What's in YOUR yard? Kinda sounds like, "What's in YOUR wallet?" doesn't it?
To answer as if it was meant that way:
To describe the yard, it's located on an outside corner of the layout, lead running along one edge, two curved (all divergent routes left) three way switches leading to four stub-end tracks each long enough to hold a 12 car train. The tangent extension of the lead ends at a "ferry slip" for cassettes (used to transfer rolling stock from storage to layout or vice versa.) Since the whole thing is intended to be back-in staging, and will eventually be buried under scenery (and several additional layers of track!) it is totally devoid of any visual enhancements such as ballast.
A similar yard (for longer trains) is currently under construction on the opposite side of the main. The basic design is similar, except that the lead is curved 90 degrees and the body tracks curve an additional 90 degrees, making it a complete 180 degree hairpin.
I can get away with the odd track arrangements because I build my own specialwork, from raw rail. I wouldn't try it in the same space with commercial turnouts!
Chuck (modeling Central Japan in September, 1964)
You can see my yard and pictures at my site.
Wolfgang
Pueblo & Salt Lake RR
Come to us http://www.westportterminal.de my videos my blog
bighead wrote: Can you guys put up the track plans for your train yards? because i'm planing mine, so far I have the roundhouse....-Jake
Can you guys put up the track plans for your train yards? because i'm planing mine, so far I have the roundhouse....
-Jake
From the far, far reaches of the wild, wild west I am: rtpoteet
Upper right hand corner of this layout.
Designed for trains consisting of 1 short diesel engine, 8 40' cars and a caboose, train lengths of about 58".
Has three tracks that are double ended and accessible from the mainline in both directions - two (track 1 and 2) which are long enough to contain an entire train - ie suitable for arrival/departure tracks.
Three stubended tracks off the yard ladder for temporary storage of cars while they are being classified.
Yard switching lead on one (left) end which can be used without fouling the mainline - long enough for a switcher and 6 or 7 cars. Room for a switcher and one car to move from track 2 to track 3 (for runaround moves via track 3) without fouling the mainline on the other (right) end of the yard.
If you want a lot of ideas for yards, go buy the downloadable freight yard information station PDF by John Armstrong about yard design.
URL: http://kalmbachcatalog.stores.yahoo.net/mrpdf035.html
Good luck in designing a workable yard.
Smile, Stein
Here is what I have . It has 3 tracks in and is single ended. 1 track brings in and puts out loco's and 1 track brings in passenger trains and the 3rd brings in freight.
Mike
“When I was 5 years old, my mother always told me that happiness was the key to life. When I went to school, they asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up. I wrote ‘happy’. They told me I didn’t understand the assignment, and I told them they didn’t understand life.” -- John Lennon
What's in my yard? Let's see...
My plan...it's...not reccomended. It's got three long tracks, two short tracks on the right side of the pic as well as a stub track, then a grain track by the elevator. Then a track goes off to a 3 stall roundhouse with turntable, as shown here:
Now, the yard is too small and not good for switching, the roundhouse isn't big enough, and I have no place to put locomotive sets longer than a pair of S-2s...
Go here for my rail shots! http://www.railpictures.net/showphotos.php?userid=9296
Building the CPR Kootenay division in N scale, blog here: http://kootenaymodelrailway.wordpress.com/
Here's a photo of mine....yard lead at each end, 4 tracks to use as the yard plus a run around the ladder or a caboose track at the bottom of the photo.
Don Z.
Research; it's not just for geeks.
Chip
Building the Rock Ridge Railroad with the slowest construction crew west of the Pecos.
My yard is very small. It has an interchange track, a passing track, and the mainline. The spurs consist of a MOW/Caboose/Team track, two engine house leads, and a RIP track. This type of yard seems to be in keeping with most other shortlines.
Most of the shuffling is performed with an 0-5-0 in staging.
The Cedar Branch & Western--The Hillbilly Line!
I have just one switch at the present time on the new yard. But plans show it to be a stub ended body track times 4, one caboose track, One arrival track/departure track with a track allowing the road engine to escape to the roundhouse.
It will be set up with the drill track to the left and the body tracks to the right and there is a small District on one end of the yard and the main is on the other.
I dont have pictures yet but have a few PDF's from Kalmbach related to Operations and yards that are very closely followed with the yard design. I am not wanting to post a screenshot of the yard design from the PDF itself because MR discourages sharing of information from publications.
I expect the small yard to be functional as soon as the required switches are purchased, construction has already started in the room. Which is always a good sign.
I have one but it's a rough copy of what it looks like. There are actually two mainlines too.
But this just one of the yards.
The only tracks that hold the cars are the first 4. the others are switching leads with industries. Like I said this is really a rough copy but it should give you some idea.
Happy railroading
James