Track Plans for North American Layouts

[Dr Gerbil-Fritters]

Thought I would stick this in here, as it probably won't get noticed in my >ahem< layout thread...

 

 

Southern Pacific from Galt to Ione, then ACR from Ione to Martell.  (Georgia Pacific Lumber operation I think)

 

Mostly wood products, wood chips in jumbo hoppers, dimensional lumber on flat cars or lumber racks, finished products in box cars.  The quarry provided a lot of ballast for the SP, so pretty heavy traffic source.  A 3 road shop building and MOW spur at Martell, plus the Georgia Pacific plant.  At least two styles of 'SP-alike' depots, gen 1 and 2 4 axle switchers on the SP line, and Baldwins on the ACR...

 

Only wish I had a big enough shed to do it justice

[Gerald Henriksen]

Some small layout ideas from a 3rd party blog

 

First up are Teeswater and Walkerton, Ontario.  Both CPR branchline terminus:

 

http://hedley-junction.blogspot.ca/2017/09/teeswater-walkerton-in-ho-scale.html

 

If you wanted to model the CPR then Rapido in the next couple of years will have the D10 in steam, or you could use the arriving soon SW1200RS from Rapido for the early diesel years.

 

He also came up with a plan for a paper mill, prototype in East Angus, Quebec:

 

http://hedley-junction.blogspot.ca/2017/09/east-angus-quebec-compact-paper-mill.html

 

http://hedley-junction.blogspot.ca/2017/09/east-angus-follow-up.html

[DavidB-AU]

Found this interesting one on Pintrest. It has good scope for card/waybill operation.

 

https://i.pinimg.com/originals/03/b9/73/03b973644f63ed76f018a7a5056f9af9.jpg

 

The only change I'd make is I'd put the continuous run connector between the staging and the lift-out bridge.

 

Cheers

David

Edited October 5, 2017 by DavidB-AU

[SteveS]

Either way, there's quite a few small towns throughout the midwest where there are interlockings with groupings of diamonds just like that where 2 main lines cross...

 

one that comes to my mind is Rochelle, Illinois, when the BNSF Chicago-Twin Cities and UP's former CN&W Chicago-Omaha Mainline.

 

Steve

[DavidB-AU]

Not quite a track plan but an easy industry to model in Falmouth, KY. 

 

https://goo.gl/maps/HZkinJ8igBD2

 

The lettering on the end of the tank car says "EDIBLE TALLOW".

 

Cheers

David

[Regularity]

There are trees at each end, with a road bridge at one end and another grade crossing at the other. For someone who wanted to watch the trains and do a spot of switching, this would make a great layout for an oval fed from storage sidings.

 

Worth spending some time scrolling about, to get a feel for things, although incorporating a pedestrian crossing the tracks might be demanding to model!

 

I noticed that on either side of the crossing, there is a broad white paint band. Presumably this is a limit marker for cars parked there? Also, there is the concrete footprint of a former trackside building: freight house, passenger depot, industry?

 

One question, though. It looks like there is a pump house on the (shortened) spur, I guess for unloading tank cars. How would the cars on the siding be switched in and out of this spur?

[Regularity]

one that comes to my mind is Rochelle, Illinois, when the BNSF Chicago-Twin Cities and UP's former CN&W Chicago-Omaha Mainline.

 

Steve

http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/110021-rochelle-illinois-webcam/?hl=rochelle

[Wendell1976]

I know that I am late to this thread(I had just started a new account to this website about a week ago), but I want to say that I really enjoy all of the small layout examples on this thread. I had just built a 4-3-2 N scale Inglenook layout with a switching lead capacity of one locomotive and two cars. I am using six cars on the layout.

 

Wendell

Idaho, USA

Edited May 25, 2018 by Wendell1976

[newbryford]

Looking at a US project - I want it to be a bit more than "just another switching layout".

 

This is the basic idea, but by no means finalised.

It represents the exchange yard between a Class 1 or 2 road and a shortline, with added passenger interest in the background. I will probably connect the passenger lines to the freight some way or another. Maybe to include such things on the shortline as an evening dining train using vintage stock - or in one shortline case a murder mystery train!

There is no final trackplan as yet and I would like to add a couple or three - but no more - sidings to it, including some loco holding facility.

 

No dimensions, but looking at 8-10 wagon trains and 2-3 bi-level passenger coaches.

