I posted this in the layout forum but got no answers. Might have been because it was under an older post. Thought I would re-post here in N scale. Well I finally saw some forward movement tonight! I drew out my 16.5 and 15" curve radii on two parts of my table and started laying some cork roadbed (until i ran out of Liquid Nails). The biggest problem I am having is with my yard. I was hoping for to get at least four tracks for my yard, but after laying some track out tonight on my table it was awful short! I only have about 36" of straightway to work with and I was going to loop the yard off the main and then back in. I suppose if i want more room I am going to have to look at it a different way... Any suggestions? I was trying to avoid curved switches as they are expensive. I have attached my drawing of my track plans. Layout is 11' across the back. Left dog leg is 6' and right one is 4' long. There is 5' between the two dog legs. The table is to scale but the track is more or less just draw out on there. I want to place a town in the upper left corner near where the roads are drawn in. Just below the road on the left dog leg will be a passenger station where the rectangle is located. In my yard I will have a two bay engine house, a water tower, a coaling/sanding station, an yard office and warehouse, signal house small freight depot and perhaps a boiler house, among a few other smaller things. Around 3-5 industries will be placed around but not sure as to where yet. Elevation rises as we move towards the right side of the layout, being highest on the far right side. Any suggestions? Especially in the yard? Perhaps I should eliminate the idea of a yard that loops in and back out and just use a one ended yard? I attached a pic of the track I laid out today.. it is only sitting on the table so can be easily moved around. Thanks! Dean
You can download AnyRail (http://www.anyrail.com/index_en.html) for free and use it to get a better idea of how your track plan will work. It's really easy to use too; took me all of 15 minutes to figure out all the essentials.
How about just a one-ended yard instead of a ladder like that? That way you could build the yard into the curve of the track, and it'd give you much more space, not only in the length of the tracks, but the number. I went ahead and created this (very) quick drawing in paint to give you an idea of what I'm talking about.
Since its a pull through yard you could make it U-shaped and have it feed back into your main on the opposite side. Would make for an interesting sight to see a bunch of cars stored parallel around a curve.
Do like Chris1274 said above and get AnyRail - or download any one of several track planning software packages (SCARM, XTrakCAD, or RTS if you're running Windows). Unless you're very careful, hand-drawing your switches (or turnouts if you prefer) will not give you an accurate representation of what is possible.
As I am facing the VERY SAME situation in HO I have come to a kind of 'think outside the box' idea about this 'yard for the RR business' business..: Instead of having any 'yard' why not turn this area into say 1-2,3 industry tracks yeilding a 'reason' for the car/cars sitting there any length of time...Same for remaining layout..I.E..With our ultra-limited space perhaps the idea of a 'yard' is not necessary as it is on a huge MRR ..You can house extra cars off the layout and devise a 'hidden' staging-spur where you can add/remove cars stored near by..On this track you can install one of those re-railer snap-track sections so cars go on quick and easy...The big MRRs almost always have an off-scene staging area like this, not because of RR size but due to so many members viing (vie ing ?) to introduce all their cars and engines, and especially when club is packed during an open house..Truth be too, empty yards mean the RR is thriving..Yards filled long periods shows stagnation in the system, business is slow...Finally, longer, single sidings along main can act as yards..This looks neat too as moving trains roar by the string of cars awaiting use..and/or are on interchange tracks awaiting 'other RR's pickup of, to the outside world your lines connect with...In the end you'll still be having the enjoyment of 'working' these industries and still seeing the very same cars that would otherwise be sitting idle in a (likely) too small yard...plus, you still can have an engine terminal/shops/caboose track.....Again, this goes for me ,too !!
I have been playing with this on AnyRail... can't get it to turn out there either! Something always comes up where the track won't line up right. And for some reason XTrakCAD and I don't get along when it comes to laying out the track. I am now thinking a pull through yard just might not work, although one curving around like Norway2112 said could be interesting. Maybe a one ended yard would be better? The amount of room in this area keeps messing with me because I keep thinking there is more than there actually is. For this layout 3-4 yard tracks would be sufficient since I am going after a small town, small/medium yard look and maybe the rest of any space left could be industry. Also, what switches are better used in a yard? I have Atlas remote #4s and #6s?? (That's what I have available to me.) Please keep posting ideas as they really help!!
