I believe this forum is the best place to discuss layout and layout plan articles in [i]Model Railroader{/i] and I wanted to comment on a couple of features in John Koukol Jr's 1st prize track plan for an N scale medium size Maine Central White Mountain Division layout.
Most interesting- Koukol's placement and use of the wye at Quebec Junction at the top of the helix. I have often wanted to use wyes in my track plans-- they are used so often for junctions AND for turning locomotives and trains. But my spaces always made them prohibitive-- even in N scale. I have tried drawing them at the junction between a wall-hugging shelf, and a peninsula. That almost always makes it so you cannot follow your train on ONE of the wye routes.
Koukol fit his wye and running two legs of it around a helix. Adds very little to the the space already eaten by the helix. Sp this wye has very little "space cost", or at least very little ADDED spacecost after the helix, and of course the helix helps by opening a second level.
For the cost of the wye, Koukol has laid it out so it serves THREE functions. Maybe four depending on how you count. First, in realistic "hard operations", the curved leg that hugs the outside of the helix serves as part of the main point-to-point route from Beecher Falls to Saint Johnsbury. On the other hand, if a train coming up the helix takes the turnout to the left, that ;leg can serve as a route for a short trip to Bartlett. (I'll call that the "back leg" from the layout point of view, since it is furthest back from the edge of the table.)
Thirdly, the "front leg" on the front of the layout and past the Carroll Tank water tower forms a route from St. Johnsbury to Bartlett. That route can be used for "realistic operation", or for roundy-round show running.
Fourthly, the wye can be used to turn trains arriving at Bartlett. It is not absolutely needed since there is a turntable at Bartlett, However, the wye would be helpful for turning passenger consists. Probably the best way to do it would be to run a terminated train from Bartlett counterclockwise to Quebec Junction, continue forward on the "front leg" past Carroll Tank, then back through the "curved leg" to push its consist downhill, slightly into the downgrade of the helix. Thenh the train can pull forward onn the back side of the wye. This would keep a locomotive from having to push its train up a grade.
Very interesting layout plan. Now I'll have to think about how I can "steal" some of the ideas for my own layout. This trackplan prize takes some of the ammunition away from my N scale friends who say N scale never gets any respect or attention in Model Railroader.
I agree. It's very well thought out. I liked the use of the peninsula for a point to point branch, rather than a simple extension of the main line around a loop. While it's not very long, it does add a dimension to the operation, and provides a live interchange of sorts.
I've only looked at it briefly, but I'll have to study it further with your comments in mind.
Lee
Route of the Alpha Jets www.wmrywesternlines.net
I just came across this posting today. I'm glad you liked the WMD track plan. Like yourself, I spent alot of time trying various locations for the wye. Once I moved it onto the peninsula and had two legs facing the wye, everything seemed to magically fall into place.
Regarding your fourth use of the wye: the Gilman Local out of Bartlett turned at Pages siding. During the steam era, smaller locos like Ten Wheelers turned on the turntable at Lunenburg. Larger locos such as Mikados were too long for the turntable. In this case the Gilman Local would make its return trip with the loco pulling the train facing backwards. It would then use the wye at Quebec Junction to turn the loco (not the whole train) for the downgrade run to Bartlett. This also applied to Mikados on work extras.
Also, the Mountaineer, a B&M summer passenger train that ran from Boston to Bartlett and over the MEC line to Whitefield, turned the entire train on a wye west of Whitefield and returned over the same route.
Also of interest: Although Quebec Junction was far less busy in the 1950s than in previous decades, there was still a daily three train meet there. Each train arrived from a different branch of the wye. The Gilman Local arrived first and pulled onto the long siding. Then the Beecher Falls local arrived and the loco would uncouple and pull behind the Gilman Local on the siding to wait for the eastbound passenger train. The passenger train arrived from St. Johnsbury and picked up milk cars for Portland from Colebrook. After the passenger train left,for Bartlett, cars from Bartlett were transferred to the Beecher Falls local and cars for Gilman Paper from the interchange at North Stratford were transferred to the Gilman Local. The Gilman local would then continue west while the Beecher Falls local would turn for its return trip to Beecher Falls.
Pretty interesting operation for a remote junction.
I meant to say "two legs facing the helix"
The small off-line staging yard at Groveton is the first stop on the branch. It is not the end of the branch, but provides a hidden layover while the local freight is supposedly working the un-modeled section of the branch. The illusion of working the un-modeled portion of the branch is helped by modifying the consist in the small staging yard before it reappears on modeled portion of the layout. So you're right. From an operation point of view it's an interchange yard of sorts. The train then reverses direction, as the prototype did at Groveton, and continues on to the end of the branch at Beecher Falls.