Way-too-early Planning Ruminations

This is a very clever idea.

 

Given the necessity of crawling through a 36x48 access door to enter a space that is only comfortable 75% of the year, any track plan options generated for the water heater space would need to provide a very big improvement over a track plan that only uses the attic space. Thinking big...are there plans to finish off the water heater space to make it more comfortable...and--of course--easier to hold layout benchwork? If you measure across the water heater space (parallel to the street) at 52 inches (the approximate height of the knee wall in the attic space), is there enough room for a loop of track (probably at least 6 feet)? If not, how about at 36 inches, the height of a lower shelf in the attic space? Or, after finishing it off, would the heater space be so narrow that any tracks coming into the heater space would need to dead end in the space instead of looping back out?

The recently available option of removing the cabinets at the right side of the track plan would affect the angle at which tracks could enter the water heater space. If you would like to include the water heater space in a track plan, could you post a floor plan that shows where the water heater space is at least 52 inches high so we can see what possibilities (or limitations) there are for running tracks into that space from the attic space?

 

This latest plan looks really good to me.

 

A semaphore-signalled RR with an interstate bridge over Ravenswood Yard seemed somewhat anachronistic to me, but a quick search of semaphores led me to Wikipedia's info that CSX still has 2 sections of (former Monon) semaphone-signalled trackage between Louisville Kentucky and Chicago. SWEET!

Do you plan to stick fairly close to modeling the actual towns and industries along the Monon that were in the semaphore-signalled section? Or will you be exercising your modeler's license to use semaphores from Ravenswood east to [someplace short of Norfolk] or west to [someplace short of Chicago]?

Will the big bubble of empty space next to Ravenswood be used for hidden loops on the upper (50" elevation?) and lower (36" elevation?) decks to allow continuous running and/or reversing unit trains to stage a return run? If you plan on just letting a train orbit on a continuous loop, or if you have unit coal/ore trains that are permanently loaded or empty, then a loop on both decks will be necessary.

You probably have already considered this, but just in case...
track plans for the two yards (Ravenswood and the upper deck yard[even if it's only for staging]) should be configured so that an operator working the Ravenswood Yard can comfortably reach all the relevant turnouts and tracks on one side of the bubble and the operators entering/working/leaving the upper yard can stand on the other side of the bubble and reach all the necessary turnouts and tracks in their yard without having to "dance" with the Ravenswood operator.

 

You had mentioned staging in some of your earlier plans, but haven't included any staging on the lower level of your most recent track plan. What plans do you have for operations...in particular, will you only be running 1 or 2 trains from modeled cities (such as between Ravenswood and Grantsville), or do you plan to also start some of your trains from east and west staging cities (e.g., Parkersburg, Sutton, Glenville, or Weston) and then move through the modeled cities to another staging city (so you could be running 4 or 5 trains during an operating session).

If you ran your double main at Ravenswood at the front edge of the shelf and had an arrival/departure track and yard lead running parallel to the double main from the lower right corner passing in front of the chemical plant and the water heater space door to the throat of the yard at the top of the bubble, you could have the double main continue along the front of the shelf and become visible staging in front of the Ravenswood Yard and turntable. This would give you the option of staging a train (with, for example, 12 cars) on the eastbound main of the visible staging tracks which could represent a train that originated in Parkersburg and is waiting for permission to enter into Ravenswood to drop off 6 cars (half of the 12) and pick up 6 cars before continuing east to drop off 6 (the other half) and pick up 6 cars at Grantsville, and then proceeding to visible or hidden staging in a city someplace east of Grantsville. A westbound train starting in east staging could drop off and pick up 6 cars at Grantsville and then set out and pick up 6 at Ravenswood before traveling to Parkersburg (visible staging). A 3rd train built from the 12 cars delivered from staging to Ravenswood would drop off and pick up 12 cars at industries and at least one interchange between Ravenswood and Grantsville and would terminate in Grantsville after setting out 6 cars (half of the 12) for the next day's eastbound train to pick up and 6 cars for the next day's westbound to pick up. A 4th train would originate in Grantsville, and would serve all the industries and the interchange between Grantsville and Ravenswood, then set out 6 EB and 6 WB at Ravenswood for the next day's trains to pick up.

Half of EB cars from west staging would go to Ravenswood and half to Grantsville; half of WB cars from east staging would go to Grantsville and half to Ravenswood; half of all industries/interchange cars brought to Ravenswood would be set out on the EB classification track and half to the WB classification track; half of the industries/interchange cars coming into Grantsville would go WB and half EB. For the length of all 4 trains to remain balanced through several operating sessions, it will be necessary to have as many cars spotted in the industries and interchange as would be in the Ravenswood and Grantsville trains combined (e.g., 12 cars from Ravenswood + 12 cars from Grantsville = 24 cars spotted in the industries and interchange). If you don't want so many cars spotted at the industries and interchange, then have your EB and WB trains drop off fewer (less than half of their) cars at Ravenswood and Grantsville, and run shorter trains out of Ravenswood and Grantsville.

 

A lot of the track shown in yellow seems to be hidden...How do you plan to use the yellow tracks in your operations?
The reversing loop at Grantsville will be very hard to disguise as currently configured. Please consider using the siding to the depot as the front half of the reversing loop. The back half of the reversing loop could start at a left hand turnout probably just above the depot. This way, you could curve the reversing loop sharply behind the depot to disappear behind buildings and trees so it can loop back around to tie into the double main as it passes over the water heater access door. If you position the depot structure closer to the top of loop, you may be able to have both the reversing loop track and the track that would go into staging in the water heater space pass in front of the depot and then disappear behind trees and buildings next to each other at the back of the shelf.

