I have been planning my next layout and think I have come pretty close to a final plan. I need some volunteers who would not mind me emailing my rts file to them so they can check it out and be ruthless. I cannot seem to get it to post so the captions can be read. If you would like a copy or would like to give some input either reply to this or email me. Many Thanks!!!! This is as good as I could get it to post. Lower Deck Era 1995 SP/UP/MCR Lower Deck Lower Staging/Oakland/Sacramento Upper Deck McCloud/Burney/Sierra Pacific/to upper staging More specific goblygook if you like to read. Theme: The layout represents UP/SP trackage from Oakland through Oregon via Sacramento and McCloud. Some of it is based off of maps and some is made up. The era is about 1995. First a descripion of the room: The space is actually 13x14 but 3 feet has to be reserved because the room also acts a hallway. The hallways is at the top portion of the plan so areas up there do not really have the access issues that they look like they have. On the right side is a closet which is 8 fet long. This will be used as staging and some hidden track. Tour from bottom to top. Starting from lower staging in the closet we first pass through Oakland. Oakland is one of 2 large yards planned on the layout. Oakland will support intermodal traffic through the hidden port, Amtrak, and will serve as a division point. Passing through Oakland we have an Industry on the left. It says a grain elevator but I might make it oil instead. Continuing we hit the C&H Sugar factory in Crockett, Ca. There is also a passing siding here. The next stop is Sacramento. This yard will serve as division point, storage, Amtrak and a medium sized engine facility. After leaving Sacramento we begin the 2.25% climb up to the upper deck. The only stop is Dunsmuir siding. before we get to the top deck. There our first stop is the city of McCloud. McCloud serves as a helper depot and sorting for southern bound traffic off of the McCloud Railroad trackage. (Operation rules prohibit any UP/SP trains from picking up or dropping off stock from anywhere but McCloud...they can run through however...No that is not prototypical.). After McCloud we get to Bartle siding and Bartle Wye. The wye is a feature of the MCR and the left turn will be made to look like it goes somewhere but will not be in operation on my railroad. Next we hit Burney where would could pick up diatamacious earth or Sugarbeats to ship to the C&H factory. We can also deliver flats with 12 and 18 inch pipes as PG&E was doing a major pipeline replacment in this area in the early 1990s. Out of Burney we can make a right into the Sierra Pacific lumber mill where we can pick up lumber and woodchips. We can also turn left into the upper staging where through traffic to the north can go. Facilities for continious running are planned but not shown on the botton level drawing. It will be a reverse loop. One major decision I have is whether I should do away with Sacramento as that may just be too many yards and not enough running.
Thanks for sending the files. I'm still trying to figure out the rise to upper staging. Is it the track below the Dunsmiur Siding. That makes sense as the rise would start as you start going around the loope to the left. I will have to get some books on DCC so I'll know how to handle the reversing loops. Also need to learn how to use RTS. Just started playing with that. How do you save plans without all the track peace numbers? Otherwise it looks interesting.
The grade is 2.25% and begins just passed Sacramento on the top right. I have not decided exactly how to handle Dunsmuir. I am leaning towards bringing it forward. Dunsmuir is the lower of the two tracks passing right their although I may change that. Where it says closet staging that actually refers to track that at the same elevation as Oakland. It is not drawn because it would further confuse the area. The loop that is shown to the left of Oakland is actually about 15 inches higher than Oakland. I struggle with the track names being shown as well. If I remember correctly, you have to select the whole layout and then open the preferences window. Uncheck print item numbers or something like that. The important thing is to make sure that apply to all is checked. I said that from memory so it may not be entirely accurate.
Is this how the rise in elevation works? The pink is my gues to be the path. With the red arrows pointing in direction of increasing elevation? [ 12. January 2004, 09:39: Message edited by: Colonel ]
Without taking the time right now to REALLY look at your track plan (kind of a busy day at work, I will say for the time being that it looks like you have a TON of operating potential here and that it looks like you have left lots of room for scenery. My biggest concern from looking at it right now would be the radius of the curves. I cannot tell what they are, but some appear pretty tight. It appears that you used the flex track tool in RTS to "connect the dots" and make your curves. I caution you to be careful doing this, as it is hard to tell what the radius of the curve is when doing it that way. The preferred way (at least to me) is to use the Special tool to create flex track of a fixed radius. This takes more planning, but it lets you better control the radius of the curves. If you have any questions on that then let me know as I have become very acquainted with using this tool. Also, some of the curves (particularly coming out of the bottom (or right) of Sacramento Yard) look to be very abrupt. I suspect this is simply because of the flex track tool on RTS, but you may want to do something with those. Overall, it's looking good. And...if it were me I'd keep the Sacramento Yard. It looks good there.
