Bringing the Royal Gorge & Southern to life

[Sarge]

The RG&S or "Royal Gorge" is my fictional railroad loosely based on the D&RGW.

This is my first attempt at building a layout that is more than an oval on a 4X8. The track plan I am using for the layout is based on the Atlas plan Central Midland. Though I did not follow it closely. I made all of the curve radius large enough to handle a railpower SD90 chassis.



I am not planning on using the yard or sidings from the plan. I have other plans for these areas.

Bench work done.

[Sarge]

Main line is in place. Now to work out the "kinks"

This is my first real layout, so I did not expect everything to go as planned on the first shot. I have to fix a couple of clearence issues on a curve to start with. My son has been running trains on it every night since I got it together, so I will let him find the rest of the problem spots









Once I get it all worked out I will go back and add the roadbed.

[tetters]

Off to a great start! That looks like its going to be a great layout to work on!

[Tom]

Sweet! I first saw that plan in an old Atlas book when I was a kid and always wanted to build it but never got the chance. Looking forward to seeing more progress on it, looks like you're obviously off to a flying start.

[Sarge]

Sweet! I first saw that plan in an old Atlas book when I was a kid and always wanted to build it but never got the chance. Looking forward to seeing more progress on it, looks like you're obviously off to a flying start.

Same with me. It might not be the most ideal plan out there, but it is the one I always wanted when I was a kid.

[Trucklover]

Great start jim!! I cant wait to see some scenery with those awesome RG&S locomotives you have. I really like that paint scheme, very eye catching

[Triplex]

It might not be the most ideal plan out there, but it is the one I always wanted when I was a kid.

It looks pretty good for mainline running, not good for along-the-line switching. It's an example of Armstrong's "riata", which he describes as good for passenger operations.

I like the single-track bottleneck. It makes the plan look less cluttered and will add interest. Enlarging the radii is probably what it needed most, like most Atlas plans.

I wasn't familiar with this plan as a kid, but I would've wanted it if I had seen it.

[Ralph]

I like it! Looks like fun to build and to run. I can relate to the superimposed return loops. My layout has them too.
Ralph

[nachoman]

Great start!

[ocalicreek]

It looks pretty good for mainline running, not good for along-the-line switching. It's an example of Armstrong's "riata", which he describes as good for passenger operations.

I like the single-track bottleneck. It makes the plan look less cluttered and will add interest. Enlarging the radii is probably what it needed most, like most Atlas plans.

I wasn't familiar with this plan as a kid, but I would've wanted it if I had seen it.

Still, there may be a spot or two for a siding here or there. You mention different yard areas...can you show us what you have in mind?

Galen

[Triplex]

You mention different yard areas...can you show us what you have in mind?

When did I mention that?

I don't think that's meant to be a yard at all, but a stub passenger terminal. But then why do you need the double-track wye? You only need one of the two wye tracks; which one depends on whether you operate the terminal as head-in or back-in. Follow the movement of a train from the double main on the right, assuming right-hand running on that main, and you'll see what I mean.

To make it into a switchable freight yard, what I'd do is:
-Remove the track labelled "18".
-Remove the switch on the inside track at the top right.
Now I've removed the "head-in" wye and left the "back-in" one. The remaining upper track from the removed wye has now become a switching lead.
Only problem is, those yard tracks are rather short for mainline freights. The reason I chose "back-in" is because it removes the need for engine escape tracks, which would take up most of the space. But I don't think backing in is appropriate for a freight yard.

Okay, I guess this plan really isn't good for anything other than passenger service, unless you have more length for a better freight yard.

[TrainNut]

You mention different yard areas...can you show us what you have in mind?

When did I mention that?

You didn't. He was referring to the original statement made by Sarge.

I am not planning on using the yard or sidings from the plan. I have other plans for these areas.

Very nice progress Sarge. I think it's really neat to see a layout come to life and see the pictures of the framing progress as well. You've got some pretty steep terrain to scenic there and I look forward to seeing what your going to do with that.

[Sarge]

Thanks for you comments guys. This is my first time, so I take all of your suggestions into consideration

Ok, I am not using the stub, wye, yard siding or whatever you want to call it. For the most part this will be just a mainline through the mountains with several tunnels and bridges. In the portion of the stub portion of the L where the wye was I will probably put a coal mine/rock quarry or other industry there. I am thinking of running a track off of the back side of this area that will run through the area at the far end of the room, which could have another industry and a staging area. The area I am talking about here, is actually a bar that the layout buts up against. I am also using this space for my work bench, so that will work perfect for me.

It is not my intention to make this into a switching layout, but one that I can run trains on with my son. I can use the club layout for intense op sessions when we get that done I do have a vision in my head as to how I want to do the scenery, I am just not good at describing it.

Interestingly, I read an article at some point about how the designer intended this to be operated a a single mainline operation, with the areas between the crossovers used as passing sidings.

[MountainMan]

That's a nice looking plan that has a lot of other possibilities with a few alterations. I can't wait to see how yours turns out.

[Russ Bellinis]

I built a modified version of that plan for my first layout. I got the track down and the trains running, and then we sold the house and moved, so I never got to the scenery stage. I don't remember exactly how I modified it, but I remember that I put some #4 turn outs into an "S" curve configuration entering the yard that consistently derailed my Athearn Sdp40. I also had grades that failed to transition into flats at the top and bottom to teach me about Kaddee couplers coming uncoupled if the transitions are missing on vertical curves. I don't remember what other mistakes I made on that layout, but I did learn a lot the hard way on it! The other thing I learned was that once the track was down, I would go into the train room to work on scenery, decide "let's run one train first," and three hours later, I had to shut it off and go to bed. I never did get any scenery or ballast on that layout!