RD; I got inspired today and I thought I would do a little work on your track plan. I can send you the cad file or image (I can't remember what you said you can use). I used some ideas from the Interstate RR (my favorite) to add some operation to the plan. I increased the length of the passing siding at the junction with the coal branch. I also added another crossover here to allow passing of mainline trains and branch line trains. The area around this passing siding is tight and it is hard to add structures here without crowding the scenery and tracks. So I added an interchange track with yet another RR. I named the railroads just for the ease of describing them, but go ahead and change them to what ever you like. I used the N&W and the L&N because they interchanged with the Interstate at Norton VA. I added a dummy crossing here just because diamonds are interesting spots to railfan. You could have a non-powered L&N train waiting to cross through the jct. The nice thing about interchange track is that they act like an industry that can take any type of car. Unlike, for example, a warehouse might get just boxcars, an interchange track will get any car you can think of. Also, for a little Interstate history, The L&N and the Clinchfield were own by the same company yet they never had a connecting track. The Interstate connected to both railroads, the L&N at Dorchester Jct. in Norton VA, and the Clinchfield at Miller yard. The L&N would drop off cars bound for CRR and the Interstate would send a locomotive to pick them up and run them over the ridge to the CRR and vise versa. This traffic was the Interstates bread and butter for years. You could use this track for that type of operation. Just dispatch a light locomotive and caboose to pick up the cut of cars on the interchange and run the whole works into staging. Later a train could come out of staging and set off a whole string of cars at the interchange, then run light with it's cab back to the engine house. I added another industry up by tipple No.2. It is just a track that disappears behind some trees or a hill. This can be anything you want. It is a nice way to model an industry without having to build the building, or if you don't have space. This industry could get many cars a day. Also, the whole cut of cars would have to be pulled out and you could run them down to Mudlick Jct. yard (another name you can change) the cars could be switched there, pulling out any pick ups and adding new deliveries. The fun part of these cars is that they should have an order to the way they have to be placed. For example, boxcars go on one end, tank cars in the middle and flat cars on the other end. You would have to get all the cars in the right order before you bring them back to be set off on the siding. I added more walkway space at the end of the peninsula, it was 18" and I made it 24". Most of us get wider as we get older so we might as well account for that now. I figured that there is no reason for the door to have to be all the way open, so I used a wedge shaped area behind the door to get more space above tipple #3. I also showed break lines in the layout where it could be made to come apart. The sections are all odd shapes but they are not very big. The biggest is the Mudlick section 8 x 3 feet. That is big but it is still movable if you had to. The layout is designed to be movable not portable. I think the trade off of having a more flowing and interesting plan is worth the trouble you'll have to move it. If you go with nice rectangular benchwork you get a rectangular look track plan, and mountain railroading did not have very much tangent track. Let me know what you think. We can go next to detailing the track elevations and staging yards. Also, lets here for others out there, what do you think.
Coaltrain Brilliant, absolutely brillant. I love it!!! The interchange ideas are great, well thought of. Interchanging with 2 other roads will definately add some interest. And the "no specific industry" siding is, well, just brilliant . Hiding that behind a hill will be easy and makes great use of available space. There is only one problem and that is around the door. The door actually opens from the top wall (left corner) and swings in (and down looking at the image). My wife brought home the digtal camera from work so I will take a couple of shots of the room (ignore the current mess!) and email them to you so you can get an idea of the look. Cheers Bruce [ 06. December 2003, 01:22: Message edited by: racedirector ]
That's not too much of a problem, the tipple tracks will either have to be shorter or you could have a drop leaf for the mty tracks. Post or send the photos, I'd like to see the room.
