N Scale Union Pacific Layout

[Trucklover]

Besides all the other drama in my life right now, I have been working on something when i dont find myself thinking about what Im having to go through. I've yet to actually run a train in the past 5 years ive been in this hobby, ive never had power in any of the tracks I have laid, and its time to put that to an end and get some trains moving! I tried building an around the walls shelf layout in HO scale a little while back, but it just was not working, a 10'x12' room just wasnt working, especially since I was having to live in the same room as the layout.... I just was not happy with how the layout was turning out, and i didnt like the fact that I could only run a short train on the mainline and couldnt have a decent sized operational yard. Well this time around it will not be any different, except that this layout will be in N scale and take up only half of the room and at eye level to give it some depth and make things appear more realistic.

This Layout will have a small/medium sized yard, complete loop for continuous running as well as lots of switching for some fun, 17-1/2" minimum radius with #7 minimum turnouts. The mainline is shown in red, and I will go from there...

[Trucklover]

If you look at the plan above, the 8' wall on the left, that wall is 12' long, so there is another 4' after the edge of the layout. There is a workbench that runs the entire length of the 12' wall, which I will be able to stand on for access to this side of the layout. I will have to use a chair or step-stool to work on the rest of the layout, but that is okay because I want this layout to be at eye level... There is no access behind the layout. The 6' wall on the right side is a 6' wall, but at the end of the 6' wall is a hallway that you walk through when entering my room, so this is also open for access. My bed is right under the layout where the 10' and 6' walls meet, but I will soon be moving the bed to the other side of the room because I would prefer not to sleep in a cave LOL. I will be moving my large 62" tv under the layout where my bed is currently, as well as setting up another small desk for my laptop and printer, so that means I will be sitting under a cave when at the desk... lol. There will be a little bit of a challenge to reach in the back corners of the upper part of the plan, but standing on a tall stool, i shouldnt have much of a problem, and ill just limit the tracks in the way backs... Ive changed the shape a little on the left side of the layout since the snapshot above was taken, so see the next post for where I am at in the plan as of right now...

[Trucklover]

In the picture below, you will see alot of different color tracks. Ill explain them all in one post so I wont have to make several posts for each set of colored tracks...

White Tracks, Intermodal Yard
Ive always wanted to have an intermodal yard, but never had the space for one! Well it should be a little easier in N scale, so that is the first thing i added to this plan (white tracks). BLMA is coming out with the new 53' Spine Cars, so ill get all 4 sets and have a nice Spine Train loaded down with some trailers, and I saw a few sets of Wells that I would also like to get. It looks like a decent variety of nicely detailed containers and trailers are available, so modeling the intermodal yard should be pretty neat. The long tracks will allow 2 separate trains to be loaded/unloaded at the same time. Walthers makes the MI-Jack Intermodal Crane kits, so ill have to get a few of those for the yard. The only thing I havnt seen is container chassis in N scale, which poses somewhat of a problem. because what Intermodal yard doesnt have chassis for all the containers being offloaded?


Yellow Tracks, Yard
I want to be able to run a train on the mainline and then have it pull into a staging (for a lack of better words) track to dis-assemble or assemble. I made sure to not make any reverse loops (at least i think i did that), and the train can come in where smaller yard engines can either assemble or dis-assemble a new train, and pull cars from the 7 storage tracks.


Purple Tracks, Engine Servicing
Car Shop
Sanding Towers & Drying House
Machine Shop
Service Track Structures

These 4 kits should make a nice little compact servicing facility. I would like to have a diesel engine house, but that would take up ALOT of room... lol


Light Blue Tracks, Paper Mill
Ill use 2 kits, and kitbash the main mill to make a larger mill with 8 truck docks instead of 4. Im sure I will alter the structures in some other way as well, but the plan shows the general idea I have. There will be a pulp track (the track that runs around the mill) for spotting and unloading pulp flats


Dark Blue Tracks, Grain and Flour
The elevator is a beast, and I estimate it will take 7-8 of the ADM kits to build. I have also added in 2 of the Red Wing Flour Mill kits below the elevator to the left.


Pink Tracks, Cold Storage and Furniture Warehouses
The top 3 are a Cold Storage Facility using 2 of the Walthers RJ Frost kits and a Heljan Cold Storage Facility Kit. The larger structure below the Heljan kit is the DMP Woods Furniture kit. Each structure has its own siding for spotting cars (the Cold Storage Facility having 2 tracks) Below the Woods Furniture structure is the DMP Goodnight Mattress Company and the DMP Gripp's Luggage Manufacturing kits. Both of these will have no rail access and be serviced by truck only.


Black Tracks, Lumber
I layed out the Mountain Lumber Company Sawmill and the Walton & Sons Lumber Warehouse on the plan. I separated them, and made the Sawmill (Large Structure with the 3 black tracks) a desitnation for a small string of loaded spine log cars (lower Black Track) and empty 72' Centerbeam Lumber Flats (Upper Black Tracks). Once the Centerbeams are loaded, they can be brought down to the Walton & Sons Lumber Warehouse (structures in the lower right of the layout). The Walton & Sons Lumber Warehouse will be constructed of 2 kits, one built closed, and one built as half and connected to the closed to make it a long complex and able to accept a few Centerbeams at a time.

