First and last layout

[Chimer]

6 hours ago, pgcroc said:

I never thought this was going to be so difficult and complicated.

This is enough to turn a man to drink.

 

But you may have suspected it .....

 

On 10/06/2020 at 08:01, pgcroc said:

Hi Everyone.

This is my first, and probably last, attempt to build a layout. My knowledge of actual railway workings is miniscule.

 

That said, you leapt right in at the deep end.  The learning curve can be very steep, and baby steps to begin with do help.  We admire your ambition ..... and we all drink already 

 

[Keith Addenbrooke]

9 hours ago, Chimer said:

 

But you may have suspected it .....

 

 

That said, you leapt right in at the deep end.  The learning curve can be very steep, and baby steps to begin with do help.  We admire your ambition ..... and we all drink already 

 

As it happens, I have a Licence for Selling Alcohol, and have taken and passed the relevant industry exam.  It is not a motivating factor in my hobby (or my job).  Keith.

[pgcroc]

Hi Guys

17 hours ago, Chimer said:

But you may have suspected it .....

 

17 hours ago, Chimer said:

That said, you leapt right in at the deep end.  The learning curve can be very steep, and baby steps to begin with do help.  We admire your ambition ..... and we all drink already 

 

I knew it was a little more complicated than a Hornby train set but the workings of a real railway are very complicated, (for me).

I never knew it was the deep end!

 

7 hours ago, Keith Addenbrooke said:

As it happens, I have a Licence for Selling Alcohol, and have taken and passed the relevant industry exam.  It is not a motivating factor in my hobby (or my job).  Keith.

 

I hope you realise that that was tongue in cheek Keith. Licensee?

 

Had a poor day so far. Lent my car to one of my daughters until she got her new one, (4 kids). Got a phone call this morning, car would not start. Got there, called out RAC, battery finished! It was 9.5 years old. Managed to get to my local garage after a jump start. Relieved of £85. But better than RAC - £140.

Then battery died on my phone. Had to set up one of the wife's old phones.

Also we are are being locked down at 18.00.

Bit miffed today.

 

However tomorrow is a new day.

Cheers

Pete

Now where did I put that corkscrew........................?

[Keith Addenbrooke]

On 28/09/2020 at 17:13, pgcroc said:

I hope you realise that that was tongue in cheek Keith. Licensee?

 

Hi Pete, sorry you've had a rough day.  My actual current occupation was revealed in one of my own planning threads over the summer (it was relevant to the conversation) - let's just say I'm not in the Licensing Trade...

 

I think @Chimer's observation that this is an ambitious project for a first layout is a helpful insight - nothing at all wrong with that - just gives some context to the planning.  Of course, I can sit here a couple of hundred miles away playing on my computer for fun, but won't have the family wondering when I'm going to make good on the garage conversion and stuff I've bought.  It is a nice moment when you feel ready to move onto the build phase.

 

All model railway planning involves choosing which compromises to live with, and which to work on, and of course, we all have our own ideas as to which ones are our priorities.  My informal sketch posted over the weekend generated some interesting responses - more than I would have expected.  I had a bit of free time at lunch and in a break today so did one more iteration.  As before, I have no expectation that this will influence your plan - this is just another way of looking at it.  There are some explanatory notes below the sketch:

 

(Sorry - photo no longer available)

 

I left in a High Level line, but simplified it to one point at each end.  This is in case you decide the MERG automation is something you do want to try after all, or it could show where a later high level line might go (per @Harlequin's suggestion).  Leaving it in was the easiest way to remember to leave some space!

 

I also left the Branch Line as a continuous run, but used tunnels at the left to disguise the continuous run connection.  As others have suggested, Branch traffic runs mainly round the right hand end end.

 

Changes I did make:

 

1.  I drew the end curves more carefully, which showed I could move the left hand trailing crossover closer to the Fiddle Yard.  Note though: if I was building this I would double and triple check every Fiddle Yard measurement.