 

The prime aim will be for it to be for exhibition use, but I'd like to be able to put up part of it at home to "play trains"

I am also considering having the end sections - or have short infills at the exchange yard end or shortline FY end - to make it usable for Freemo.

 

From a background of virtually zero US knowledge a few weeks ago - how does this look as a basic building block - to more trained eyes?

 

 

Cheers,

Mick

Edited February 22, 2018 by newbryford

[PaulRhB]

The idea looks good and certainly ticks the little bit different box Mick. If the Metro line is separate it's more likely to be fairly modern so will probably look more clinical than the short line or class 1 connections. The other option is to carry on the line so it looks like the class 1 goes off to the right even if you won't be running trains there and you only see the Metro reverse?

[Regularity]

Looking at a US project - I want it to be a bit more than "just another switching layout".

 

This is the basic idea, but by no means finalised.

It represents the exchange yard between a Class 1 or 2 road and a shortline, with added passenger interest in the background. I will probably connect the passenger lines to the freight some way or another. Maybe to include such things on the shortline as an evening dining train using vintage stock - or in one shortline case a murder mystery train!

There is no final trackplan as yet and I would like to add a couple or three - but no more - sidings to it, including some loco holding facility.

 

No dimensions, but looking at 8-10 wagon trains and 2-3 bi-level passenger coaches.

 

The prime aim will be for it to be for exhibition use, but I'd like to be able to put up part of it at home to "play trains"

I am also considering having the end sections - or have short infills at the exchange yard end or shortline FY end - to make it usable for Freemo.

 

From a background of virtually zero US knowledge a few weeks ago - how does this look as a basic building block - to more trained eyes?

 

USL.jpg

 

Cheers,

Mick

I am not certain about that plan, but my knowledge of current practice is a little rusty, if it was ever there to begin with.

 

Most exchanges I have seen in North America consist of a length of track in common, with each railroad connecting on one, separate end only. A full yard with trackage rights seems uncommon: usually there might be a joint “terminal” or “switching” road.

 

Now there’s a thought. You can have two roads operating in and out of their respective fiddle yards and serving their own customers, with a switcher belonging to the jointly owned switching road. Or possibly, the “big” railroad has created a subsidiary company for the switching and serving of the industrial customers, as a way of reducing costs - the industrial railroad has assumed the assets and liabilities of the trackage and facilities, and operates with smaller train crews, not subject to the requirements imposed on bigger roads.

[shortliner]

Another option would be to have 2 or 3, Class 1 RR yards scattered around the outside of a city whose ordinances banned all external RRs operations. The stations and yards are all off-scene and on fiddlestick/cassette-type type yards) and you are operating the UBT RR ( Urban Belt and Terminal, or Urban Belt and Transit (named using SWMBOs initials)). The UBT RR is a switching layout owned by the municipality, whose job in life is to move freight cars between the yards of the Class 1 RRs, 24/7/365 with street running and internal city sidings for ingredients and items for the city, and products out to external markets. Something similar to your track-plan would give you basic movements between the various fiddlesticks or cassettes. The requirements of the class 1s should provide enough traffic to keep you busy for operating for short or long sessions and switching the internal city sidings will add more variation. The City owns (or leases, a good excuse for patched locos)) several switching locos and no freight cars - these all come into the City from external RRs

 

Re Regularitys post above - a good example would be the Ballard Terminal Railroad whose traffic arrives and departs from mainline freights in a siding alongside the main line, BNSF AFAIR.

Edited February 25, 2018 by shortliner

[shortliner]

Having posted the comment above this morning - a somewhat more complicated than I envisioned, room-sized layout , operating on the principle above - appeared this afternoon in this post - It is the OLB track-plan down near the bottom of this page http://www.railroad-line.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=42311&whichpage=20

[long island jack]

if it was me doing it, i'd make it a class 2 to shortline, also your interchange yard, do away with the run round's, switches at right end, (you can turn the train on the wye, more fun for your crews), next take the main straight on to the board end (freemo connection 9" centres) other freemo connections could be in each fiddle yard's to allow run through traffic, your track storage track could be come a 3 car team track, you'll have enough storage in those exchange sidings if you lengthen them.

 

you say 8-9 cars, average 50' box makes it 72" plus locos, suggests dropping length to 4-5, run more short trains.

 

just my ten pence's worth, what ever you do it's your train set 

 

Ray

Edited February 26, 2018 by long island jack

[Glorious NSE]

I like the basic concept.