Short Round: The pink line is correct. Hoss: The flextrack tool and I have not been getting along very well. Givin the dimentions I have the tightest radius is 15 inches in all be one spot. The plan may or may not show this. The tightest spot is the grade on the top end of the peninsula. This may get down to 13 or so inches although if I make the Sacramento yard a little smaller then That radius could increase. I should have left the gridlines on. To give you an idea of the dimensions I am working with; the peninsula is 4x8 on the lower deck. The closet is 2 feet deep and 10 feet long. The benchwork will have rounded corners. Thanks!!
You might try BUILDING curves using flex track instead of just connecting the dots. I don't have RTS on my computer here, but I believe there is a tab called "Special" at the top. Click on that and then I think "Create Flex Track" or something along those lines. It will ask you if you want a curved section or a straight section. You then put in the radius you want and the angle of turn you want and then paste it on the layout and move it where you want it. You will have to rotate it to make it connect with the adjacent track. This works very well and lets you maintain a constant, fixed radius so you have nice, smooth curves. There's nothing spectacular at all about my abilities with RTS, but if you click on the link in my sig you can see kind of what I'm talking about. I created all of those curves in the manner described above. Given that you're running modern equipment, I think 15" is about the minimum radius I would go. Below this you could start having problems with derailments caused by long locos and cars. The overhang on tight curves like that is a bit unrealistic too. I think your equipment will run on 13" radius, but maybe not reliably.
Newest encarnation: Changes: -Smoothed out the radius' (Thanks Hoss) -Made Sacramento smaller -Ruling grade Sac to McCloud is 2.5 (was 2.25) -Drew in reverse loop on Oakland level -Adjusted nolix locations slightly to accomidat upper deck peninsula support structure -Dunsmuir is now visible on upper deck -Minimum radius is now 15 inches but most are 18-24 inches Thanks for your input!! Lower deck: Upper deck:
I think you've got a really good thing going here. Except for a few turnouts that appear to go nowhere, I think your lower deck looks great. On the upper deck, just above your Lake Britton bridge there is a very sharp curve. If possible, I would make the straight section (where the bridge is) shorter so that you can make that curve broader. Right now that curve looks like it's probably about a 9" or less radius....which is not a good thing. Also, in your Sierra Pacific Industries area there appear to be two tracks that are just almost right on top of each other. You might consider increasing the spacing between these. Just noticed something on the lower deck. In the lower left corner of your plan you have two curved sections of track that are right on top of each other. I don't know what your elevations are doing at this point, but obviously if they're at the same elevation then what you have there won't work. Just one other comment on RTS that might help you out. In your staging and yard areas I presume you wanted the tracks parallel and just didn't find the right curves to make it happen. If using the #5 turnout in the track library, you can use the 30.609" radius curve that's also in the library to make parallel tracks spaced 1.25" apart. Using the #7 turnouts you'd want to use the 71" radius curve to do the same. Then there's also the possiblity that you knew this and just didn't want to do it that way. Lookin' good.
Just a note....if you could decrease the size of your pictures so that we don't have to slide the page back and forth to read and look at it then I'm sure everyone would greatly appreciate it.
-I actually saved them smaller than last time. I don't know what happened. -Some turnouts do go nowhere. I was too lazy to take them out when I deleted portions of the yards. -If you look closely, a lot of tracks are on top of eachother. For some reason when you join track to c55 turnouts they join to teh center of the turnout. -Thanks for the ladder tip. I have been trying to figure out how to get them to be parallel. -The two curved sections are separated but 13-17 inches. The bottom one is the reverse loop and the top is for the grade climb to the second deck. I have to go to work. I will see about changing the size of the pics when I get home. Thanks!!
Just don't forget to leave them out when you lay track. Hmmm....that's interesting. I never had that issue and all I ever used was the c55 stuff. No problem. RTS has a bit of a learning curve but once you figure it out then it's a GREAT tool for track planning.
Be careful of the long reach to the corners. It's a pain. I know from experience, esp. when it come to soldering. (ps 600 x 800 pixels is a good picture size)
Hoss, I can't figure out the c55 issue either. ...But it is there on my computer at least. Barry, The only place I think I have a long reach is the bottom right corner. I guess it is not obvious but the Sacrament area has 3 feet of space behind it.