 

2.  I moved the Turntable away from the end curve so it looks a bit less obvious.  I hadn't realised quite how big the Hornby Turntable is!  It was still a tight fit when I looked in the top right corner so I left it at the front, but if I was building the layout I would agree it would be worth seeing how it looks in the top right corner too.

 

3.  I separated the MPD and Goods Shed - the point made by @The Johnster about safe operating practices on the real railway is a good example of a compromise I'd made that was not going to work.  The Goods Sidings and MPD do overlap a bit, but a road past the station buildings could be used as a scenic break with a bit of juggling (I've just left my Station suspended about the tracks).  

 

There is still some shuffling to get wagons to and from trains on the Up lines, however with a dedicated shunting loco and the extra loop / headshunt it may be a better idea.  I'm not an expert in this area (my first draft had a facing point on P4), but it may prompt some more realistic options that will give you the operations you want.

 

I've not solved everything - but hopefully these two doodles I've done show there is room for the kind of Scheme you like - others are much better placed than me to help flesh out the details.  I hope this helps.  Keith.

Edited October 7, 2022 by Keith Addenbrooke
Edited for text only as photo no longer available

[The Johnster]

I am much happier with the relationship between the two yards now, loco and goods, independent entities as they should be, working separately from and not interfering with each other.  I’d be tempted to extend the coal road to a coaling stage next to the loco shed.  I’m a little worried about road vehicle access to the mileage road, but that could be catered for by havin a part of the coal road as inset track that vehicles can cross.  Part of the operating fun is that they block the coal road while they load/unload. 
 

 

[pgcroc]

Hi Guys

 

Not ignoring you but ........

 

Had another rough day.

A Heljan 0-6-0 which I have just received as a replacement for a duff one has blown it's decoder. I think the puff of smoke from the cab was an indication. It was running fine on the rolling road.

At the same instant, I assume, my Hornby Elite came up with an error. Can't clear it.

Returns to Rails and Hornby are on the cards!

 

On 28/09/2020 at 18:26, Keith Addenbrooke said:

I've not solved everything - but hopefully these two doodles I've done show there is room for the kind of Scheme you like - others are much better placed than me to help flesh out the details.  I hope this helps.  

 

Great stuff Keith. I will modify my layout to suit but I think there will be a problem with the points to the north east of the TT. May need changes there.

 

22 hours ago, The Johnster said:

I am much happier with the relationship between the two yards now, loco and goods, independent entities as they should be, working separately from and not interfering with each other.  I’d be tempted to extend the coal road to a coaling stage next to the loco shed.  I’m a little worried about road vehicle access to the mileage road, but that could be catered for by havin a part of the coal road as inset track that vehicles can cross.  Part of the operating fun is that they block the coal road while they load/unload. 

 

I would probably like operating fun JT.

 

Cheers

Pete

 

 

[The Johnster]

Man after my own heart, sir!
 

 

[pgcroc]

Hi Guys

I have not gone away! ( I can hear the groans)

The plan has been redrawn al la @Keith Addenbrooke ideas.

I have removed all the temporary tracks and am busy levelling, bolting together and finish painting of the boards (underside).

Even my wife has 'mentioned' lack of progress on the layout! Must now get on.

There are a couple of points that foul baseboard bracings but I think I can overcome that.

In the image below I have left out the grid and all the other stuff so it can be seen more clearly.

A couple of days ago I put a connection from the green line into the end of P1/P2 for a parcels line. It went in but I don't know how typical this was in the 1950/1960's so took it out again.

I intend to get the green and blue tracks down first and test it out before even thinking about the rest.

There is a bit of faffing around to get to/from the green line to the purple line. Might need to change something 

 

Many thanks to all of you that have helped out, @Harlequin, @The Johnster, @Chimer, @Zomboid.

Hope I have not left anybody out.

 

If anybody can see major errors on this n layout or operating I would be grateful to know.

 

Cheers

Pete

 

[Keith Addenbrooke]

Hi Pete, one thing I think your drawing does better than my suggestion is to look spacious while still aiming to tick all the boxes.  I think the suggestion made by several of the contributors to the thread to dispense with the high level line (at least for starters) helps.  Having a gap between the Goods Yard and Engine Sheds also helps - the way I’d almost overlapped them wasn’t great.

