I'm finally working on my first track plan since I was a kid, I wish I had more space than a 2x5 but I am content to be working on one nonetheless. I would like some feedback or suggestions on my current layout. First off, I want to have three businesses on this plan a ThyssenKrupp building in which coil cars will be the main traffic, a Gerdau Ameristeel building in which gondolas and a boxcar will meet, and finally in a ADM plant for covered hoppers or tankers. Does my track plan seem sufficient for my idea and where could improvements or new track be put. I have to make a traverser on the right side so additional track in the upper right side could be added. Any feedback or ideas are welcomed.
nice minimalist layout, BUT there are 2 issues that I can see right away. You have no room for a switch lead, you will need more room for the train basically to pull in. By having the switch on the edge of the layout, you can not really use it. Also, you have switches facing opposite directions, so as you pull in your train, cars will have to be on both sides of your engine. If you add a run-a-round track, the crew would be able to switch better, OR you will have to add staging on both ends, so the train in the morning would get the west facing switches, and on the return, get the east facing switches....I am assuming that this is HO, right?
Yes this is HO and as I mentioned I need to make a traverser for the one switch at the edge of the layout
I wish I could find it, but I would look at the 2005 Model Railroad Planning...there was a good article about building a 1x3 and a 1x4 Union Pacific switching layout in HO....
It looks to me that that you have a #6 left and 2 # 4s, left and right but if i'm wrong then none of this will make sense. I think if you swap the #6 at the right edge of the board with with the #4 on the left, then the trajectory of all the trackwork will change and hopefully give you the lead you need. Now that I think about it you may need a larger angle degree for the crossing. Ummm...move pieces, post pictures.
Personally, I always think that it's more fun to incorporate a runaround for a small switching layout, rather than have to place cars in order manually before beginning. If your traverser is going to extend the entire width of the layout at the right side, you do have a runaround path, but (in my mind) even better would be to include the runaround "on-stage". One way to do this and to maintain roughly what you have would be to replace what appears to be a diamond crossing with a double-slip (I'm working from a small screen and I think it's currently a crossing -- but if it's already a double-slip, then you are ready to go). Best of luck with your layout.
Thanks for all the feedback so far, all of my switches right now are number 6 turnouts (sadly I can't find the number 4 turnouts I want to use). I'm away for work this week so I can't directly work on the track but I found this plan and mixed with a idea I had from a Model Railroader issue and I put my own twist on it I came up with this at work. Is this a better alternative? Would this create a good main track, team track, and industrial spurs? The original plan was only a little over 3 feet long so I believe I should be able to do what I have in mind on my 5x2 board and hopefully enough to move one 50' boxcar and my switcher. Again feedback is welcome and appreciated.
I'm not sure what you mean by that. Manually placing cars in order to switch industries? Couldn't the same be done with a single drill track? BTW, I don't mind some to the layouts I see that don't have a run-around. Short industrial switching layouts could be done that way, utilizing a shoving platform for reverse moves. However, I do tend to prefer run-arounds for layouts that reflect traversing a few miles, where you would work trailing point switches on the way out, run-around, and then work facing point (now trailing point) switches on the way back.
Not with both facing-point and trailing-point spurs. Unless you start with the engine in the middle, which is just another case of manually putting the cars in order before beginning.
Was it actually done in HO? The top depiction would seem impossible in HO, as both the hidden industry and team tracks could not be switched without an extension to the right. There is not enough room to the right of those switches, for any motive power plus one car length.
