Need a nudge with planning...

[MichaelT]

Good morning,

I am frustrated with planning, so I thought I would get some suggestions from others.



Above is a pretty close drawing of the layout room I'm working in. The gray represents benchwork that I had left over from the last disaster, and I pieced in to the room to see how it would work. It may stay, but if some suggestions work I'm not opposed to pulling things out and making new cuts and builds.

The available space is 12ft x 11ft. Each square = 1ft.
There are no doors in that space to contend with, they are out of the listed area. There is a window on the right side of the picture, but it's ok to block and even with the benchwork there currently, I can still reach to open and close when needed.

My railroad plans are as such; (this is an N scale idea)

1. Would like at least one line for continuous running.
2. Would like some operational areas, i.e. switching districts, a small to medium yard area for putting trains together.
3. Average train length will be 12-18 cars.
3a. At this time plans are for diesel engines only. Might consider steamers at a later time, but not right now.
4. Grades would be cool, but not "have to have".
4a. A second level, either above or below would be considered, as long as it can be done without a space gobbling helix.
5. I'm modeling the Missouri Pacific Railroad around the 1960's forward.
6. Current locomotive roster is two GP38's, one MP15DC switcher, and two F7's. Others will follow in the future I'm sure.
7. Will have one passenger or two passenger trains during a session.
8. The topography around the central Arkansas area is relatively flatlands, with some minor variances here and there. There are very few, if any over/under crossings in the area I'm looking at.
9. Would like two or three mid sized or smaller towns. No metropolis...lol; unless it's the industrial area and is just the outskirts.

So I thought I would see what some of you would suggest as ideas, thoughts, opinions, etc.

Main Industries:
1. Granite quarry
2. Feed mill with grain elevator
3. Brewery
4. Lumber mill
5. Box company

So if someone sees something that you think would work, might work, or just want to interject some ideas, please feel free.

Should I use (model) actual cities and towns? Would that be the most feasible and popular course of action?

Other questions? Just ask. I don't want someone to "plan and build" the railroad, I just need some nudges here and there and helps in planning...because obviously what I'm doing isn't working well...

Michael

[tom mann]

Two things come to mind.  It'll be very tight to walk around the peninsula, and the angular benchwork looks a little weird and will create odd places around the track layout.

[MichaelT]

Two things come to mind.  It'll be very tight to walk around the peninsula, and the angular benchwork looks a little weird and will create odd places around the track layout.

Tom,

It's not quite as bad as it looks...and I can't draw on that program very well. It's not quite as sharp at the corners, but it is somewhat curved, or hexagonal.
it's not a two person aisle, but there are a couple spots where two people can switch places.

With that in mind again, I'm not opposed to making changes in the benchwork if it shows itself to be productive and a plus for the overall project.

Michael

[Hyperion]

You've got only 12" aisles at one point on the left sides, and where the 'top' of the peninsula is, the aisle narrows down to just 15" at points that I think would be some of the prime operating points on the layout -- a major switching area on the left side right across from the peninsula and mainline operations on the shelf on the right side.  And not only is it tight, but if you take a step back you poke yourself in the back with the dagger-like edge of the peninsula.

Unless you're freakishly thin you probably don't want less than 15" aisles at the bare minimum, and even that will require turning sideways and shuffling, so you want to keep that to minimal traffic areas that you don't plan on standing in long.

By slicing off the hard edges of the peninsula and some of the other corners, you create infinitely more aisle space (perhaps even enough for a stool on the left side, which could prove useful) without giving up hardly any usable layout space.  I've attached a horrible picture of where I'd make some changes.  I'm at work, so I couldn't be pretty with it.

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[MichaelT]

So possibly an idea like below might give a little more appealing base?

[Hyperion]

That's a heck of a lot more people-friendly than the last one.

I'd recommend splitting that peninsula and the lower half the layout with a double-sided backdrop, as my attached photo shows.  This effectively almost doubles the length of your mainline and looks infinitely better when completed as well since you don't have the train looping back in on itself.  You can either have the train loop back around on the same level or, if you can justify a 1.5% grade or so, have it go back underneath as staging and circle the layout with under-layout staging tracks and have the train pop back out on the right somewhere.

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[DKS]

My humble offering on the subject. Real town names along rail lines in Arkansas were chosen to give it a loose footing in reality. Grades are entirely optional; the granite quarry siding would be interesting if raised or lowered, and the optional staging yard could be lowered to make it easier to hide. The crossing at Hoxie is at grade. Since tunnels are kind of rare in this area, it would probably work best to have the track disappear behind structures/terrain and/or under road bridges, etc. Given that operation is my weakest suit, I'm sure the plan is loaded with flaws, so I leave it to the experts to make recommendations for revisions.

[asciibaron]

good plan David - i wish i had that kind of room. 

-Steve

[Frank Amato]

I second the motion for "hiding" the staging yard behind low hills/trees or a backdrop.  It's easily accessible that way.

  Frank

[Ed Kapuscinski]

Can you easily straighten that all out for me? I can give you a decent ops analyses then.

[DKS]

Can you easily straighten that all out for me? I can give you a decent ops analyses then.

Not "easily" but I'll give it a whack.

[DKS]

I think this is right...

[MichaelT]

Wow...you guys are good!! Thanks David, that is quite impressive in such a short time.

I think the first order of business this weekend will be to dismantle what is currently built in the train room, get the room emptied, and then start making new cuts and design for the benchwork.

If anyone else has some benchwork ideas I'd love to see them...ideas, suggestions, comments...

 

[MichaelT]

I think this is right...

David? I have a question? The two labels for Hoxie and the turnaround? Whats that? I'm not too familiar with schematics....

nevermind....it's a reverse loop??

[DKS]

David? I have a question? The two labels for Hoxie and the turnaround? Whats that? I'm not too familiar with schematics....

nevermind....it's a reverse loop??

There are two labels for Hoxie because the mainline cross over itself, and the train passes through that same point twice on its circuit around the loop, albeit on different tracks (imagine unfolding a figure 8, while retaining location markers where the lines crisscrossed in the center). So, the crossing appears on the schematic twice, since it is encountered twice. Also, the loop back at the bottom represents the short crossover at Hoxie which runs from the passing siding by the grain elevators over to the line headed for Black Rock. The schematic bears no resemblance to the physical orientation of the track, but instead its logical path. So, that short little stretch of track that runs past the Hoxie crossing is represented by that big, long loop because, if you follow that route, it "transports" you from one point on the mainline to another and causes you to reverse direction on the mainline at the same time. Trace the route on the track plan and you'll see what I mean. What this track does is allow you to do some out-and-back operation from Jonesboro, without going through the staging yard.

Edit: In the process of explaining this, I found an error in the schematic--I had the Hoxie crossing on the left positioned wrong. It's fixed now (hit page refresh to make sure it comes up).