 

I agree the route from the green outer circuits to the purple Branch Line is not direct - I think it was @Flying Pig (who also deserves a mention) who pointed out trying to have junctions that could do everything wasn’t working in the space available, so it is one of the compromises.

 

My assumption is that a Goods train coming into Platform 2 waits for the turquoise lines to be free, then (when given the all clear), the whole train reverses through the crossover at the left of the Station, then pulls forwards into Platform 4, which is a multi-purpose loop.  This keeps the running lines clear through Platforms 1 - 3 while shunting takes place.  When done, the whole train can rejoin the outer circuit via the trailing crossover at the right hand end.  I think that’s how it could work.

 

Like yourself, I’d be happy to take note of any operating errors in the design, which was drawn principally to try and use the space, track and brief you have, so does include some inevitable compromises along the way. 

 

Of course, it also goes without saying that I claim no credit for any bits you like: the Fiddle Yard for example is just my interpretation of the very good concept suggested by @Chimer and @Harlequin earlier in the conversation.

Keith.

Edited October 11, 2020 by Keith Addenbrooke

[Zomboid]

If that does what you want it to then that's really the point of these threads. You may need to think about how you want to treat the storage area, being so close to the scenic bit of the branch, but that's possibly a different question entirely.

[pgcroc]

Gentlemen

 

15 hours ago, Keith Addenbrooke said:

Of course, it also goes without saying that I claim no credit for any bits you like: the Fiddle Yard for example is just my interpretation of the very good concept suggested by @Chimer and @Harlequin earlier in the conversation.

 

Yes Keith, I realise that your drawing was an amalgamation of the input given by all the other guys.

How did I forget @Flying Pig? You don't get many of those around!

I think that the high level line is now a non-starter. It has been wiped from my brain.

 

1 hour ago, Zomboid said:

If that does what you want it to then that's really the point of these threads. You may need to think about how you want to treat the storage area, being so close to the scenic bit of the branch, but that's possibly a different question entirely.

 

Zomboid, I have no idea what you mean by this .

This shows my ignorance of things railway.

I was going to join our local railway club but for obvious reasons this is not possible at the moment. They have quite a few layouts.

 

Cheers

Pete

 

 

[Zomboid]

I assume that those loops at the bottom will ultimately be hidden, rather than on view behind the branch. Just a question of how your achieve that.

[pgcroc]

14 minutes ago, Zomboid said:

I assume that those loops at the bottom will ultimately be hidden, rather than on view behind the branch. Just a question of how your achieve that.

I assume you mean the loops marked 1-6.

To be honest I have not really thought about it. Initially when they were at the top of the layout I was going to have a wall between them and the station area.

Now I don't know whether to have anything at all.

Something to ponder.

Thanks

Pete 

[Keith Addenbrooke]

On 11/10/2020 at 16:34, pgcroc said:

I intend to get the green and blue tracks down first and test it out before even thinking about the rest.

 

With a project like this, I think building in stages makes a lot of sense.  Some layouts are built and ‘completed’ section by section going round the room, but with this type of plan I’d agree that the approach of getting the Fiddle Yard and main line loops up and running smoothly first is a good one - you can then run trains and demonstrate progress to the family before committing any further.  I’d fully expect the rest of the layout to change - the real Railway was / is always making changes (big and small) after all.

[Chimer]

I'm sure we've been here before, but this arrangement of the left-hand throat solves the issue of access from the outer circuit to a bi-directional platform 4, and thus the branch.  Can't remember if there was a decision not to use slips, this does use a single ......  The trailing crossover using the curved points has nothing to do with the branch access, but makes it possible to reverse trains on the main line if that's desirable.

 

 

On the business of hiding the storage loops, for me that's what makes the thing a believable model railway rather than a train set - my mind's eye can see a train going from somewhere to somewhere , rather than going round in circles.  Which is why I still hate  the branch being a circuit in full view, instead of just going from one end or other of the main station to the "industry" area.

