Ralph's Layout Self-improvement Blog

[Ralph]

I been distracted from my next intended project, improving my power company's building, because I focused instead on an operations improvement instead. I reconfigured the track around my car float to make it more efficient to set out and pick up cars from the small yard that supports the car float.



There are two spurs and a runaround siding in the yard. The two spurs are large enough to accommodate more cars than the ten car maximum load on the car float. The runaround will be handy for allowing locomotives to park and also get around their accompanying cabooses for return transfer runs.

Transfers to the float yard will come from Kings Port on the other side of the layout, but also from the hidden staging track seen in the background with the Blue KP&W F7 coming out.



I decided to make the car float a Kings Port & Western operation. It never seemed very convincing to me to have it run by the Penn Central. I will also now base my freelanced road on this side of the layout (the town of West Mill). West Mill, instead of Kings Port, is now THE interchange point between the KP&W and the Penn Central.

Here is the KP&W power that loads the car float.



The way the track is arranged I can run a train continuously on the main line for extra action while switching the float yard. I've really been enjoying this area a lot more since making some changes and the whole Kings Port & Western concept is making more sense now.

Ralph