I had another look at your plan, and see tracks seemingly extremely close together (you want minimum 2" track center to track center for parallel straight tracks), very sharp curves, some of them S-curves that will derail pretty much any car you try to push through them, and very short leads, which will create a world of frustrations trying to move 4-5 cars in and four-five vars out, one car at a time.
I think you are asking for frustrations here. But by all means - feel free to try it.
If you can make it work, kudos to you.
If not, you still will have learned something - and that's always worth doing too.
Whatever you decide to do, good luck to you.
Smile, Stein, out
Paulus Jas hi fondo, the issue isw not if it sounds crazy or not, but lack of information. "Recieving a train?"; where did the train came from (might be virtual), where does that train arrive and where are it's engines? How long are those trains? It is very hard to imagine without you giving more information. BTW a constructed switchman's nightmare will never turn into a realistic operating layout. Unless as Byron Henderson did for Model Railroader lots of stuff is changed. A way longer passing siding and adding (longer) leads. have fun, smile paul
hi fondo,
the issue isw not if it sounds crazy or not, but lack of information.
"Recieving a train?"; where did the train came from (might be virtual), where does that train arrive and where are it's engines? How long are those trains?
It is very hard to imagine without you giving more information.
BTW a constructed switchman's nightmare will never turn into a realistic operating layout. Unless as Byron Henderson did for Model Railroader lots of stuff is changed. A way longer passing siding and adding (longer) leads.
have fun, smile
paul
Hi Paulus Jas, the idea of the "incoming" train is by the track give access to the yard lead, and to the locomotive service. The train it wont come, I'll put as I already arrived.
Regarding realistic layout, it's hard me to know how they work as I don't know too much and things I tried to read are confusing as I don't know many terms or operations. Maybe there is a link where it explain in a very basic way?
steinjr Seems a bit too track heavy to me. The Switchman's neighmare is a very tight switching layout in it's own right. Adding an engine terminal pushes it over the top for my taste. How about doing this as two separate layout - one engine terminal, and one industry area with a small auxiliary yard? The terminal could be on it's own shelf somewhere else, or on it's own separate shelf e.g. 16" below the switching shelf. Then linking the two layouts/scenes conceptually by transferring an engine from the engine terminal to the industry area by driving the engine onto a small cassette (e.g. a Peco loco lift) on one layout, then moving the cassette by hand to the switching shelf, and driving the engine onto the switching shelf. As for a switching shelf - the thing I don't like about the Switchman's nightmare and things like Timesavers and Inglenooks is that they tend to make switching leads extremely short. Various tricks can be used to extend the length of switching leads, even on smallish shelf layouts. Here is e.g. a small 8x2 foot H0 scale track plan I derived from Byron Henderson's N scale 18" x 6 foot switching layout San Jose Switcher. - it still is too compressed, ideally it should have been about 30" x 11 feet in H0 scale to replicate the openness of Byron's plan, but some things have to give when you try to shoehorn in an H0 scale layout in a small space: The cars shown as 40' cars - i.e transition era cars, shorter than most modern cars. Engine shown is a short switcher. Note that in one foot of track you have room for two cars. To hold an engine and two such cars you need minimum 18-20" of switching lead (depending on the size of your engine) of switching lead. The neat trick in the plan this one is based on is using two curved turnouts to form the curve/end of runaround to the left of the interchange track. The challenges of a little sparser plan is having each industry having several doors or spots where specific cars have to be spotted, maybe have a road that must not be blocked too long at a time, taking the time to stop before switches and have a person "walk" from the engine to the switch to throw it (instead of throwing several switches ahead before you move the engine) and so on and so forth. Also, Lance Mindheim has several cool tips on designing small switching layouts in his book "How to Design a Small Switching Layout". By all means - don't let me discourage you from trying things your own way. It is your layout. But for me, it seems like you are trying to fit in too much on one small shelf. Smile, Stein
Seems a bit too track heavy to me. The Switchman's neighmare is a very tight switching layout in it's own right. Adding an engine terminal pushes it over the top for my taste.