 

Hiding the loops behind a wall rather than under scenery, so you can still see what's going on and sort out derailments when you need to, makes perfect sense to me.  That was your first idea and remains a good one!

 

Cheers, Chris

Edited October 14, 2020 by Chimer

[Keith Addenbrooke]

2 hours ago, Chimer said:

I'm sure we've been here before, but this arrangement of the left-hand throat solves the issue of access from the outer circuit to a bi-directional platform 4, and thus the branch.  Can't remember if there was a decision not to use slips, this does use a single ......  The trailing crossover using the curved points has nothing to do with the branch access, but makes it possible to reverse trains on the main line if that's desirable.

 

 

On the business of hiding the storage loops, for me that's what makes the thing a believable model railway rather than a train set - my mind's eye can see a train going from somewhere to somewhere , rather than going round in circles.  Which is why I still hate  the branch being a circuit in full view, instead of just going from one end or other of the main station to the "industry" area.

 

Hiding the loops behind a wall rather than under scenery, so you can still see what's going on and sort out derailments when you need to, makes perfect sense to me.  That was your first idea and remains a good one!

 

Cheers, Chris

Hi Chris, the only reason I didn’t include your suggestion for the junction at the left hand end of the station with a slip point in my sketches was that Pete didn’t own one - I gave myself the constraint of only using the points he had to see if I could do a complete layout without spending any more money (at least not until some trains are running).  Edit: I call this ‘diplomatic layout planning.’

 

As for the full scenic branch, it wouldn’t surprise me if that’s one of the things that changes down the line, but as Pete began the thread with a full scenic loop - and for me that’s what was distinctive about this project, I left it in - you’ll recall that the early versions had a full scenic double track line.

 

I think it’s fair to say that it’s well known by now that I’m at the other end of the scale when it comes to continuous runs - it’s a matter of preference, but for me they are what makes a layout something I’m interested in (over and above a fiddle yard).  Pete’s project offers the potential for the best of both worlds.

 

Edited October 14, 2020 by Keith Addenbrooke

[pgcroc]

Hi Guys

 

Just seen you posts. Busy day yesterday.

 

On 14/10/2020 at 08:16, Chimer said:

I'm sure we've been here before, but this arrangement of the left-hand throat solves the issue of access from the outer circuit to a bi-directional platform 4, and thus the branch.  Can't remember if there was a decision not to use slips, this does use a single ......  The trailing crossover using the curved points has nothing to do with the branch access, but makes it possible to reverse trains on the main line if that's desirable.

 

Chris, this looks very much cleaner, however, I am struggling to get it in. 6 feet from the station ends to just the start of the curves south. I attach a quick plan showing your suggested track layout at the west end of the platforms. There could be a problem with platform lengths. With 6' needed for your track suggestion, 5', (minimum), for the platforms then that only leaves less than 5' for the curves at both ends to turn south. 

Nowhere as neat as yours but I think you can see what I mean.

 

On 14/10/2020 at 08:16, Chimer said:

Which is why I still hate  the branch being a circuit in full view, instead of just going from one end or other of the main station to the "industry" area.

 

Are you saying that the branch line should run from a platform to the industry and go back the same way, i.e. no continuous circuit?

 

On 14/10/2020 at 08:16, Chimer said:

Hiding the loops behind a wall rather than under scenery, so you can still see what's going on and sort out derailments when you need to, makes perfect sense to me.  That was your first idea and remains a good one!

I was thinking about this after seeing a couple of videos and looking at some pictures. I will probably go back to the wall on the north side of the storage yards.

 

22 hours ago, Keith Addenbrooke said:

Hi Chris, the only reason I didn’t include your suggestion for the junction at the left hand end of the station with a slip point in my sketches was that Pete didn’t own one - I gave myself the constraint of only using the points he had to see if I could do a complete layout without spending any more money (at least not until some trains are running).  Edit: I call this ‘diplomatic layout planning.’

