steinjr

For the Branford Steam Railroad, I would just look at what is there today. Rock hoppers are short - also in modern times.

North Branford end: http://binged.it/L26WBz

Yard at Pleasant Point Road: http://binged.it/L275VB

One way goes to the Barge Terminal at Juniper Point: http://binged.it/L7NFEe

The other way to an Interchange point with the Providence and Worcester RR (a couple of tracks off the North-East corridor)?: http://binged.it/L7ZFWg

Edit: BTW, Tom - you still haven't told us how much space you are actually planning to use for this layout, on how that space fits into the room where you want to build your layout.

Smile

Stein

I've recently been able to find an article published by Model Railroader, the August 1960 issue, on an American shortline I have been trying to research for some time. The railroad is The Branford Steam Rail Road, in Branford Ct. It was named this because Branford allready had an Electric Railroad and they wanted to distinguish between it. The line is a whole 6 miles long operated as a point to point between the Tilcon trap rock stone quarry in North Branford and a water terminal off of Juniper point on the Long Island Sound.

 

The original motive power was provided by two 0-4-0 Vulcan tank engines, at least one of which is now located at Steam Town USA National Historic Park. In the 1960's motive power moved to three GE 44 toners, which I am pretty sure are still being used today.

 

My wife is from East Haven/New Haven Ct and her brother lives in Branford so this is how I found this little gem. Of course neither of them know much about it other than the train hauls rock from the quarry to the sound The line still has an interchange with what was once the New Haven Rail road just North of their Pine Orchard yard. This yard is basically the end of the line other than the water terminal facilities. They run 12 hopper car trains between the quarry yard and the Pine Orchard yard with one loco serving the quarry, one serving the Pine Orchard yard/Water Terminal and one road locomotive.

 

I can scan the article from MR if anyone would like to help me design an HO model of this. I'm not sure about the UK copyright laws so I don't want to get the site in any trouble. Unfortunatly I have zero design skills so even something as straight forward as a 6 mile long railroad throws me a curve.

 

Hi Tom --

If I remember correctly, you found in another thread that a 1250 foot long industrial park near Fredricksburg too long for what space you were able to/willing to use - it would take about 14 feet uncompressed in H0 scale, and you wanted to do it in less than 8 feet in H0 scale, while you were not willing to do much compression, since you thought it made things look too different from the prototype.

Six miles of track is about 25 times as long as those 1250 feet for your last layout planning attempt. Clearly, trying to model six miles instead of 1/5th of a mile in the same layout space means more compression/more selection, not less.

How much space do you intend to use for this new layout idea, and how much selection and compression are you willing to apply?

Smile,

Stein

I think you did right to prioritise the car float, it's the raison d'être for the yard. I'm tempted to have a go myself now, using the same room constraints you have

Go for it - I'd love to see your representation of the look and feel of Brooklyn waterfront railroading - it is a fascinating theme.

Btw - this is not a plan for myself, just something I doodled for a discussion about a track plan over on the Model Railroad Hobbyist web forum.

Smile,

Stein

Stein, For some reason the last plan did not come out very well. Some lines missing and/or "broken". Can you try again?

Changed the image some - how does it look now?

A very similar concept to one I've had in my head for a while, with viewing from west side of the 1st Avenue yard. (for some reason my mind keeps thinking that there is water on this side of the yard, despite the fact that there are some huge warehouses between it and the water!) I like the fact that you have included this spur http://members.train...wastesiding.jpg

 

Can't take credit for that specific siding - it was in a track plan I commented on, suggesting that to get the look and feel of Bush terminal, you need a bit of yard, and preferably also a tracks running into a narrow alley in a C shaped loft building.

I can't help feeling you have missed a trick by not having any tracks going into warehouses at right angles , which I feel is a distinctive feature, but does take up space,

I tried to include it. The only two places where it seems possible is on the two shorter peninsulas (peninsulae?) - I made a sketch for one possible solution for one of the two - where the car float is in the main plan:

Scenically, it would look great, but operationally, having the carfloat and the track to the Brooklyn Army Terminal has more play value.

I also tried sketching a float yard more like at New York Dock's Fulton terminal :

Having a yard down there would allow more of the main part of the layout to be used for lofts and street running instead of a yard. But I just like the first street yard better.

and also by not including this trackwork anywhere http://g.co/maps/pfh76

Depending on period you could also have the unloading dock in the yard for unloading subway cars from flat cars http://members.train...grampaerial.jpg

Love them both, but not sure where they could have been worked into the plan in a good way.