The helix by Tucker Creek is currently drawn as rising in a counter-clockwise direction. While CCW rotation makes right side running trains climb up the outside loop with its slightly less steep grade than the inside loop down track, this forces tracks on the lower level to disappear to the back of the lower shelf where they will be very difficult to reach for cleaning or maintenance/repairs (been there, done that, gnashed teeth and chiropractic bills to show for it). Consider making your helix loops climb in a clockwise direction. If you start your 2% grade 8 or 12 feet before Tucker Creek, you would still have level track (at 36 inches elevation) to leave cars on while switching the aluminum plant, but could climb to 39 inches elevation by Tucker Creek, and to 41 inches by the front of the helix, 43 inches by the back of the helix, 45 inches by the front of the helix and 47 inches by the back of the helix. Assume the front of the helix is 6:00 on a clock face: the double track on the lower level could disappear behind trees/hills or into a tunnel portal at about 4:00 at about 40 inches elevation, and reappear on the "upper" deck at about 6:00 from behind trees or from a tunnel portal at 45 inches elevation. The double track would be visible (and easily accessed for cleaning and maintenance) as it passes through scenery around the end of the shelf (46 inches elevation) and the back of the shelf (47 inches elevation) to RLM Cabinetry at 48 inches elevation.

On your track plan, I'm assuming the purpose of the yellow track that cuts off of the double main near RLM Cabinetry is to provide a continuous running loop on the upper deck.
If you adopt my proposed clockwise rising helix, the continuous loop could start with a #6 right hand turnout in the east bound track just after the double track exits the top of the helix at 6:00 (appearing from behind trees or from a tunnel portal). All 3 tracks will curve around the end of the shelf until, sort of behind RLM Cabinetry, the double track will curve a little to angle toward Elizabeth and toward the front of the upper deck, while the yellow track continues straight across at the very back of the shelf.
In addition to providing an upper deck loop for continuous running, this track could also provide a junction with a foreign RR, and, if you wanted, you could put an interchange track between the yellow main at the back of the shelf and the double track angling toward Elizabeth. The interchange track would parallel the westbound track from near Wert Co Farm Service to RLM Cabinetry, and one end would tie into the westbound track near RLM Cabinetry and the other end near Wert Co Farm Service. (Make sure the Farm Service track can be worked without having to move any cars spotted on the interchange track, and vice versa.) There also should be a connection to the foreign RR on (at least) one end of the interchange track.

As currently drawn, RLM Cabinetry can only be served by an eastbound train and Wirt Co Farm Service only by a westbound. Another possibility, for what it's worth... If the double track starts in Elizabeth (at 48 inches elevation) instead of at Wirt Co Farm Service, and a left hand crossover is put in near RLM Cabinetry creating a level section of track long enough for both eastbound and westbound trains to run around themselves, then both industries (and Cabot Inc Carbon Black) could be worked by trains heading in either direction (allowing the RR to save money by avoiding having to make every car always travel over the entire distance between Ravenswood and Grantsville, instead of just to/from Elizabeth).

 

This is a detail of the clockwise helix I mentioned above.

Regardless of whether you go CW or CCW, I strongly urge you to construct a bowl-shaped helix (lower loops have a tighter radius than upper loops) rather than a stacked helix (where each loop is the same radius so track centerline of next highest loop is directly above the lower loop). With a 2% grade and 32 inch radius, the railheads of your helix will be about 4 inches apart and clearance from the rail head to the underside of the next highest loop will be 4 inches minus the thickness of the subroadbed that the track is attached to). This low clearance will have a significant influence on original construction: to build a stacked helix, you will need to fully complete all aspects of building each loop (supports for the subroadbed, the subroadbed itself, secure the track to the roadbed, solder all rail joiners, solder all feeders, bullet-proof all track) before you can start the next highest loop. The <4 inch clearance will interfere with future repairs: it will be very difficult to check/repair track alignment, and re-soldering failed or broken feeders on the outside rail of the inside track and on the inside rail of the outside track will be impossible. Depending on how the individual loops are supported, routine track cleaning may be hindered by having to reach around every support.

If you build a bowl-shaped helix, it will not be necessary to go one loop at a time. This is a picture of one of the 4 bowl-shaped helixes I have on my N-scale layout. The L-girder benchwork, helix supports, and track subroadbed (OSB panels and Homasote) were in place for 2 years before I had the money and time to add track to that helix or the lower deck that it led to.

Kellar Helix by ppuinn posted Jun 23, 2006 at 2:09 AM

Because the only place the upper loop is above the lower loop is at the lower entrance to the helix near Tucker Creek, it is possible to use the cookie-cutter method for shelf construction (saving lots of time and headaches). Aside from having to crawl under the lower deck to access the inside of the helix, repairs and maintenance while standing in the helix will be comparable to repairs and maintenance while standing in the aisle in front of Tucker Creek; and since all supports are under the track instead of beside the loops, cleaning track will not be hindered at all.

The zig-zag lines on the helix detail plan represent view blocks (hills, trees, tree flats, or structures) that are just high enough to prevent casual viewers from being distracted by the inside of the helix (maybe, 5 to 8 inches?). They also separate scenes along the shelf so that only a limited amount of the layout can be seen at the same time...which (for me, anyway) makes the layout seem larger.