Keith, you have done well to use all the points that I have but I did say I would be willing to get more if required. It's not a deal breaker. 

For the money have I spent so far it's a small percentage.

 

Many thanks

Pete

 

 

 

 

[Keith Addenbrooke]

Hi Pete, if I might offer a thought.  It may help if I quote myself first, hopefully to avoid confusing anyone reading through the thread:

 

The two full sketches I offered were drawn for fun, following the brief, in the space and using only the available points, to see what could be done.  They showed it can work, but are not definitive, and can easily be improved:

 

On 26/09/2020 at 18:40, Keith Addenbrooke said:

I don't normally try designing complete layouts this big, so it was fun to do.  As I said above, I hope you don't mind: there's no expectation any of this will influence your own thinking, but if I ever get a garage...

 

Keith.

 

On 28/09/2020 at 18:26, Keith Addenbrooke said:

I had a bit of free time at lunch and in a break today so did one more iteration.  As before, I have no expectation that this will influence your plan - this is just another way of looking at it. 

 

I've not solved everything - but hopefully these two doodles I've done show there is room for the kind of Scheme you like - others are much better placed than me to help flesh out the details.  I hope this helps.  Keith.

 

Not everyone has the budget for more equipment, but if it's a possibility I'd agree with @Chimer that Slip points for the junctions would be worth investigating.  I think Chris made several great suggestions earlier in the thread, so it may be worth having a look back at some of them if you want to.  In terms of fitting in a different arrangement, I think this post of his is also helpful:

 

On 29/07/2020 at 10:37, Chimer said:

For me, Keith, the real constraints (after the need to get round the corners of course) are the station throats - they must let me do what I want (usually, terminate/run round/reverse trains, include a branch junction, and allow trailing access to a goods yard of some sort).  The platform roads just have to join the throats together - and be long enough!!  Then I draw the platforms, which can take hours if they're curved, fiddling about with curve radii and centres - the next release of X-TrackCad is going to enable drawing lines parallel to tracks (it already does tracks parallel to tracks) which will make a big difference.

 

In terms of the Branch Line, these suggestions from myself and @Harlequin from earlier in the thread may help explain, in words first:

 

On 29/07/2020 at 19:16, Keith Addenbrooke said:

Based on this list, the kind of concept I’d gravitate towards would be a single junction station serving a medium sized town with a branch off to other places.  I’d suggest having either a branch terminus or a large industry in front of the storage loops (rather than a second mainline station), partly to justify the engine shed / turntable at the bigger junction station.  I’d want to be able to leave one train running on one of the mainlines while I shunt the goods yard or the branch line: as has been noted elsewhere, you can only control one train at a time.  You also only need one junction, not two, which saves space.
 

It’s not a radical or challenging concept, so it may not be what emerges in the end, but I think it has the following advantages:

 

1.  It’s buildable and should fit in the space: as this is a ‘first and last’ project, something that can get trains running before too long may be good.  The baseboards are already there.

2.  It’s suitably generic that a fictitious layout can still aim for the high score on realism (ie: turn a potential weak point into an advantage).
3.  I’ve tried to give a rationale for the Engine Shed and Turntable - which might be one area where the outcome is a bit larger than actually needed. 
4.  It can be developed later, including with additional levels off a second junction (this may need some reworking of the baseboards, so personally I’d put it off for now - but keep hold of the idea).  

5.  It hopefully doesn’t overcrowd the space - leaving room for the tunnels.

 

Just some thoughts.  I think you may have seen @Harlequin’s layout gallery already - an excellent variety of designs covering a wide range of layout types.  Definitely worth browsing - does something catch your eye?  I’ve also seen some of @Chimer’s designs in threads on this Forum, and they seem to work really well for this kind of space.  Keith.

 

Then in pictures (note - mine was drawn before the layout "flipped" to have the Storage Sidings at the bottom):

 

On 01/08/2020 at 15:16, Keith Addenbrooke said:

 

1.  Developing this concept into more of a layout, the suggestion I made previously could look like this:

 

(Sorry - photo no longer available)

 

Adding a Branch Line Terminus or a Large industry in front of the Staging Loops gives more operational variety, and also justifies (at least partly) the larger Motive Power Depot and Turntable at the main station.

