Switching layout expansion - Ideas?

Here we go! Another "Help me improve my layout" thread!



I have this N scale layout under construction, nearly ready for surface scenery and detailing. I'm not happy with some of the track, and it will be pulled up and re-laid. I thought I'd jump on this opportunity to present it to y'all, and let y'all critique it. I plan to expand it, but how, I'm not sure. There is a tunnel portal over the track at the left edge, and the right edge mainline is 4.5" back from the front. The overall dimensions of the layout are approximately 4 feet by 10 inches. I would like a very small yard (15-20 cars perhaps?) and maybe another industry or two on the expansion part of this layout. The extension for this layout can be either straight inline with this existing layout, or it can be angled toward the front, to create an L shape that will fit in the corner. I would like the extension to be about 4-6 feet in length. I have a Peco turntable and a Walthers two stall engine house, and a Bachmann steam engine service facility to incorporate to this layout. I would like the layout to reflect a branchline town in WV during the transition era. The passing siding on the existing part of the layout may be stretched over onto the expansion.

Any ideas?

 

Jon - I'm having a little trouble seeing your picture - either make it bigger by lots or get rid of the color!

I can't tell for sure, but do you have any industries? That's important, especially on switching layouts.

Bill K

 

Okay, bigger it will be.

 

Okay, the top-right industrial track goes up a trestle at a retail coal dealer. The lower-right track goes inside a factory. I plan on swapping these two around so the factory is on the back, and the coal dealer near the front. This will allow me to reduce the grade on the track up to the coal trestle, and increase track reliability. I may extend the double ended passing siding all the way to the right edge of the layout, to extend onto the expansion. The central upper siding that goes across the crossing is another industry, I had thought about modeling a cold storage warehouse there.

Any further comments?

Now, how about ideas on plans to expand this?

 

I have seen your request, but will need to read your posts a couple of times to get it into my head so I can help you... so be patient while I get "with it." LOL

 

Alrighty, read it a dozen times if you have to.

 

Jon,

How about adding a second module to the right (or left for that matter) and represent another small town rather than one larger one? This would seem to provide the most operational opprotunities possible.

Make the next town the end of a branch line, thus justifying the turntable and engine house. Conversely, you could model a point along a branch where a bunch of other branch lines converge, just like the real C&O south of Charleston.

 

Brian, I do believe you've hit paydirt. I like your idea of an entirely different town. I'll have to downsize some industries, such as perhaps a team track, shared with a small industry rather than the single large factory. I think I'll refocus my efforts in designing a whole separate town with a small yard, and engine service facilities, to complement this switching layout.

 

I would go the other way and add the the left. A small yard with an interchange track where you can swap cars on and off, build trains for the existing town and have a couple industry spots there as well.

What do you like most about your exising layout? It might be best to expand on what you enjoy the most.

 

What I like most about it would be the fact that I fit 3 industries and a double ended siding into a small space. I'll likely re-arrange the track from the siding over to the right edge anyways, I'd like it so the mainline (front part of the siding) doesn't zigzag so sharply, also the two sidings will be re-arranged.

 

Here's what the quick redesign looks like:



The right end of the passing siding is now a righthand switch, so the straight leg is on the mainline. The coal dealer has been moved from the rear of the layout to the front of the layout where the heavy industry was. The spur on the backside where the coal dealer used to be is now a team track, with a little extra space, perhaps a crane or other equipment could be parked there.

Now... design ideas for an expansion?

 

Is there a physical reason your layout is only 10 inches wide? Could it not be expanded to 14 or so, giving you some more room for structures and track?

 

No particular reason other than that's what it ended up when I was cutting the foam. I took a radically different approach when I started designing this layout, in that it was designed as it was constructed. I figured I'd just throw something together real quick to play with, but it has turned into more. It originally was going to be about 7-8 inches wide, and a little over 2 feet long, but I wanted to have a passing siding with room for 3 cars and at least 3-4 on each end too, so that dictated it needed to be longer, so I extended it. Eventually, I glued the chunk of foam I had expanded onto a frame made of 1x3s, and take this layout a little more seriously. I have thought recently of adding two inches to have more room for a small town area, and perhaps a small flagstop type station. All I'd have to do is attach a 1x2 edgeways across the back side with L brackets, then glue some foam on top of that and contour it to match the rest of the layout.

Update:
I'm about ready to cut some flextrack and spike it in place where I'm re-arranging the right end of the layout. I have cut a pit where the coal dealers trestle will be, instead of having it at the top of a huge incline like I had before. I may have an incline where the backside spur goes thru the street to get to the team track on the right rear edge of the layout.

Now that I think about it... an extra two inches of modeling room sounds like a hellova idea...

 

Okay, here we go! I've figured out what I want to do with this layout. It will represent the end of a very short branch, perhaps simply the third leg of a wye off a branchline. I will add 2 feet to the right end of it, and include a few more tracks, a turntable, and most important of all a coal mine. Here's what I've got:



Tell me what you think!

 

Well, in my latest post I indicated I had figured out what I wanted to do. See the last image I attached, and compare it to the second image.

If you still want to try something, I'm flexible on space, but I don't want something to take up the entire room.

 

Can you extend the right end of the runaround. It would have to run in the street but I personally am a big fan of street running

 

I did stretch it by one carlength, from 3 cars to 4 cars now, but I doubt I'll stretch it further because I've already carved the profile in the foam for the track to be as it is. I am going to end up with a large portion of the backside siding (team track) running uphill in the street for a ways tho. I like street running also.

 

I took another look at it, and I do believe I can stretch that siding to about 6-7 carlengths if I get rid of the slight hill I had planned for the backside, and run most of the length of my team track in the middle of the street. Sounds like a plan to me.

 

I second FriscoBob's request, give the space as the first thing I would do is make your initial section wider. If you don't need to work in 10 inches, why not widen it. Probably pretty easy if add another 10 inches to the already existing one, if you don't want to tear apart something you already have.