edit: New plan B posted on end.
I have about a 2'3"x7'6" space in my office that occupied with just boxes. So I thought I could put a portable mini train diamrama in there.
So this is what I came up with in 10 minutes. HO scale. 15 radius #4 turnouts. There's a SMALL staging area to the right which is removeable. Tell me what you think. Any other ideas?
Don - Specializing in layout DC->DCC conversions
Modeling C&O transition era and steel industries There's Nothing Like Big Steam!
Looks good to me. I assume that the track crossing the street in the lower right corner is a lead for the rest of the tracks? You can have some good switching fun with this one. How many staging tracks?
soumodeler wrote: I assume that the track crossing the street in the lower right corner is a lead for the rest of the tracks?
I assume that the track crossing the street in the lower right corner is a lead for the rest of the tracks?
Correct. I figure I can make a detachable staging area connect up here.
How many staging tracks?
There will be just two staging tracks. One for returns, and one for empties. It will consist of 40' Reefers and flat cars.
Lose the parking lot. Way too cute and never that close to the sea. I would see truck docks on the outside or just plain brick wall with availible land area used for something. Even if it is just a pay phone and union hall.
The roads in a Marine Ternimal is usually unmarked except for a yellow line at the gate house to guide the truckers in and out of lanes in bad weather or nighttime.
Replace it with a small diner or a roach truck and some sort of yard office like structure where people can check in before venturing futher onto the property.
Dont forget the Bollards for the ships, pilings and assorted rip rap that Harbors have. The dock itself can be whatever you want it to be but make everything else a stone wall or sloped rock so that the water wont undermine the land below.
I am having trouble with the PIer Crane on the corner. can you find a few inches more between the Pier warehouse and water and actually run the tracks on which the crane runs along the length of the dock?
The angle area sticking out where the crane is is a nightmare for ship captians trying to get into and out of that dock. Can you make it straight and accept the limitation? I dont see having curved tracks on the water end of a dock. It's just not visually credible. You CAN have the crane on the corner to the left bottom of the dock instead of the curved section, but it better have a decent boom long enough to reach towards the middle of a docked vessal.
Directly below the crane can be just a simple Lay down pad for trucks, bulk cargo etc.
The track that crosses the road intersection is too short to be of use, try exchanging the straight peice for one or two curved peices to gain length.
I can almost smell the sea and hear the Gulls trying to snag the Crane Operator's Coffee and Doughnut.
Well done.
Not bad for 10 minutes/ There's a lot to do.
You need a runaround though.
Keep thinking about your operations. Look for ways to increase it. For instance, you could splurge and get an $800 intermodal crane to unload the train. Then use your pier crane to load your ships.
Chip
Building the Rock Ridge Railroad with the slowest construction crew west of the Pecos.
SpaceMouse wrote: Not bad for 10 minutes/ There's a lot to do.You need a runaround though. Keep thinking about your operations. Look for ways to increase it. For instance, you could splurge and get an $800 intermodal crane to unload the train. Then use your pier crane to load your ships.
Stick the runaround in the middle with the switch at the back of the Pier warehouse and crossing over to the other switch near the Fireproof track.
I think the cranes that put boxes onto ships are way too big for this little harbor.
However. I like the idea of the intermodal crane at 800 dollars. When taken into account all the other stuff to build and finish this module properly, there is no problem spending 1000 or more dollars.
I think the crane idea runs more around $500, but nevertheless its a good idea and a nice plan for ten minutes worth of thinking. I agree with losing the parking lot. You'll gain more valuable space to do something else with. If you want to splurge, I'd love to see the crane idea become more than an idea, it would certainly be neat. I was thinking of something small like that to put up in my bedroom to tinker with, but I'd have to keep it on the DL from my parents, and they think I'm the crazy one... (weird I know) Good luck with your decisions.
-beegle55
As a long-ago maritime type, I would definitely like to see a straight-edged pier! The skipper, harbor pilot and duty engineer will thank you.
One trick is to lose the water! Put the pier crane on tracks on a wider apron, then finish your fascia as pier facing (vertical wood pilings, closely spaced. Barnacles at the waterline optional, but very prototypical.) If you have to have a ship, put it on a tea cart. Better yet, put two ships on two tea carts, and swap them out.
Chuck (modeling Central Japan in September, 1964)
Thanks all. You gave me a lot to chew on for lunch today.
~Don
On my railroad planning there is a small harbor and one of the problems I have now is that the Walthers Cornerstone Peir Crane is out of production, luckly there is a train show coming up and I might actually snag one of these. I have a couple of little IHC Cranes that runs on tracks unbuilt partly because the booms and tackle gear is not credible.
Just for comparison, here is something I am planning-- a 5 foot long by 13 inch deep section as part of a large N scale layout. The visible trackage, partly in a public street, is the port switching railroad. That connects with a trunkline railroad which runs around the room, and finally hides its passenger trains inside the port cargo sheds. Ships appear on the background over the roofs of the cargo shed. This is approximately the scene one sees from the front door of the Galveston, Texas Santa Fe station (now a railroad museum).
SECTIONDOCK PLAN
PERSPECTIVE RENDERING
The icemaking plant and peanut butter warehouse (based on a well-known bldg now a tourist site) would be on another section containing the passenger terminal and a block of the old downtown financial and commercial main street, now a tourist and antique district.
Okay here's plan B, taking all your considerations into factor.
The staging and car float are both removeable. Once you remove them I'm still within my original space constraints. I'm having problems placing roads, but other than that I think it's a solid plan. (And yes I already have all these kits)
Any concerns, holes, or suggestions?
Thanks, Don
Take away the outside siding closest to the Pier warehouse and move the pier warehouse closer to the remaining two sidings. Green X's marks the track to scrap:
Use the extra space to increase the width of the truck dock to about 80 scale feet if you can, those big trucks need a minimum of 55 feet radius to clear a turn to back into the buiding dock. You can then allow this truck space to be part of a road along the track that serves fireproof towards tool and die.
There is going to be a vicious S curve problem if you try to enter the middle Pier warehouse siding from the right side of the runaround. You need a little more truck dock space to be credible.
You can run a road along the "top track" siding next to Fireproof all the way to tool and die and exit into the back drop around the corner. Then somewhere in there you can create an intersection and build a road towards Ternimal across the siding tracks which should end in a little bit of open paved space on the left side of Ternimal. But none of that cute parking lot stuff.
Now. Instead of the current plan B runaround configuration on the "Right" side, try this:
Switch marked with Green X is to be removed:
Look to the right of that switch on the track towards staging just before the curve.
See that blank section? Is it long enough to fit a switch that will create the NEW run around (Longer one too) and remove YET ANOTHER S curve problem?
Now on this last diagram, you see that there is a brown color line marking the position of the new switch and the extended runaround.
The road in grey can be further extended towards the pier cranes area by a intersection or extension of the Tool and die corner. Trucks routinely go to cranes to remove thier loads to go on the ship or vice versa.
Note that the Pier warehouse has been moved closer towards the two remaining sidings and increased truck dock area.
Occasionally vehicles to go to other docks down past the ternimal on a small paved access. This would suggest more port.
Your railroad, your choices.