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[quote]QUOTE: Originally posted by leighant I see what looks like 3 "towns", 2 with small yards and 1 with a wye. Your railroad seems to be set up for primarily left-hand running. A train on the left-hand track running counterclockwise (inside track) can back into the yard on the right side of the plan. A train on the right-hand track running clockwise (outside track) can back into the yard at the top of the plan. I think of Santa Fe as mostly right-hand running, except for a short stretch in Arizona where the lines are divided and left-hand running is used because of favorable grades. You mentioned Arizona as a setting but your trackplan does not suggest the alinement of a hill-climbing situation. Mirror-imaging your plan would make the yards work for right-hand running. One plus I see on your plan: the "yards" are arranged off of opposite mains so that the lead for one can overlap the other yard on the main that is not involved with yard switching. Two operators could switch at once without running into each other. The yard on the right hand side seems to have only very short tracks-- 6 cars, 5 cars and 3 cars respectively. One would have to "double" the yard, ie pull cars from one track and then couple to those on another track, to get any kind of a train of 8, 9 or 10 cars. The very front track of that yard of course needs to ben kept open for access to the enginehouse. On a railroad this short overall, it seems like a long lead to the enginehouse. Perhaps oil, water and sanding equipment is to be located along the lead? What is the switchback stub off one of the enginehouse tracks? It might be worthwhile as a place to spot a company service tankcar to service the engine facility.... (such as http://www.railimages.com/albums/kennethanthony/aay.jpg , my N-scale kitbash from an old Concor/Kato car) As a place to spot an additional locomotive, accessible only by switchback movement, it might be preferable to eliminate the switchback, make the two enginehouse track a loco length or more longer each, and allow placing 2 or more locos on each spur, cutting gaps in the track to allow cutoff for DC operation (not necessary if using DCC) I am assuming this layout is small enough to be run with 2-pack DC, each track block controlled by a DPDT toggle to select one pack or the other. The two long tracks at the top of the plan are 10 cars and 7 cars long respectively, long enough to be used as yard tracks on this size layout. But at least one is apparently dedicated to be used as an industry spur and a lead for a switchback industry spot. My own prejudice for a layout of this size representing a slice of a major railroad: I don't think it is big enough for a "real working yard" that most of the trains on the layout come from. There ought to be a lot of trains that just "go through" the scene and only a handful that switch or go into a small yard. On this size layout, I would try to have STAGING for 2 or 3 mainline trains that can run through, giving the feel of a heavy mainline. Next I would have one town with a double-ended siding where a local might be made up with cars dropped off from a through freight. I would try to "do it well" for that one location, even if it took almost half the layout. Then I would fit in perhaps one additional "town" that might be only a single industrial spur or perhaps a freight house track behind a small depot. That's "1 and a half" visible towns plus hidden or disguised/inconspicuous staging. For single-track, it might be a twice-around loop for a layout this size. Double-track pretty much limits it to single track. Another possibility-- double track main, with about half of the main hidden in staging. Well-modeled town trackage that represents junction of double-track mainline with single-track branch. Let the branch run as single track in front of the hidden staging to a mine or a small end-point. Just my prejudices. See my N-scale 3x7 East Texas forest Santa Fe layout at (overview) http://www.railimages.com/albums/kennethanthony/aad.jpg (trackplan) http://www.railimages.com/albums/kennethanthony/acj.jpg See my planned "Island Seaport" based on Santa Fe Galveston at http://www.trainboard.com/ultimatebb.php/ubb/get_topic/f/33/t/000725.html#000000 about same size as your layout but in N scale. [/quote] Leighant, Whew! that gave me a -lot- to think on, not even sure I followed all of it but I am trying to. [;)] A lot of good council there, I am posting a new rework tonight based on the feedback I've been getting and I can tell you that I am certainly looking forward to hearing what you have to say on it. Peace. Coyote
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