TPBO

[FCIN]

But what would be the reason for 2 different customers on one spur?

I've seen and worked lots of locations on the railroad where there is more than one customer on the same spur. You can find many such locations if you look around. I will say that in most such situations, you're more likely to find more than one customer on the same track in small towns or rural areas then in today's modern industrial parks. Many industrial areas in large cities that were and still are rail served, will have many such locations where there are several customers on the same spur.

If you look at the CSX Miami downtown spur that Lance Mindheim is modeling and follow it to the end, you'll see lots of locations where there is more than one customer located on the same spur or where there used to be more than one customer on the same spur.

For example: Here's one location http://www.bing.com/maps/?v=2&cp=n8zmq28...orm=LMLTCC. If you rotate the view looking south, you'll see that there are two customers on that one spur. Another example: http://www.bing.com/maps/?v=2&cp=n8zp0k8...orm=LMLTCC where you have two customers on the same spur. Looking closely at this location, you can also see how that spur once had a dog-leg in it and served yet a third customer across the street.

I personally have no problem with there being more than one customer on the same track and at one time in layout planning, was going to have just such an arrangement. It does interfere with customers when you have to pull their cars in order to spot cars for a second customer, during working hours, but often industrial spurs will be switched at night when this is less of a problem. Like many other things in the railroad business, it just depends on who, what and where.

Main point is, if it fits then don't worry about it. Such an arrangement can also add operating interest too.

Hey FCIN, I love your layout design. It looks like a fun layout to operate...

Another question that I have to all is that instead of putting a temporary staging track on the end, why not just put a fold up/fold down or temporary track with some scenery so that it looks like a part of the layout insttead of a piece of track hanging out in space?

Glad you like the plan and it is fun to operate. Even if I had less space and had to omit a customer (even two) I'd still have a similar track plan.

Since you mentioned it, I do plan on having the removable staging track to have scenery on it so that it does look like it belongs on the layout. Just will be no more than 6 or 8 inches deep as there will be no reason for it to be any deeper and eliminates having to put a lot of scenery on that piece. As for it being made as a fold down piece - that won't work that great in my case (want more length) so mine will just be designed so that I can lift it off. It will be supported on one end by the main layout and by either a single shelf bracket on the other end (must leave a door way open when not in use) or perhaps some sort of fold down leg support.