I have a pet idea about yards, short straightaways and S curves. I have NOT built this yet so I cannot guarantee how well this works. See the west end (bottom left) of my planned Santa Fe yard. It may look like complicated custom trackwork and curved turnouts but it is not. It is just one curved leg of an ordinary turnout leading into the next curved leg. Usually one thinks of a yard ladder as having a bunch of straight legs of turnouts one to the next. This is a curved ladder. The middle of the yard is straight, but the tracks are NOT parallel with the lead to which the ladders are attached at either end. If they were parallel, the route into a yard body track would have to curve one way off the main or lead, then curve back the other way into the yard track itself- creating an S curve. These two arrangements avoid S curves (except for the icing platform track) and allow a longer yard than if you attempted to cut the entire yard including both ladders into one of the limited straightaways on our model right-of-way.
Here is a prototype example of a curved yard. It is the former Boston & Maine yard at East Deerfield which has a noticeable curve in the middle.
These are some good ideas for a large yard. Thing here is that I want to stay relatively small, 3-4 yard tracks and a few more for an engine shed, maintenance, sanding/coaling, water etc. And, if still room, a spur or two for some light industry. That Boston & Maine yard was really neat and I don't think I have ever seen a yard curved like that one. Again, on the best switches.. any preferences? And, were certain types of rail maintenance located on specific tracks? I mean, I know I have seen coaling, sanding and ash pits near each other. Water towers seem to be randomly placed depending on space. Engine houses and machine shops would be near each other correct? Would the servicing tracks (coal/fuel/sanding, etc.) also lead to the engine/machine shops? In other words, was there an order of things that were, or was it more random design based on each yard's needs? You know, you damn near have to be a city/railroad planner to build a model railroad!! LOL
My railroad research library includes "Urban Geography" by Northam, "The Image of the City," by Lynch, "The Urban World," Palen, "Streetcar Suburbs," a 1935 college textbook on highway design, a 1954 study of 21 railroad grade crossings in Houston, building-by-building architectural guidebooks (separate books for Houston, San Antonio, Galveston, cities I have based models on) general architectural history of Texas 1880-1950 "Missing from Texas" (lost buildings) Sanborn's Insurance Maps and don't get me started on industrial history...
How about something like this? That's just a quick sketch and there isn't a constant radius in the curves. You could have the engine servicing area coming off the spur in the middle. The white area is 3x6 feet.
Problems: troublesome S-turns on the outermost track. Also, having the curves at the ends of the yard proper makes coupling and uncoupling nearly impossible. I agree that a single-ended yard may be the answer--and may in fact be the only feasible one for this layout size.
With what you're explaining, I would just try to stick with a single-ended yard like the one I drew up earlier. It will be the best operating, and if you plan on doing any switching in the yard, coupling would be near impossible on that curve if you were to make a double-ended yard. As for turnouts, Atlas ones work quite well. You may want to modify them to give you more overall room. If you're really up to save space, you could attempt hand-laying. It's not as hard as it seems, and can save you some big bucks. Alex
Yes, I am thinking that may be the way to go. I have been playing around with a few ideas based on what I have seen here and one TB member is working with me offline as well. A curved yard isn't going to work because I loose room needed on the right side for my passenger stations and siding. Also, each radius inwards gets tighter and tighter, and my outside radius is only 16.5" and the inside main at 15". Came up with something that still needs some tinkering with. See attached pic. Its more like a servicing area than a yard but I may add a couple of yard tracks in too. Track on the table is only set out for "getting the idea" because its easier for me to see it that way. Thanks for all the help y'all! Does this seem feasible? Ordered some Wyes and a different crossing tonight for better fit. May extend track on right of engine house to include some extra rails for car storage. Dean
