I've been struggling to come up with a good layout for my N scale freelance. I decided to suck the design interest way back and focus on two coal mines and a power plant. The goal is to have 2-3 five foot long trains. Should be about 2 SD40-2's and 12-15 cars, and possibly some helper service. All the points along the main are pulled from the original Youngstown & Ohio River in the 1920's. Minimum radius is 12", maximum grade is 2%; the layout is divided by two scenes. The first focuses on two mines and the crossing over Little Beaver Creek. The second focuses on the power plant and Van Fossen Cut which was the highest point on the railroad. Any advice and thoughts on the layout would be appreciated.
That's a nice twice around layout you have there. I like the fact the track doesn't just follow the layout edge, which should make for nice scenery and good rail fanning. Good use of bridges and tunnels too. Maybe you could add an interchange track to haul coal off layout or bring in other supplies from off layout to another industry. Good luck and looking forward to your progress.
I was able to put a revised version together. I have two stub tracks that would store cars for the power plant. I also have an interchange track that would store another train. The stub tracks can be worked off of a coal siding that will also serve as the lead. I should be able to have 48-60 cars and 4-8 locomotives out on the layout at one time. I would like to find a spot for helper/power storage as well. Let me know what you think...
Your new design adds undesirable "S" curves coming out of the loop when you added the power plant spur tracks and shifts everything to the opposite side of the mainline. It also changed the mainline to the diverging route on the other side of the layout. I see no reason to change the other side of the layout's loading design. Overall I like the original design much better! I would come in from the left power plant siding with some spurs instead. On a less critical point I would run the interchange track more parallel to the mainline and take it out straight past the loop.
I want to make sure I'm following you. How I have it set now the main actually stays on the non-diverging track, the one closest to the power plant is a passing siding. The inside curve would be the main, the outside would only be used as a lead for the stub tracks or the coal mine on the bottom edge. Do I need to reverse my diverging tracks on the passing siding to get rid of the "S" curves? Or are you talking about from the lead to the stub tracks? I'm not sure where you are talking on that. Thanks for the input though, it is helpful!
Believe I see what Jerry is saying about the main/siding. If you follow the main from drawing top past "Y&OR Power Plant Tracks", clockwise via the hidden/dottted area, when you come to the switch by that bridge at lower left, it is drawn as if the main is the siding.
When I spoke of the other side of the layout I was referring to the Miller Bros Mine siding. It now has become the mainline leading to the Y&OR Power Plant and has also created an undesirable "S" curve. You could easily extend the Y&OR Power Plant left hand siding into a yard ladder with additional spur (stub end) tracks for storage. They would have to extend under the bridge (viaduct), however I do not see that as an issue. Another issue I see is you no longer have a crossover
Convert the two turnouts on the upper right side near the powerplant to left handers and that'll cure your S curves. Agree also with Jerry, try to work a crossover back in so your locomotives have a means of running around the train for switching. Sent from my XT1585 using Tapatalk