 

 

I hope it's OK to include a copy of @Harlequin's suggestion from earlier in the thread - which is a much better illustration than mine of the same basic concept (drawn with the Storage Sidings at the bottom):

 

On 03/08/2020 at 00:05, Harlequin said:

Pete,

 

Here's a rough outline plan that keeps things reasonably simple and ticks a lot of boxes, I think:

• No gradients
• Scenic running all round (nearly)
• Main line runs through fiddle/storage yard so there is no extra pointwork on scene to explain away
• Storage yard behind false backscene but partly accessible from outside the layout
• North side: town, East: country, South: village, fishing port or whatever you like
• The branch line junction provides a lot of operational interest
• Shed is justified by branch line junction.

The baseboards are now corrected as per your dimensions.

 

 

I think it's fair to say this is quite a 'classic' design - which means it has proved its worth over time and remains popular.  For continuous running you have the mainline through the Main Station and Storage Loops, while for alternative operations the short Branch Line from the Junction round to the Terminus.

 

You do lose the opportunity to watch trains run complete circuits through scenic settings, but trade it for a variety of operations.

 

On your plan (10th Oct 16.34 post), if you disconnected the purple Branch Line where I placed the Workers' Halt and removed it around the left hand end to the join to Platform 4 you'd have just two tracks across the Lift Out and the possibility to redraw the left hand end of the Station to give better access to Platform 4 (as Chimer suggests).

 

Hope this helps - I don't think I've misquoted anyone, but my apologies if I have (please correct me).  Thanks, Keith.

Edited October 7, 2022 by Keith Addenbrooke
Edited for text only as photo no longer available

[Chimer]

8 hours ago, pgcroc said:

Chris, this looks very much cleaner, however, I am struggling to get it in. 6 feet from the station ends to just the start of the curves south. I attach a quick plan showing your suggested track layout at the west end of the platforms. There could be a problem with platform lengths. With 6' needed for your track suggestion, 5', (minimum), for the platforms then that only leaves less than 5' for the curves at both ends to turn south. 

 

Are you saying that the branch line should run from a platform to the industry and go back the same way, i.e. no continuous circuit?

 

 

I've done both ends now and it seems to fit .....

 

The minimum radius anywhere is 36" (the big turns on the inner circuit.  The points are 4 curved left, 2 curved right, 2 long right (to the left of the slip, could be mediums), and 2 mediums on platform 4.  The brown oblongs representing the platforms are 5' x 3" - by curving the ends you could get 6' faces on platforms 1, 2 & 3 (7' on 1 & 2 if you wanted).

 

And yes, I am suggesting the branch should just run one way from platform 4 (probably from the right-hand end) to the industry area.  If you were using DMUs or push-pull for the passenger service, you could either have a single terminal platform where you currently show the halt, or keep it as a through station and run the train on into the tunnel until it's time for its return.   If the service is conventionally loco-hauled, you would need to make the industry station a terminus with a run round loop.

 

Hope we are helping rather than confusing.  We have a nasty habit on here of trying to persuade people to do what we want, rather than what they want!!

 

 

Edited October 15, 2020 by Chimer

[pgcroc]

@Keith Addenbrooke& @Chimer

 

Many thanks again for your ideas.

I will try and redraw my plan again tomorrow. No hardship.

Will get back to you with is, what I hope is, the final plan???

(Perhaps except the branch station area).

 

Is it correct that the main goods yard and turntable were typically near to the station? It looks that way from all the layouts, pictures and videos I have seen?

 

Cheers

Pete 

[Guest Jack Benson]

Pete,

 

May I ask if you have considered a less ambitious scheme?  ‘Less is more’ can be more satisfying in terms of aesthetics and operational realism.
 