I'm sure I've see the 3 track arrangement before in places where there is a decent amount of interchange (effectively where there is exchanging of full trains), three double ended tracks lets you have cars waiting to be picked up when a train arrives and runs round so is probably represents a minimal/efficient/ but still high capacity interchange.

As Ray says, you can always wye and back in, if the length of scenic section was your defining limit on train length that would allow trains to be longer (though if the limit is length of staging tracks it might not!) - I'd agree it's an interesting (and not very British) move too...

On the passenger side, most modern shorter commuter/intercity train operations run push-pull or top and tail, so far so simple, but if you're running a dinner/excursion train that one doesn't have to, might be worth putting in a connection to the yard for loco release or even shunt the whole train to the yard side, wye it, and back to the station.

Developing that thought - the dinner train would be a fit for passenger action on the shortline side, so that could arrive from the other yard given a suitable connection to the station track - wyeing it would allow it to be worked conventionally by a steam loco or single ended cab unit.



 

[Zomboid]

It looks like it would be a lot of fun to operate. Obviously double ending the yard will take a fair amount of length, especially since the headshunt bit will need to take at least a pair of six axle locos

Though that fan of turnouts could be on an optional extension board, and if length is an issue at a given event then the wye would provide much of the same functionality.

[newbryford]

Thanks for the input guys.

 

Class 2 is my thought and suitable motive power has been (and is being) acquired. Four axle so far......

If Class 1 appears in the future, then so be it.

Liking the idea of not having a run round to save space/allow longer trains.

My thought was to use the wye for the evening dining train as well as turning locos, but swinging an incoming freight round the wye and backing into the exchange sidings sounds like an idea

Maybe use a downgraded F7A as a HEP/cab control car on the dining train?

I have seen a video of top and tailed freight - The Adrian & Blissfield

 

Need to work out the actual physical sizes of the wye - looking at a minimum of 36" curves, also bearing in mind that it won't be an equilateral triangle, as I want a gentle curve across the front side of the layout, which will effectively be the bent base of an isoceles triangle

I also have to think about how/if I can put up part of it to play trains at home.

 

Again - still considering making some of it Freemo compattble.

 

I do have a plan to use at least half of the fiddle yard from my yellow project for the main yard at the back.

 

Cheers,

Mick

Edited February 26, 2018 by newbryford

[Milano]

If you'd like something for a very small space that could be added to, extended , or just to play with, and can use 40' cars and a small switcher - here is an Inglenook I have borrowed from Facebook

 

inglenook4SAW.jpg

First posting on here folks. I have been reading all the posts looking for a small HO layout to build on a board 40"x 9" and just found this. It's hard to make out the track plan so does anyone else have information about it or similar idea to fit on my board.

 

Thanks for looking

 

Milano

[Regularity]

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[Regularity]

Or more usefully: http://www.wymann.info/ShuntingPuzzles/sw-inglenook.html

[Mike Kieran]

It's tricky with American Equipment. If you use earlier American equipment for a 3-2-2 inglenook and Peco Short radius turnouts, the long track would be 43.25 inches or 109.855 centimeters.

If you curve the drill track/head shunt, you might get closer to the 40 inch limit. It would have to be an 18 inch radius or sharper.

[DanielB]

Initial plan for an O scale point to point layout. Room size is 19' 9" x 8' 8", curve radius is 36".

 

[DanielB]

Another track plan I've been working on, this time in HO, based on Genesee Valley Transportation's Depew, Lancaster and Western railroad in Batavia, New York.

 

Real location can be found here: https://goo.gl/maps/XsRjbMqBnGy

 

Room size is 19' 9" x 9', tapering at one end where the door to the room is located.

 

The plan features both a continuous run mainline around the outside, complete with hidden staging (accessed by removable background flat buildings), and interchange yard, with an industrial shortline branching off around the inside.

 

[Regularity]

Nice: are the 3-way turnouts prototypical for the location?

One other point, the interchange yard loops are shorter than those in the storage tracks. Unless the latter are going to be storing multiple trains, you may find it difficult to engage in passing moves. Lengthening the outer loop would enable this, and also remove 2 of the 3 3-ways.

[DanielB]

No, the three way turnouts aren't prototypical. I just have a LOAD of them in my box of HO track, so I'm using them where I can.

 

The storage tracks are for mainline length trains, whereas the way freights will only drop off or pick up a handful of cars in the interchange tracks in one go.