WM Western Lines Engineering Report

[wm3798]

And one final thought...  I think I'm going to kill the two track stub tracks, and just pull a single track toward the aisle to serve as the helper pocket.  I don't see any viable way to bother using those tracks for ops otherwise.

I'm not worried about shortening the track lengths, either.  The helix has proven to accommodate 25 car trains, max, so there's no point in having 40 car storage tracks as a minimum.

Lee

[DKS]

OK, this is it for tonight. I have to go eat dinner....
 


Be sure to hit refresh to see the latest.

http://whiteriverandnorthern.net/images/west_staging_2.gif

P.S. The shortest track is 11.5 feet long, which should be more than enough for a 25-car train.

[wm3798]

So tonight I ran some tests.  First a couple of engines forward and backward through all the tracks, verified that all the turnouts are correctly wired vis a vis the diagram I did, so all that's fine.  Ran a couple of cars through next, no obvious problems appeared.

While my fastidious side feels like I need to rip it out and do it "right", my "do it now" side is content with the tests.  So far the things I'm focusing on is to add the legs and stiffeners it obviously needs... (the main problem appears to be stuff falling off the track if the benchwork gets jostled) and some simple rules about train length, train speed, and NO LIVE or Unsecured loads EVER down into the rabbit hole.

I may add some ballast and glue around inbound turnouts to keep them from shifting... damn Peco Snap Monsters... That could either help or cause more problems.

So anyway, tomorrow I'm going to close up the yard deck again, then run some more tests.  We shall see...
Lee

[John]

Is it possible to put the yard onto a piano hinge - to allow you to reach the lower area?

[wm3798]

That's an interesting idea, but the most difficult to reach parts are under the engine terminal, which needs to be pretty permanent.  Also, the idea of clearing the yard out to raise it up doesn't appeal to me any more than crawling around under the layout...

Lee

[conrail98]

Would another turn or two in the helix be better? You could just keep the whole staging yard you have now and lower it another 2-4",

Phil

[wm3798]

That crossed my mind, too...  The main obstacle there is maintaining clearance for the beer fridge...


I mean, a guy's got to have his priorities straight!
 ;D ;D

[conrail98]

That crossed my mind, too...  The main obstacle there is maintaining clearance for the beer fridge...
I mean, a guy's got to have his priorities straight!
 ;D ;D

I completely understand


Phil

[John]

put the beer fridge in the other room

[wm3798]

Blaspheme!   No really, I don't want the staging yard any lower, and it will be easier to rebuild as David has shown than to add another twist or two to the helix.

Lee

[DKS]

I would imagine that, as you contemplate yanking the current yard, you're thinking about ways to make it easier to remove in the future... such as, perhaps, attaching it to the benchwork from below, instead of above, so that it simply drops straight down. And perhaps adding a joint in the benchwork just west of the first throat switch, so the parts are smaller and easier to manage. Or some such.

[wm3798]

Guess I'll copy this over here to keep it a part of the "permanent record"...





Google Earth view of the peninsula.  For comparison, here's a view of the old one from a similar angle...

[wm3798]

I had a good shake down of the layout tonight, with just a couple of hitches.  You can read about it at the bliggity blog.
http://wmrywesternlines.blogspot.com/2011/06/little-honey-then-little-vinegar.html

In the process of watching a variety of traffic roll through, I started thinking about the regular jobs that the layout will support.  Here's a first stab at the list.  Bold Face indicates a position requiring a throttle.

1.  West End Dispatcher.  This will be the most critical job on the layout, because the first order of business here, other than keeping traffic moving, is to keep it moving Safely!  West Staging continues to be shrouded in mystery and doubts, but when it behaves, it works like a charm.  Concentration and a steady hand will be the key to success on this job.

2.  East End Dispatcher.  Equally important in terms of traffic flow, and it will have its nuances, but the goal here is simply to release trains onto the layout, and put them away when they come back.  In limited ops, this job may be combined with the yard operator, or perhaps the engine hostler since the trip to and from East Staging to the yard is relatively short.

3. Ridgeley Yard Master.  This position will be the nerve center of the entire layout, doing the blocking and switching for all the locals, and setting up the pick ups and set outs for nearly all the through traffic.  At one point or another, he'll see just about every train on the layout.

4.  Elkins Yard Master.  This position will also serve as the Thomas Sub Dispatcher, handling any movements from Maryland Junction up to Elkins.  This is where much of the local traffic is generated, and there aren't the headaches of the through trains (other than the occasional coal extra going up or down) so it should be pretty fun.

5.  Maryland Junction Operator/Mill Job Switcher.  Brian Carhart.  There, I said it.

6.  Road Crews.  There could be as many as three trains running the layout at a time, but odds are yard work and other obligations will restrict that to two at the most, plus whatever local business or coal might be drifting in.  Figure two road crews at any given moment, since the throttles can do a little multi-tasking.

Those would be the basics to have a full ops session.  As noted, the East Dispatcher could be combined with any of several positions, likely the West Dispatcher if we're short handed.

Others would be purely optional, such as:
Yard Clerk - to handle the paperwork of the yard
Brakeman/Conductors on locals to deal with car cards and waybills, and to direct the engineer.
Separate Local Crews Basically another engineer.
Hostler - to delegate power assignments to all trains changing power at Ridgeley.

So, who's signing up for what?
 ;D


Lee

[seusscaboose]

so is 6 your minimum required?

how may crews (trains) are starting off atthe top of each session (minimum).

[wm3798]

Still working out those details.  Since I don't have all the mileage you've got, I'll try to keep it sparse.  I think I could get by with a three man crew, but we'll all have to be on attention span supplements.

Ideally, there'd be a train in the yard ready to be dispatched, there would be cars to work at the paper mill, and cars would be blocked in the yard, ready for the first Alpha Jet to arrive from the east.  That would be the three man set.

A four man set would be the above, plus a coal train to assemble and dispatch out of Elkins.

A five man set would be all of the above, plus a train released from West Staging, maybe just a grainer that would run all the way through, maybe with a power/caboose swap at Ridgeley.

The optimal 6 man set would be all of the above, with a floating dispatcher to direct traffic.

Lee