Canton, Highlandtown and Fells Point - Compact layout

[chicken45]

Hey! That's where I live! You gonna model me?

[sizemore]

The little blue branch line has Towson MA&PA or PRR through Cockeysville written all over it.




OR



http://www.railroadsignals.us/gp30/index.htm

The S.

[wm3798]

Hey! That's where I live! You gonna model me?

You're in Locust Point, you knucklehead.  Canton's like 1,000 miles away!

[chicken45]

You're in Locust Point, you knucklehead.  Canton's like 1,000 miles away!

Ha! I was speaking in general terms. I'll take the water taxi over to Fells Point so you better work on an N scale representation of my beard. I'd recommend starting with those BLMA mooners.

[Ed Kapuscinski]

Aside from that one Chessie/CR bridge. Canton/Highlandtown doesn't have much vertical separation of the various lines...

Just sayin.

[wm3798]

That bridge is plenty for the area I have to work with.

How about this small modification...



Put the branch line on the 9.75 curve, and have it eat the steep grade, and keep the main on the wider loop on the flat.

I might still try to keep the over/under figure 8, though, because I might want to go crazy and run more than an 8 car train...  Still processing that information.  I do have the crossings leftover from North Junction, I'd have to see if they'll work, I think they're a steeper angle than the ones David shows.




Lee

[DKS]

Hmmm... given that change, the branchline must climb at a grade of very nearly 4%. Also, I think the leftover crossings you have are 45 degrees. I did a quick sketch using that angle, and it totally precludes having a wye or any sidings on the lower right loop, unless you handlaid custom switches.

So, here's an alternative, utilizing the over-and-under scheme. I was able to massage the grades into something not too outrageous. The green track is all at 0". Blue track is level at 2". Aqua track is all on various grades, and grey sidings are level at various elevations. All curves are ~11".



Note that the actual grades would be slightly steeper owing to vertical easements, and the effective grades on curves will be even steeper. Bridges omitted for expedience.

[wm3798]

I'm on it.

[davefoxx]

That's pretty friggin' sweet, DKS.  Nice work, as usual.

DFF

[wm3798]

I nuked the wye... I couldn't see it functioning.  I also reconfigured the interchange track to go toward staging, and added a run around at the little yard.

Now I can see a train entering from staging at the right end, traversing the plan to the yard, switching the industries, then another train pulling the cars out of the yard, assembling an outbound and heading back to staging.

Also eliminated some of the aerobatics and steeper grades in the process, and kept the roundy round.

Final draft with actual turnouts and dimensions will have us off and running!

Thanks for the thoughtful input as always.

Lee

[DKS]

Also eliminated some of the aerobatics and steeper grades in the process...

Seriously?

OK, so now I am truly confused by what is going on. We have the green track at 0", which I have highlighted below. Then we have the aqua blue track which, as you show it, connects to the green line to the left, at the beginning of the former wye, but crosses over it at top right. Then we have the dark blue sidings, which branch off of the aqua line at top right, but cross over the left leg of the aqua line. Did I miss anything? If this is correct, you have some circumstances for truly impossible grades--like 25% or more. Is that really how you imagined configuring this section? Or did something get very lost in the translation...?

[davefoxx]

DKS beat me to it, but I was going to ask Lee if he was drunk.   

[Denver Road Doug]

Yes, definitely a physics problem with that last one.   But great stuff!   Great potential here for a nice little layout.

[DKS]

Now, you could do something like this, which would get you in the neighborhood of your "drunken plan" (per DFF). In this case, you'd have continuous running in a figure 8, with a reverse loop. Green line is again level at 0", blue line is level at 2" with aqua lines running the grades (which would be about the same as before). Requisite coal trestle is top right.



This has the advantage of having all of the upper-level industry sidings along the back perimeter, which keeps foreground buildings and such lower for better views.

Switches: all #5 except for one each left and right curved, and one #2.5 wye.

[Chris333]

Nothin' left to it, but to do it!