Fiddleyard Solutions

[ddoherty958]

In my layout I have a fiddleyard (I'll get you all the dimensions soon) and I was wondering what the most space-effective / useful options are for train storage. I've looked into traversers and there is always the multi-point optoin but I wanted to see what advice people here had. Any Ideas?

[DCB]

It depends entirely on space.  Normal sideways Traversers eat width my "Hockey stick" design slides lengthways and exchanges a foot or so lengthways for a foot or so sideways, 1 sq ft for 6 sq ft.  Vertical traversers use a lot of height.   Cassettes are Ok until you lift them and drop £500 worth of stock on the ground.  

 

I like point based FYs  7 roads about 15" wide in 00, single track with 3 way plus 2X ordinary points, but pointwork eats up around 2ft of the length, Ok if you have 10 feet, not very clever if you have 4.

 

I like the idea of a sector plate but have never tried one.  Rev Peter Denny, on Buckingham I think, had a 5 road turntable  which held a loco and 5 coaches per road, but obviously it needed a 6ft swing.   

 

Edit   Hockey stick traverser drawing from google  (Its easier to find my drawings by googing them than trying to make Cortana work) Its a good solution for BLTs in a room of limited length but significant width.

 

Still waiting for the OPs track plan

 

 

Edited August 1, 2018 by DavidCBroad

[34theletterbetweenB&D]

Something which should be considered is whether the priority is primarily storage of trains of set formation, or the ability to rearrange train formations off scene.

 

If it is the former then linear storage might appeal, plain track with control sectioning to advance trains through the store. If space permits this may be achieved on a very extended helix scheme around the periphery of a room. Advantages over the pair of point fans to create a conventional yard are the immediate saving in points and motors, their installation and maintenance, and a far narrower storage space. The same quantity of plain track and its associated support as required for the conventional yard are 'arranged differently' in this scheme. The major downside is that unless the scheme is elaborated in some way with passing loops and the like, trains remain in sequence, and cannot be brought onto the scenic section of the layout at will.

[ddoherty958]

Something which should be considered is whether the priority is primarily storage of trains of set formation, or the ability to rearrange train formations off scene.

 

If it is the former then linear storage might appeal, plain track with control sectioning to advance trains through the store. If space permits this may be achieved on a very extended helix scheme around the periphery of a room. Advantages over the pair of point fans to create a conventional yard are the immediate saving in points and motors, their installation and maintenance, and a far narrower storage space. The same quantity of plain track and its associated support as required for the conventional yard are 'arranged differently' in this scheme. The major downside is that unless the scheme is elaborated in some way with passing loops and the like, trains remain in sequence, and cannot be brought onto the scenic section of the layout at will.

 

well I can't I cant use a sector plate because there is only 1 lane going in to the fiddle yard. I would be worried about a turntable as it would limit my choice in train length. A traverser is looking attractive but again limits space. HMMMMMMMM...

[Harlequin]

The most space-efficient is a traverser without question, IMHO. You can fill a rectangular space with tracks of consistent length, all of which can be accessed directly from the layout.

 

Furthermore, if you arrange your feed track correctly a traverser can cantilever off the front of the baseboard (like opening a drawer) to make temporary use of a bit more space in the room.

 

You can manually set up trains on any of the traverser "roads" at any time and use loco lifts to turn locos and brakes vans if you need to and if you want to avoid touching them too much.

 

As far as operation is concerned there are pros and cons that mean traversers aren't always the best solution.

[Wherry Lines]

...my "Hockey stick" design slides lengthways and exchanges a foot or so lengthways for a foot or so sideways, 1 sq ft for 6 sq ft....

Still waiting for the OPs track plan

 

This is an interesting variation that I haven't come across before - it might be a design I have to consider for myself!

[Stubby47]

 my "Hockey stick" design slides lengthways and exchanges a foot or so lengthways for a foot or so sideways, 1 sq ft for 6 sq ft.   

 

   

 

Edit   Hockey stick traverser drawing from google  (Its easier to find my drawings by googing them than trying to make Cortana work) Its a good solution for BLTs in a room of limited length but significant width.

 

 

Does not the useable length extend all round the curves as well ? Hence making the outside line a good 50% longer?

[imt]

<snip>  my "Hockey stick" design slides lengthways and exchanges a foot or so lengthways for a foot or so sideways, 1 sq ft for 6 sq ft.  <snip

 

 

I love the design.  Have you built one - or is it just theoretical?  How does one "make" the curves to fit?

[Crewlisle]

See my suggestion in comment number 55 in 'New layout limited space (update)' on this forum.

 

Peter

[DCB]

Does not the useable length extend all round the curves as well ? Hence making the outside line a good 50% longer?

The tracks converge around the corner, At some point around the curve there will not be sufficient room for trains to pass. The tracks can be as wide as you like on the moving deck but the track centrelines should be as close as possible at the edge of the deck say 22 mm with slepers overlapped , see middle drawing 93a png so it moves only 66 mm for aa 4 road from full left to full right Actually with DC wiring it can come right down to about 18mm with the left rail of one road actually being the right rail of the next road.    see lower drawing  93a Png   Next plan is a desktop plan to actually interlace the tracks to reduce the travel even further, there is no way are my building skills equal to that one

I love the design.  Have you built one - or is it just theoretical?  How does one "make" the curves to fit?

I have made a test mule with laminate flooring deck sliding on a laminate flooring base but I have not yet incorporated one into a layout. The curves ideally will be 3rd or larger radius set track (mine is 1st radius) all the curves are the same radius and only the inner curve goes to the edge of the traverser deck. the rest have straights added, Ideally one will set the inner track up first and when it runs perfectly think about adding the next ones. 

Edited August 12, 2018 by DavidCBroad

[imt]

The tracks converge around the corner, At some point around the curve there will not be sufficient room for trains to pass. The tracks can be as wide as you like on the moving deck but the track centrelines should be as close as possible at the edge of the deck say 22 mm with slepers overlapped , see middle drawing 93a png so it moves only 66 mm for aa 4 road from full left to full right Actually with DC wiring it can come right down to about 18mm with the left rail of one road actually being the right rail of the next road.    see lower drawing  93a Png   Next plan is a desktop plan to actually interlace the tracks to reduce the travel even further, there is no way are my building skills equal to that one

I have made a test mule with laminate flooring deck sliding on a laminate flooring base but I have not yet incorporated one into a layout. The curves ideally will be 3rd or larger radius set track (mine is 1st radius) all the curves are the same radius and only the inner curve goes to the edge of the traverser deck. the rest have straights added, Ideally one will set the inner track up first and when it runs perfectly think about adding the next ones. 

 

Thank you for the all the info.  I had sort of gathered that the curves would become closer together - it looked that way on your first diagram. This is a brilliant space saver idea and looks quite practical to do.  I could understand that the first track would curve all the way, but I hadn't thought about the subsequent tracks actually being straight!  Brilliant!

[DCB]

Just to add another Traverser variation, if you pull the tracks as close as possible to the centre you can reduce the distance the traverser table needs to move  sideways, you lose usable length like the Hockey stick but the curve in ( If applicable) can to start a few inches nearer to  the Traverser.  and there is that S bend on the tracks.   

The Hockey stick has the big advantage that it slides lenghways a short distance which trains are used to, rather than sideways which risks derailments. You pays your money. See screenshots 

 

Note these are for single track, I suspect that double track approaches would be somewhat stressful/ challenging to design

Edited August 12, 2018 by DavidCBroad