second level is mostly set back from the first level (aisles shown on 2nd level plan) - I reworked a lot of the plan last week when mock-ups in initial construction indicated that even small (3-4") setback on the second level improved viewing of the first.
Regarding elevations - min elevation is set by a 37" high credenza in the work area, which in turn sets the water level elevation at the port. This results in a base elevation of about 39.5" for the port trackage and the north/east staging. Keyport is at 42", the Camden yard is 46", and West Camden is 49". Trains emerge from the helix at Sunbury at 55", and max elevation is 62" at Pittsburg staging. The more or less continuous rise (with level areas in towns) from east to west contributes to a sense of the railroad "going somewhere".
So I started working this beast two weeks ago - will post progress pics soon. The longest journey starts with a single step - hopefully this journey will keep me engaged for the next couple decades until they cart me off to the old folk's home!
Wow! that is impressive!
Lehigh Valley you say? I'm interested!
Looking forward to seeing progress on your layout!
Good Luck!
charles
I have a carfloat and a carfloat terminal on my layout. The carfloat itself is set up as a casette so it can be used as a dynamic model for operations, if desired. I have another unassembled carfloat so I could actually load one float, take it "out of port" and replace it with a different float.
A carfloat terminal needs a lot of space and a lot of sidings. Proper operations would require at least twice as much space on sidings as on the carfloat itself. My carfloat holds about 18 freight cars, so plan accordingly.
You also need to do a lot of uncoupling, and you will want to throw turnouts at the float, too, so make sure you have access.
It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse.
24" walkways are way too tight, you can get by with 27" for short bottlenecks but from the plan it looks like you can gain a bit more room just by changing the non track area. Example lower yard you waste some space before the first yard track.
rrebell 24" walkways are way too tight, you can get by with 27" for short bottlenecks but from the plan it looks like you can gain a bit more room just by changing the non track area. Example lower yard you waste some space before the first yard track.
Some progress to date - started about 2 weeks ago. Benchwork at end of the peninsula will wait until the plywood base of the main yard is in - for ease of access.
View from entryway:
North/East Staging is on the right:
Port area laid out over credenza, work area to right with storage in back:
View toward Raritan, entry to yard:
PennsyLou rrebell 24" walkways are way too tight, you can get by with 27" for short bottlenecks but from the plan it looks like you can gain a bit more room just by changing the non track area. Example lower yard you waste some space before the first yard track. Thanks for your comment. On my previous layout (#5), the aisles were mostly 24-27" with one pinch point at 19", and I found this acceptable from an operating standpoint - I purposely made them wider for this layout, with 24" as an absolute minimum. That being said, there is about an extra 1" on each side of the peninsula, now that everything is laid out in the actual space. The upper layer is set back so the aisles are actually mostly 36" or more at 2nd level elevation, and as construction progresses aisle space will be optimized further if feasible. Also, I've lost about 75 lbs since the previous layout, so I don't take up quite as much space (and the railroad will be mostly a lone wolf operation).
rrbell I took your advice and cut about 2" from the joists on the left side in the first pic above - will increase the aisle to about 27" wide.