Steel Mill Layout Plan

[Trucklover]

Hi Guys,

i was working with a client of mine for his new Steel Mill Layout hes doing in his garage. He wanted me to see if i could come up with a plan for him to fit his layout space in his garage, so i said sure, this would be fun, i love making trackplans

He gave me a list of the structures he had on hand, and i added in a couple he didnt have and that he said he would like to have on the layout. Well here are the specifications


Color Specifications;

GREEN = Layout Base
RED = Mainline Loop
Yellow = Walthers #7 Curved Turnouts and Walthers #4 WYE Turnout.
BLACK = All other trackage
ORANGE = Structure
BLUE = Water for Harbor Scene for the Ore Boat, 2 Hulett Unloaders and the Bridge Crane.


Benchwork & Track Specifications;

~~Benchwork Dimensions are listed on the plan. His Benchwork is fairly low to the floor for his kids to see, so a 4' Reach he said wouldnt be a problem....
~~Small Blue Triangle is an extension he needs to make for the loop to work.
~~All Turnouts in the back, beyond 2' from layout edge, or behind structures will be remote, all others manual for some operational fun
~~ALL turnouts are Atlas Custom Line Code 83 #6 LH or RH Turnouts
~~Minimum Radius on the plan is 22"


List Of Structures, Starting from Bottom Left of the Plan;

~~Rolling Mill #2 (Mill #2)
~~Electric Arc Furnace (EAF)
~~Northern Light & Power Sub-Station (NL&PS)
~~Tri-State Power Authority (Tri-State)
~~Northern Light & Power Powerhouse (NL&PP)
~~Bridge Crane
~~Hulett Unloader #1
~~Hulett Unloader #2
~~Great Lakes Ore Boat
~~Harbor/Dock
~~Railroad Shop
~~Rolling Mill #1 (Mill #1)
~~Rolling Mill #3 (Mill #3)
~~Engineer's Office (EO)
~~Blast Furnace (BF)
~~Coke Oven & Quencher Tower
~~Blower Engine House (Blower)


Now we realize there is no yard whatsoever on this plan. There is also nothing that connects the loop so a train could travel in the other direction. This would create a Revers Loop and i didnt think he would want to deal with that since hes just starting out (think he had a very small N scale layout a while ago). I told him there was going to be no yard unless he got more room on the bottom to travel down the wall a bit more, but he cant because there is a refrigerator there and then the door to enter the house. He said he didnt mind at all and would just live without the yard. The main reason he wanted a loop was for his kids to sit and run trains with him, so he was very happy with the LONG loop that goes throughout the layout and kinda snakes through the structures.

Well without further a-do, here is the plan lol

**EDIT** i do see one very large problem with the plan, there is no run-around track at all on the plan, and the only way to put a large run around track in is to make a reverse loop. im going to have to talk to him and see what he thinks and if he would be up to wire a reverse loop. So this may not be the final plan after all lol

[cnw1961]

Hey Josh, I won’t comment on your plan because I haven’t dealt with all this steel makin' stuff yet, but I see no problem getting a runaround in there. If you could move the blast furnace and the coke oven a little more to the front, you could even turn the runaround into a small yard by moving the right turnout further to the right and squeezing in another yard track.

[Trucklover]

Hmmmm Kurt, now that is an EXCELLENT idea!! Thanks bud. Here is what i came up with, but gosh dangit i like what you did, so imma change it to look like what you just drew up

I added a run-around above the BF and a runaround on the left side of the layout, ill edit the plan again to include that small little yard. Thanks again Kurt

[Trucklover]

okay so i took Kurts Suggestion and changed the plan a bit. The only thing i couldnt do from his edit was the adding the switch next to the left corner of the BF, it just wouldnt fit lol

New new plan now.

Is there any reverse loops in there? If there is can someone point them out and give an explination on how to wire a reverse loop so i can pass this onto the my buddy here?

Thanks in advance,

[cnw1961]

Is there any reverse loops in there?

Yes, there is!



I guess you could use an auto reverser for the stretch of mainline between the two turnouts that is running along the corner of the layout ... but I am not absolutely sure .

[Trucklover]

Kurt, thanks bud, i really appreciate it. Now can you spot them in this plan?

Tom had asked me what it would look like if things were re-arranged a little and the harbor was moved down to where the Railshop was. To do this, most of the plan had to be re-done, so i spent a couple hours last night re-doing the plan. I am actually really glad he asked me to do that, cuz i think the plan looks alot better and makes a little more sense now, not to mention the harbor looks alot better and will be alot easier to model now that its down in the corner and not in an awkward spot anymore. We have also agreed to leave the Bridge Crane out, it wouldnt fit well in the Harbor Scene and it wouldnt fit over by the Blast Furnace, so there was really no place for it.

Again i also need someone to explain how to wire a reverse loop or to post a link to a place that can explain how to do it

Here is the new plan:

[Russ Bellinis]

Josh,
The new plan has 4 reverse loops, the original two the Kurt pointed out and two more on the other side. Both ends of the long passing siding at the top of the layout will create short circuits, and the switch going into the return loop around the steel mill complex is also a reverse loop.

[MasonJar]

Josh,

A bit of feedback for your consideration.

First about operating - in a couple of areas, you have places to reach in excess of 3 feet (close to 4' behind mill #1 & #2). While it is obviously possible to use switch machines for the turnouts, derailments may still require the "0-5-0" switcher to get in there. This is a function though of having continuous running, and given all the trackwork and structures, I am not sure that you could work in an access hatch either.

I am wondering what the continuous running loop adds to the plan, other than the ability to orbit the complex? The reverse loops enable you to turn the engine, although that is not really necessary in such a (relatively) small place. And from the way you've drawn it, I don't think that any of the track will be hidden. I guess for me, the layout lacks a representation of the connection to the rest of the world - there's no track I see as the "main line" that gets everything to (or from) the world beyond the mill. Where do the loaded coil cars or flats with steel slabs leave the mill?

My last comment is more about the aesthetics of the proposed plan. With the exception of Mill #3 and nearby buildings (which are at 45*) all other buildings are parallel or at 90* to the edge of the layout. The edges are also perfectly straight. Varying the angles of the buildings, and/or having a more flowing edge may make things look more "natural", if you know what I mean. Also, by changing the angles of the buildings, you may straighten some of the track and avoid tighter radii.

My $0.02 - take it or leave it as you see fit! Hope it helps.

Andrew

[Russ Bellinis]

Josh, reading Andrew's post above reminded me that your customer is building this layout down at a low enough level to allow his children to see it. Having it that low allows him to lean over and reach in 4 feet without too much difficulty. Is he planning to let his kids run it or just look at it? If he is planning to let his kids operate it, I would recommend going with a "dog bone" mainline to eliminate the reversing section. You can put in automatic reversers, but he would still need to remember to throw the switches as soon as the train clears them to keep from derailing when they come out. If his children are operating it, they may not remember to switch those switches once the train clears and thus have a lot of derailments. With those issues in mind, I think your original plan is probably better, more kid friendly. You did not mention what era or motive power he was going to run. I'm not sure that modern "super power" will work reliably on 22 inch radius. I understand that the sectional track manufacturers have recently come out with 24 inch radius sectional track to allow for operation of the big modern stuff. If he was to use Gp power instead of the big Sd's and he could use Gp38-2's to Gp60's for modern operations, then it would work even with an 18 inch radius (unless he wants to run 89 foot freight cars). If it would work with an 18 inch radius, run around tracks could be provided at each end to the inside of the balloon tracks.