Sometime ago Westerner created a rather nice layout in a similar space, try this link

 

 

Cheers and Stay Safe 

[Keith Addenbrooke]

1 hour ago, pgcroc said:

@Keith Addenbrooke& @Chimer

 

Is it correct that the main goods yard and turntable were typically near to the station? It looks that way from all the layouts, pictures and videos I have seen?

 

Cheers

Pete 

This is a good question - but there could be as many answers as members of RMweb: stations come in every shape and size.
 

I think the best short answer I could give in the context of a layout planning thread would be to acknowledge that the selective compression involved in model Railway planning tends to bring things closer together than would be ideal anyway.

 

In terms of the prototype, photos taken at or close to ground level also tend to make things look closer than they are - though it could be argued this sometimes works to our advantage!
 

What we can try and do is to make sure that the arrangement of the tracks respects the prototype - which is where I find the advice on this Forum really helpful (I know I make some mistakes in my plans, but there’s always someone to help me sort them).  Some choices are just down to preference, but others would be deemed unsafe on the real Railway, which is different.

 

Keith
 

Keith.
 

 

[Chimer]

4 hours ago, pgcroc said:

Is it correct that the main goods yard and turntable were typically near to the station? It looks that way from all the layouts, pictures and videos I have seen?

 

 

Difficult to answer with any hope of gaining general agreement, but in real life, probably not.  Small country stations would typically have a small goods yard adjacent, but no engine shed and certainly no turntable.  Larger towns would have a (sometimes several) goods yard(s) remote from the main passenger station.  Turntables were mostly found within fully-fledged motive power depots (MPDs, aka "sheds") which again tended to be on the edge of town so remote from the main station, though there might be a local station nearby.  When back in the day I did a loco-spotting shed-bash round Manchester's half-dozen or so sheds, I would get to the centre of Manchester by train, but the round of the sheds had to be done by bus ........ 

 

In model form, if you want them all in they usually have to be on top of one another because of space constraints.  In your recent plans, the "industry" at the end of the branch might plausibly be either a fair-sized goods yard or a smallish MPD.  Neither of which I know enough about to be able to plan! 

[pgcroc]

18 hours ago, Jack Benson said:

May I ask if you have considered a less ambitious scheme?  ‘Less is more’ can be more satisfying in terms of aesthetics and operational realism.

Hi Jack. I am only going to lay the green and blue lines for the moment. Then I will have a look and a think!

When I look at my baseboard there is a lot of room there. It just does not seem like that from the drawing.

I have looked at the Westerner link you supplied. TBH I would like to see at least 2 trains running around. I know it is a bit 'trainsetty' but at least there is something moving. 

 

17 hours ago, Keith Addenbrooke said:

What we can try and do is to make sure that the arrangement of the tracks respects the prototype - which is where I find the advice on this Forum really helpful (I know I make some mistakes in my plans, but there’s always someone to help me sort them).  Some choices are just down to preference, but others would be deemed unsafe on the real Railway, which is different.

Yes Keith, I understand that but as I am not modelling a real railway in a time, (OK 1950's to 1965), or place then I could get away with more unsafe practices.

 

14 hours ago, Chimer said:

In model form, if you want them all in they usually have to be on top of one another because of space constraints.  In your recent plans, the "industry" at the end of the branch might plausibly be either a fair-sized goods yard or a smallish MPD.  Neither of which I know enough about to be able to plan! 

Thanks Chris. If I can get your trackwork in as per your post yesterday then that would leave me with 2 connections local to P4 to decide what to do with later. As I said above I will only lay the green and blue tracks for now, (and not permanently either), and see where to go next. 

I dare not tell you any of the wild ideas I have in my head 

 

Just think, one day this will all be finished, almost.

 

Thanks everybody

Pete

[pgcroc]

Hi All

 

Attached is my latest track plan.

To get things moving I thought, as I said before, I would do the green and blue lines first.

I have redone the station throats as per Chimer. A little bit of jiggling might still be required due to 2 points being very close to baseboard bracings.

I put in a trailing point on the east side of the blue line for 'future' use.

Do you think that this is ok and worth doing?

 

Cheers

Pete