How Many Freight Cars on a Given Layout?

[Brakie]

I think it was the Fugate article that said 60% of all yard and siding space.  I don't think you would count passing tracks, etc. on that, just normal places where you would park cars.  I keep it to that, but have a lot of staging, and figure that area about 80-90% full, with visible layout at 60%.  It seems to work out well for me.

Best to start with the lower %, because you know you will go nowhere but up over time....its what we MRR do!

I agree..I wouldn't include passing sidings because that's part of the main line nor would I count the industry tracks since they're privately owned by the industry.As far as staging yards IMHO those are part of the main line since they are holding trains.

I would just count the yard tracks and would count on those being at 70-80 percent capacity due to terminal dwell time.

[conrail98]

If you just count yard and have no bridge traffic, that's fine. If you have bridge traffic or "rotating blocks" like at one local layout here, then you will need much more than that,

Phil

[robert3985]

Rivet counting is something I never done because I just want to have fun.

Todd Treaster, NY,S&A's Pittsburgh Division

Rivet counting is something I do just because I want to have fun!

Cheers!
Bob Gilmore

[Brakie]

Rivet counting is something I do just because I want to have fun!

Cheers!
Bob Gilmore

I keep loosing count..

[Brakie]

If you just count yard and have no bridge traffic, that's fine. If you have bridge traffic or "rotating blocks" like at one local layout here, then you will need much more than that,

Phil

The staging tracks hold main line trains where yards holds cars that terminated there until they can be made into another train.

Even if you have a loads in/empties out operation those are still main line tracks that holds assigned trains till called.

Bridge traffic usually runs from stagging to stagging-again main line trains that just runs across the layout since those trains runs between "connection" points.Of course these trains could drop or pickup cars off in our yard(s) but,as a rule of thumb they're just passing through and not terminating.

[rochsub]

Once you figure out how many total cars you should have on your layout, the next step is to determine how many cars you should have of each type.  Here's a useful website that shows how many cars of each type the class 1 railroads use.

http://www.railroadpm.org/

[conrail98]

The staging tracks hold main line trains where yards holds cars that terminated there until they can be made into another train.

Even if you have a loads in/empties out operation those are still main line tracks that holds assigned trains till called.

Bridge traffic usually runs from stagging to stagging-again main line trains that just runs across the layout since those trains runs between "connection" points.Of course these trains could drop or pickup cars off in our yard(s) but,as a rule of thumb they're just passing through and not terminating.

Right, but remember the original question: How many cars do I need for my layout? That traffic must be accounted for, if it exists. One of the layouts around here operates that the following way. Every train has essentially 3 blocks. Block A is dropped at the yard, Block B continues to staging, Block C is for pickups. Next time around, Block B comes into the yard, C goes to staging and A is picked up. They also use a whole random proportional thing they use as well for car distribution that was in the Dispatcher's Office  sometime in early 2011 or late 2010. They also did a presentation at the NMRA MER Piedmont Crossing convention last fall. Here's a small synospis of it, http://home.comcast.net/~prrndiv/operations.html,

Phil

[kalbert]

The formula I use on my switching layouts is based on prototype observation along with my rail experience.

Some "days" the local with have the full 5 car maximum(the workable number allowed without jamming things up) while on other days the local may arrive with 0-4 cars depending on inbound traffic.Some "days " there is no work-actually these are the days I decided to work on the scenery,structures,roads or clean track..

That's exactly how I roll! I roll a 6 sided dice to determine how many waybills to pull from the stack. They are usually shuffled good, but because there are more empty covered hopper orders than anything else occasionally they get stacked up together and a 6 car unit train is dealt, some days they don't order any.

[kalbert]

They also did a presentation at the NMRA MER Piedmont Crossing convention last fall. Here's a small synospis of it, http://home.comcast.net/~prrndiv/operations.html,

Phil

That's also where I got the formula I use to figure out capacity. Thanks for the reminder, I could not remember where I had seen the info!

http://home.comcast.net/~prrndiv/ccandwb.html

[Kisatchie]

Thanks for all the interesting replies. I'm working on designing a 40' x 60' layout, and I was wondering if 2250 cars would be too much LOL.


Hmm... I don't know if
Kiz is joking, or what...

[conrail98]

That's also where I got the formula I use to figure out capacity. Thanks for the reminder, I could not remember where I had seen the info!

http://home.comcast.net/~prrndiv/ccandwb.html

Yeah, he's actually setup Excel spreadsheets for the layouts we all operate on. One guy's layout (Harrisburg Terminal over at Railroad-Line) every time he adds an industry and a spot, the fellas crack how many more cars he now needs to buy, weather, renumber, etc. It can get daunting if you're into heavy ops every time you add something to a layout,

Phil

[VonRyan]

  Geeze, i'm glad i don't have those kinds of friends....
It's bad enough just trying to get good deals on stuff let alone have to add more cars every time you add a fresh piece of real estate with rail access to it...

-Cody F.

[kalbert]

Yeah, he's actually setup Excel spreadsheets for the layouts we all operate on.

Isn't it crazy how people get their kicks in this hobby? It's not just about trains or scenery or track. There's people doing databases and spread sheets, various electronic and computer controlled stuff, 3d CAD modelers, graphic artists, sound engineers, historians, machinists, and on and on.... There's something for everybody!

[Rossford Yard]

kalgert,

I won't say I had fun doing my excel car inventory, but it helps have the kind of fun I want to have later.  But even less fun than setting that sheet up is maintaining it every so often when you buy a new batch of rolling stock.  Mine is sadly out of date, mostly because I torn down the original IHB, and am building a new one.  Also, tend to buy onesies twosies from the LHS and not record them right away.  And, once deep in staging, trying to recall what you bought is a problem.  I guess I should save the boxes on the workbench and bring in the laptop or something.

BTW, I stopped using car cards after dropping a bunch, which really messes up switching.  I use the excel to make switch lists.  I try like the devil to automate it, but in the end, I think hand writing the cars in each time is as good as any.

[Bremner]

the V&O used about 600 cars