Planning an N Scale E shaped ISL - 9ft 6 in X 9ft 6in
#1
G'day Folks, below is and XtrkCad plan of an N scale industrial switching layout that I am planning to build. The site of the layout is to be a prefabricated metal garden shed of dimensions roughly 10ft by 10ft. As The shed is still to be built (i.e. waiting to be payed off over time in our local hardware store) I am at the moment using dimensions of 9ft 6in by 9ft 6in to make sure my plans will have room to grow and not the need to be pruned. This metal shed will be put up inside our large metal garage as a secure and hopefully almost dust proof home for the layout. The layout will be in domino form to allow for any future moves. The curves are Atlas 9 3/4 inch and 11 inch set-track to use up what I have on hand and to keep constant radius. Atlas switches and set track straights are used in the plan as they make a easy `units' to judge siding capacities etc. At this level of planning the Atlas switches match reasonably closely to the PECO medium radius code 80 units I will actually use. The layout is planned for 1 to 3 operators with a main aim being the ability to operate for just half an hour or so single handed or have two or three people occupied for an hour or two.
The concept of the layout is a largish industrial park with rail service provided by either an independent local operator or an existing short line such as Aberdeen & Rockfish, R J Corman, etc. The A&R operate the separate PeeDee River Rwy and once ran the Dunn Erwin Railway, so taking on a new industrial park in their region would not be out of the question.
At the top of the plan is the main yard where removable storage cassettes provide inward/outward traffic. The orange coloured rectangles represent industrial structures/boundaries.

   

Switching Area 1 would be operated directly out of the yard as if the track distance on the model accurately represented the distance on the fictional prototype. Perhaps only being switched once a day.
Switching Area 2 is meant to be significantly further away from the yard and would be worked by its own out and back train. If a pushing/shoving move was used to get to Area 2 perhaps an old caboose could be used as a shoving platform and I could do away with the run-around siding. I would envisage one to two workings of Area 2 per day with each industry only receiving one switch per day. This area is likely to be hosting mainly chemical based industries, eg. paint manufacture, pool chlorine processor, etc.
Switching Area 3 is a very busy place and a significant distance from the yard. Some of the industries here would receive cuts of 3 to 5 cars at a time, eg. Newsprint warehouse, grocery chain warehouse. A long team track with a specialized lumber transload operation at the end is a feature of Area 3. I would envisage two or three trains per day to Area 3, each with its own assigned industries to switch. Perhaps the Newsprint warehouse might be switched twice a day to have sufficient through put.
By using the Auran TRAINZ simulator I am slowly making an operating computer version of the proposed layout which helps a lot in not only planning operations, but also in achieving visual and functional balance.
   

The types of industries I am thinking about creating include: tank-car cleaning and repair facility, newsprint warehouse, lumber transload, Liquid Propane Distributor, Frito-Lay type plant, grocery chain warehouse, bulk cement distributor (eg., Blue Circle), team track, grain transload, logistics warehouse(s), pool chlorine processor, and paint manufacture.

Any critiques, suggestions etc. are gladly welcomed.
Cheers, Andrew G.
Always learning, from both wins and losses.
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