Smile,

Stein

Yet another North American track plan - this time based on the Bush Terminal Railroad in Brooklyn, New York. You can see the original here: http://members.train...indloco/bt.html

This is the H0 scale track plan, which was drawn to fit a specific footprint going around one outside corner and one inside corner:

Edit: new rendering, to better show tracks

Smile,

Stein

Another American based switching layout. A guy in another forum (modelrailroadforums.com) posted a link to an industry park in Liverpool, New York state: http://binged.it/KU6nud

I tried to preserve the look and feel of the place in H0 scale in 11 feet x 20" of layout, with 36" of cassette at the end:

The main cheat was adding a transload track at the left, so there would be two facing spurs at that end, instead of just one, making switching a little easier (since it makes it possible to pull a car and then spot a new car before taking the pulled car back towards the cassette.

Smile,

Stein

In lieu of any On3 diagrams appearing on here you might try the "Railroad Line Forum" in the 'States. I don't have a link to hand

Hi. I have been following this topic for some time in the hope of picking up some tips for a new layout I am going to build, On3 D&RGW, in my loft. Woodwork almost finished along with a new loft ladder. Also going to add a ring main. Has anyone used any of the layouts here for On3 or can anyone suggest, perhaps places I could find some?

 

James.

http://members.shaw.ca/va3cp/frameset.htm

http://www.michaelluczak.com/On3.html

http://www.drgw-sd.com/

Smile,

Stein

I like that 13th street layout. Looks like the sector plate section can be unbolted from the main section and transported separately?

Smile,

Stein

LOL - one of the great things about model railroading - both "less is more" and "more is more" works :-)

Any of the three ideas would work:

- fork layout (the first one), no switchbacks. Is reasonably like the prototype, and fun to work

- switchback without runaround (second one) - can e.g. be run with the train arriving from the right, with some cars also having been left at the left end of the main by another train earlier.

- adding a runaround like Jack suggested. In that case I might be tempted to make it a little longer, maybe like this:

Smile,

Stein

In a discussion on the Yahoo small layouts forum, someone posted a link to to an industry in Oakland, California - Con Agra at 2207 East 7th Street. Trying to come up with a (relatively) small track plan inspired by this industry, I drew up this track plan:

Adding a little extra switching to the layout to accommodate a building another guy wanted to include, I added a couple of extra tracks:

Not sure it is all that American (although it obviously is inspired by a prototype location in the US), but what they heck - I'll post it in this thread anyways :-)

Smile,

Stein

Another interesting resource when discussing sure spots is the description of spotting diagrams (and train crew briefs) Linda Sands gives on her web page about Linda and Dave Sand's layouts - in particular the Cedar River Terminal and Plymouth Industrial: http://www.sandsys.org/modelrr/modelbuilt/

Smile,

Stein

Hi guys,

 

Very interesting thread so far. However, I'm about to build an 8ft x 18" HO scale Freemo module (2 x 4ft boards) and have decided to make it a stub module, so end of line. I've had a few thoughts, such as an ethanol plant, loco depot, switching district, etc.

 

Does anyone have any trackplans for a stub layout? Preferably Freemo standard (track in centre of board).

 

Pretty much any track plan can be turned into a stub layout by the simple expedient of just not connecting anything to that end of the layout :-)

Also, if your two sections are always going to be deployed as a fixed pair at the end of some branch, the layout only needs to be compatible with Fremo at one end.

So - what do you want to model? Not a lot of track, but still allowing for good switching isn't a very precise spec - that can be used for just about anything. What is "good switching" to you? What era do you like? What kind of industries? What type of place?

I mean - you can get fairly interesting switching using two turnouts, as long as you use "sure spots" - ie cars doesn't just have to be shoved into a specific track, but they have to be spotted at a specific spot on that track. Like e.g. this - 8 car spots, room for a few off spot cars, and maybe have a train with 4-5 cars arrive from the right to pull and spot various cars at the three industries:

Smile,

Stein

Here is a track plan I came up with in connection with a discussion on yahoo group Ry-ops-industrialSIG about switching along 8th avenue in Marshalltown, Iowa:

H0 scale, Peco medium turnouts, cars are 40' cars, engine an EMD GP-7.