How about doing this as two separate layout - one engine terminal, and one industry area with a small auxiliary yard?
The terminal could be on it's own shelf somewhere else, or on it's own separate shelf e.g. 16" below the switching shelf.
Then linking the two layouts/scenes conceptually by transferring an engine from the engine terminal to the industry area by driving the engine onto a small cassette (e.g. a Peco loco lift) on one layout, then moving the cassette by hand to the switching shelf, and driving the engine onto the switching shelf.
As for a switching shelf - the thing I don't like about the Switchman's nightmare and things like Timesavers and Inglenooks is that they tend to make switching leads extremely short.
Various tricks can be used to extend the length of switching leads, even on smallish shelf layouts.
Here is e.g. a small 8x2 foot H0 scale track plan I derived from Byron Henderson's N scale 18" x 6 foot switching layout San Jose Switcher. - it still is too compressed, ideally it should have been about 30" x 11 feet in H0 scale to replicate the openness of Byron's plan, but some things have to give when you try to shoehorn in an H0 scale layout in a small space:
The cars shown as 40' cars - i.e transition era cars, shorter than most modern cars. Engine shown is a short switcher. Note that in one foot of track you have room for two cars. To hold an engine and two such cars you need minimum 18-20" of switching lead (depending on the size of your engine) of switching lead.
The neat trick in the plan this one is based on is using two curved turnouts to form the curve/end of runaround to the left of the interchange track.
The challenges of a little sparser plan is having each industry having several doors or spots where specific cars have to be spotted, maybe have a road that must not be blocked too long at a time, taking the time to stop before switches and have a person "walk" from the engine to the switch to throw it (instead of throwing several switches ahead before you move the engine) and so on and so forth.
Also, Lance Mindheim has several cool tips on designing small switching layouts in his book "How to Design a Small Switching Layout".
By all means - don't let me discourage you from trying things your own way. It is your layout. But for me, it seems like you are trying to fit in too much on one small shelf.
Smile, Stein
Thanks steinjr for your answer, It looks a very interesting layout but I wanted to have my locomotive service. I don't have the possibility to have two layouts, since I've to move all my room just to fit the 2x8, I know the two of them don't need to be together at the same time, but I think that with mine two persons can operate, "receiving" a train with one or more locomotive going to the service area, and cars moved by a swtich to the yard area. Does it sound crazy??
Is there any video of this layout to see it working?Here is an update of pics of the two modules I built in the past, and I'm planning to use,
Bob Sandusky A couple of questions instead of an opinion. How do you intend to operate the layout? Without a purpose for moving the cars around, movement for the sake of movement will become pretty boring pretty fast. Also do you ever intend to incorporate this layout into another? If so before you go ahead and build it you might want to plan out the expansion to see how (or if) it fits in.
A couple of questions instead of an opinion.
How do you intend to operate the layout? Without a purpose for moving the cars around, movement for the sake of movement will become pretty boring pretty fast.
Also do you ever intend to incorporate this layout into another? If so before you go ahead and build it you might want to plan out the expansion to see how (or if) it fits in.
Hi Bob, my idea is to have a small yard, where I can move 3 or 4 box/hopper cars. Giving them an order trough a random selection. The idea is NOT to incorporate it into another layout, but maybe if other friends creates they own modules they can be put together. I don't think this can happen, but it's a remote option.
To be honest I'm shamefaced to show my idea as I know I can be doing some mistakes, but I tried to read and learn how should be. I'm based in the SWITCHMAN'S NIGHTMARE BECOMES A PROTOTYPE DREAM and extended to my room space. My challange was to depend on the turnouts I already have, same with structures(this limitation was to have the possibility to try everything and no wasting my money, if not I start buying I know I don't stop he).
It's HO scale 100 code most with Atlas flex track, and 4 four (in the yard) #4 Atlas turnout. Two left, and two right. Then two double slip, and the others are Atlas #6 Turnouts.
Of course any help and opinion/recommendation is received and listened. I'm here to learn :D
--> My 2x8 layout
Thanks for reading!!