I am starting to work on a layout that I started about 20 years ago. I have a real good start but got away from it while the kids were growing up. I have a real neat room with lots of railroad memorabilia, the back drop, bench work and most of the main line done.
I need some ideas to design a 4 track stub switching yard with realistic operation in mind. It will be beside a dual track main line, HO, up to 8 feet long, and the top end of the 4th track will go to the engine servicing area. Set in the transition era if that makes any difference.
Thank-you for any help.
Rick
Welcome to the forums and back to model railroading.
May I suggest John Armstrong's "Track Planning for Realistic Operations", also, MR has a book on freight yards. Either one or both should give you some ideas. Both are available from MR if your local hobby shop doesn't have them. Also, read up on some of the new things (electrical, scenery techniquess and more) that were happening while that amazing transformation in your kids was taking up your time.
Have fun,
Micro Layout Design Gallery is good starting point with operations rationale plus some prototype inspiration. Sample: Highland Terminal Railroad.
Conemaugh Road & Traction circa 1956
It just amaizes me what is in this forum. Thanks for making it fun.
Wayne
IIRC the Armstrong book mentioned above gives an example of how an operating yard could be done with four tracks, so I would second it.
One thing to keep in mind is that using the 4th track for service area access means that any cars on it will need to be pulled to allow locomotives to pass. That's not necessarily a bad thing, as you could still use that track as a "for now" area / temporary usage when classifying on the other three tracks.
Another thing to think about is the purpose of the yard. There are several types (division point, industry support, interchange, etc.), and knowing what "real world" purpose the yard serves will help you figure out how it would be configured best for operations.
A useful link is the Ten Commandments of Model Railroad Yard design. Note that these "commandments" are geared toward making a yard more efficient, so some of the things mentioned may not necessarily apply to your situation. It is a good source of information on how a model yard would operate, however, so it would still be well worth your time to read through it.
Good luck!
My railroad is to be a midpoint in a line from St. Louis to Memphis. I have 2, 4 track hidden staging yards that through trains will come out of on a schedule, drop and pick up cars at the yard and then go on. Then a local will deliver and pick up from area industries and bring back to the yard for the next train to take to St. Louis or Memphis. My thought is to have the service track come off of the switch end of the stub yard as an extension of the 4th track. I should only have to keep a few car lengths open to pull an engine into and then back into the service area.
This small yard came from a custom project, but fits in roughly a 2X8 space in HO if you have track on either side to complete the runaround. With a double-track main, you'll need some crossovers.
Since you have traffic coming from both directions, it's a good idea to have at least one double-ended track to use as an arrival/departure track. The rest can be stub-ended. There's no yard lead, so this would work best for a layout where only a few trains will run. With more traffic, a yard lead is necessary to avoid fouling the main with yard switching.
The turntable is PECO's roughly 1-foot-diameter version and turnouts are mostly PECO C75 Mediums with one short in the engine service area. Minimum radius in the yard is 24", 20" in the engine terminal.
The water tank is from Walthers, the compact coaling tower from JV models, the ashpit is scratchbuilt, the enginehouse was the client's existing scratchbuilt model, but many commercial models will fit. The station is an AMB Type 23 SP station with a modified freight platform/dock.
Byron
Layout Design GalleryLayout Design Special Interest Group
forspar I need some ideas to design a 4 track stub switching yard with realistic operation in mind. It will be beside a dual track main line, HO, up to 8 feet long, and the top end of the 4th track will go to the engine servicing area. Set in the transition era if that makes any difference.
So, actually its a 3 track yard with a long lead to the engine facilities?
What are you wanting to figure out? How do YOU want to use it? Industrial support? Classification? Set outs and pick ups only? Originating and terminating trains? What is the engine facilities doing? What engines is it servicing?
As it has been described, it is a 3 track yard that can only be used for trains in one direction (since its stub ended) and it can't really be used to terminate trains (because its single ended). If you want "realistic" operation be willing to change your design significantly.
Dave H. Painted side goes up. My website : wnbranch.com
Rick,
My layout has a mainline and 3 double ended yard tracks, plus a small engine terminal off of the yard lead(around the corner on an 'L') I suppose it is not a Divison Point yard, but a yard job and several locals work out of it. It is a small industry support yard(a large Swift packing plant will be built there), and a branch line that generates zinc/rock loads are serviced out of this terminal. About 15-16 cars of 'shorts' are interchanged with the mainline through freights at this location. More/longer tracks would be nice, but all of the basic work can be done on the three tracks. It is on a 20' wall, but the actual yard about 12-13' long. If you use 'stub' tracks, you will need at least one through track besides the mainline so you can 'run around' a cut of cars. You also will need 'cross-overs' at the end of the yard between the double track so trains from both directions can enter/exit the yard.
Jim
Modeling BNSF and Milwaukee Road in SW Wisconsin