The track plans was based on these pictures and plans posted by Douglas Harding in the above mentioned yahoo group: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Ry-ops-industrialSIG/photos/album/670900519/pic/list - among prototype pictures and a Sanborn map cutout of the area, Douglas also posted his track plan - which modeled the entire 8th avenue district in 14', using #4 turnouts, and some pictures showing his layout.

Worth a look if you are a member of the yahoo group.

Smile,

Stein

I rummaged through my files to see if I had some more American track plans. For whatever it may be worth, here is another handful of plans:

"Thawville, IL"

"Fergus Falls, MN"

"Silver Springs":

"Cascade Mills, Gorham, NH"

"Justin City"

"Ackerman Chip Mill, Ackerman, KS"

Please tell me if I am spamming down the forum by posting too many track plans here.

Smile,

Stein

seen a layout that fits my given area. I added a double slip to give it a run around but I'm not sure it I have lost the desired look of the layout. Ill post both please comments are most welcome.. Layout size is 8'x 18"

 

 

 

You need staging to model trains arriving or departing during the operating session. For whatever it may be worth, I am not sure that adding staging is always worthwhile for a small 8x2 foot H0 scale switching layout. It sometimes is worthwhile, but it may not be worth it if it means using half the layout area to get trains in and out of staging.

For a small switching layout, one option is to start the operating session with the train "having just arrived" and end it with the train "about to depart".

Will this layout be placed on a table or some such thing, so you have access to the rear of the layout when running? Or will it normally be located on a shelf along a wall or some such thing?

The limiting factor with the staging you show is the length of the sector plate - 25". That is how long trains (engine plus cars) you can move into or out of the layout. Having 2 x 6 feet of staging behind the backdrop doesn't help much, since you won't have room for all that many car spots on the layout. In this case, I would suggest dropping the idea of staging (or replace it by a cassette on the end of the layout, which can double as an extended switching lead during switching).

Also - what are you trying to model - what kind of place, what kind of era?

Smile,

Stein

Which one is 64th Street?

 

Stein, please put more plans actually on here (but it would be useful to name them)!

 

Cheers and thanks for contributing, Pete.

Sorry - have gone back and added names to the ones I posted, so it is easier to refer to them.

Here is the 64th street layout plan (on bottom), with a second variant (on top) where I flipped the crossover to create another rail served industry at lower right, and create a longer runaround. Inspired based on Dave Howell's excellent 4 foot long "63rd street yard" from MTI (shown here on Adrian Wymann's small shunting layouts web page):

"64th street":

"Federal Overpass"

"Shiner, TX":

"Shamrock Avenue, Fort Worth, TX":

"Arjay corner" - heavily inspired by a track plan posted by Robert J Beaty (Arjay1969) on the Model Railroader Magazine web site:

"Hartland, WI"

"Old Granddad Whisky Destillery, Frankfort, KY" - based on a sketch by Ed Vasser from The Gauge (http://www.the-gauge.net/)

Hope I haven't spammed the forum too badly.

All plans are based on Peco code 70, mostly with medium turnouts, H0 scale, mostly 40-foot cars (except for the Bergen example) and small switchers.

I'll add one more - I looked at RS Tower blog and saw an image of Neil Roger's Freemo module Oakdale. Using more or less the same track plan, but changing the main industry along the back to an elevator:

Umm - actually the crossover to the elevator switching lead probably ought to have been six inches further left on the track plan I drew (if one don't mind crossovers at the 4-foot section break), so you can move a cut of three cars at a time in or out. Oh well - just a quickly dashed off sketch.

Smile,

Stein

use a lot of slight angles between track and baseboards, it always makes things look more natural I think.

I agree, and I am an admirer of what you guys do - like your Alpha Freemo module : http://rstowerfreemo...-modules/alpha/

Smile,

Stein

Some interesting plans on your site Stein, I like the 41/2'x18" plans. Keep them coming.

 

Thank you. Some more small(ish) switching track plans from my photobucket account:

"Dunnville Textile Mill" - SW7 switcher, 40 foot cars

"Hialeah distribution"

"Wyatt Earp Boulevard, version 3"

"Container terminal, Bergen, Norway"

If anyone see any plans or plan fragments they like, feel free to copy, fold, spindle or mutilitate to your heart's desire :-)

Smile,

Stein

For whatever it might be worth, I got a few US theme track plans for small layouts on this web page: http://home.online.no/~steinjr/trains/modelling/

My living room layout 11 feet x 15" looks like this:

Smile,

Stein