The Dark Green Tracks (above Walton & Sons) will be the industrial complex down in the lower right of the layout....

[TrainNut]

That looks really cool Josh and I can't wait to see it take shape with pictures. I can only imagine how neat this will be ifyou put anywhere near the same kind of detail into it that you do with HO. There is one reverse loop where the single intermodal line loops around behind the engine maintenance area. If you were to disconnect the two there in the middle by the intermodal yard, you'd fix the problem. Otherwise, just put in a reverse loop modulator... easy enough.

[Trucklover]

Thanks TN

Im now re-thinking the space, and am thinking of extending down the 8' wall and making that the full 12' that the wall is. This would give me some more mainline room, and more room for a slightly larger yard. Ill have to do some measurments, but I think I can make it work with the way Im planning to re-arrange my room anyways. Ill post back with updates as soon as I can sit down and figure them into account

[Trucklover]

Well, after spending much of the day re-arranging my room around, and taking some measurements, I have confirmed my idea and do have enough room to do what i had wanted, extend the 8' to make it the entire 12' of the wall.... I just spent about 30 mins re-doing the plan and re-arranging the yard and intermodal yard, as well as the Servicing structures and tracks. The yard is now an 8 track yard, there is no more reverse loop, and the intermodal yard is longer and will have more room for container/trailer storage and more room for train loading/unloading.... Im thinking about doing a small transload facility down at the bottom of the Intermodal yard as well. If I do, Ill have to add a couple switches down there for escape tracks... I think that would be another neat industry to model, so we will see lol

[nachoman]

What software are you using to draw your plans out?

[Trucklover]

Empire Express, its a non PC Program and is only available for Mac's

I personally love the way the program lays everything out, there are alot of options and I really like how you can change the colors of the tracks. The single line makes the plan look neat and is easy to follow (at least for me it is lol). It has a very easy learning curve, so its user friendly as well

I payed around $35 for it, and i have to say, its been the best $35 I have spent, I have used it for all my plans and its fun to just around with sometimes

[nachoman]

You do a good job with your plans - very thought out. Have you considered taking classes at the community college for some kind of cad/design? Being unemployed, I have spent a lot of time recently browsing job postings. I have noticed there are many jobs that want someone with cad/computer graphics experience.

[Steamtrains]

WoW...You can have all that with N scale..?? Now, if you could only see the trains you'd be all set....

Just a thought....I kind'a like the previous design better, with the yard set off at an angle....The revision is too "linear". Something else....If you put in a turntable at the end of the yard with several of the tracks coming to it, you'd have "runaround" capacity, which greatly enhances yard operations in a stub track yard. I picked up that trick from G.S.'s Franklin & Manchester. I couldn't figure out why there was a t' table at the end of the yard...How odd....Then it hit me. I'd no sooner put the mag down than I was cutting out a hole in my yard at Portales....

[nachoman]

Just a thought....I kind'a like the previous design better, with the yard set off at an angle....The revision is too "linear".

I remember reading in an article a few years back about tips for making a layout more impressive. One suggestion was to avoid having tracks that parallel the layout edge. If the tracks are always at an angle to the layout edge (and to the viewer) the layout looks larger and more interesting.

[Trucklover]

You do a good job with your plans - very thought out. Have you considered taking classes at the community college for some kind of cad/design? Being unemployed, I have spent a lot of time recently browsing job postings. I have noticed there are many jobs that want someone with cad/computer graphics experience.

Thank you Kevin Alot of trial and error with my plans, and I do spend quite a bit of time when designing a layout. I often go back and change things around, and add or subtract tracks lol.

Ive often thought about something in the CAD or making the models for new construction projects (im not quite sure what it is called), but my first career choice is to become a heavy equipment operator. I would also like to own my own construction company, so its kinda up the air right now for me between those 2, both are something I would like to peruse but have failed to do so yet LOL

[Trucklover]

WoW...You can have all that with N scale..?? Now, if you could only see the trains you'd be all set....

Just a thought....I kind'a like the previous design better, with the yard set off at an angle....The revision is too "linear". Something else....If you put in a turntable at the end of the yard with several of the tracks coming to it, you'd have "runaround" capacity, which greatly enhances yard operations in a stub track yard. I picked up that trick from G.S.'s Franklin & Manchester. I couldn't figure out why there was a t' table at the end of the yard...How odd....Then it hit me. I'd no sooner put the mag down than I was cutting out a hole in my yard at Portales...

Gus, that is one heck of an idea!! I love it, but im not sure I would want a turntable. For me, a turntable just seems too out of date for what I like to model, which is the modern era. Would a turntable be used in the modern day for something like that? I was thinking more of a transfer table, but i dont think anyone makes a transfer table in N scale Or do they?

[Trucklover]

Gus, I took your advise and revised the yard, your right, it does look a heck of a lot better at an angle What do you guys think? The yard is less tracks, but still bigger overall, and still has the capabilities for a train to come in off the mainline to be broken apart by yard swithers and then a new train can be built on the main yard track that parallels the mainline

[Steamtrains]

I like that..!! If I didn't have so much time/$$ invested in HO I would have considered changing to N scale.....There is so much you can do with that kind of space..!! And item availability is almost as great as in HO....