Just when I thought benchwork was done....... Any thoughts on staging yards? If I make staging yards I would have to make it a lift out at the beginning (it would go in front of a seldom used door). Would a staging yard be worth the effort, time and frustration (not a very good carpenter)? All responses would be appreciated! Jeff
jeff, i think it all depends... do you want to run your trains so that it would appear to "leave" the scene to another town or something and then "reappear" from there? the alternative is of course, only to run within the layout and not have that "imaginary" aspect to the run. also, do you want a place to store/park your trains while they're not being used? with a staging yard, it seems easier to have several trains (more than you can run at the same time) on your layout...and swap during an operating session. and so, you can have multiple trains coming and going... i guess these are just some things to consider on whether a staging yard is worth the effort. otherwise, if you're more than satisfied with the layout plan as is, and the yard/yards are sufficient for your runs/operations, then perhaps a staging yard would be extra work. as a last suggestion... you can always keep the staging yard as an "addition" to be done later, should you feel the need for one or are unsatisfied without one. just plan it into the current layout to allow for the expansion.
I guess I'm thinking of Murphy. What are the chances of the door being opened when you have $400 dollars worth of rolling stock and engines on in the staging area? I'm thinking _my_ reason for a staging area is for my visistors since slow switching operations to make up a train are not likely to be interesting to the average visitor I envision haveing a few trains made up and ready to roll out of the staging yard.
I have a small layout. Mine was built on a 36" x 80" door, with a couple of extensions. My plan was for this to be Phase I of my layout, with my paper mill and that eventually I would build a mainline extension and a staging yard, but I wanted to get Phase I substantially completed before I started on Phase II. I also wanted to operate my layout before I built Phase II. I wanted to get my operational scheme worked out and make sure that all of my ideas worked. I found that I needed a staging yard to feed my operational scheme if I wanted to do anything other than just run trains a few laps around my mill. This allowed my trains to "leave" or "come from somewhere else." In one day I built a 4 track stub-ended staging yard that is "temporary" so that I could operate my layout and troubleshoot my operational scheme. My staging yard is built on a 1" x 12" x 8' board with 2" of foam on top of it. I secured it to the ege of the layout with large spring clamps, the kind that look like pliers. I wired it with disconnecting plugs and switches to kill the individual tracks. I built three sets of legs to support it that are removeable. WIth two more turnouts, I had the room that I could have made it into a 6 track yard, but I only needed 4 and my staging tracks could be a little longer. The staging yard can be setup or taken down in about 5 minutes. When I need to take it down, I can pull the trains onto the layout to park them. Since my yard is stub-ended, I do have to back the trains out and turn them between sessions. If you could put a lock on the seldom used door that could only be operated from the layout side to protect your yard, such a scheme might work for you.
Hi Jeff, no help from me as I am in a similar predicament! I've got a 3x10 going which is mostly two circular mainlines and a small yard. There's no way it can hold all my engines and cars. I do have some room to the side (about 2x5) but it would eat up valuable garage space. Can I build a staging area but still have useful storage above and below it? I want it covered to protect from dust etc. Maybe a lucite cover with a hinge... I want staging for the normal reasons listed, storage of equipment, and to have trains appear and disappear from the 'main' stage. It would be so nice to have work a work train, passenger train, and other freights 'ready to roll' without doing the plastic box shuffle. Cheers!
Check out www.ro-ro.net I am using one of these for my staging needs. 16 trains in a space of only 5 1/2" wide by 4' long. It sound expensive, untill you consider the cost of 32 turnouts 32 motors and 32 controllers, not to mention the realestate. required.
sd90ns, how do you like the Ro-Ro? Are you double tracking the shelves? how's the integration with existing track? Thanks.
