Another Miami Layout

[Brakie]

Hi Justin,

Welcome! I like your plan and see that you don't really need the run around discussed above since all of your spurs come off the main in the same direction. Looks like you're on your way. That roof pic makes me want to suggest that you take care of that before going much further on the layout. You'll be happier with a better looking and better maintained space for your layout. Room remodeling after the layout is scenicked is not fun.

Ralph

Ralph and all,I am late as usual in making my reply but,felt compelled to share some of my findings on urban industrail branches using bing maps.

Having been a brakeman that worked cramp urban industrial areas I was taken aback by the lack of run arounds on modern industrial branch lines..Seems these modern lines was built for efficient industry switching ..I notice a lot was pull in and reverse move out-a call for a caboose on your urban local..I also notice many was reverse move in/pull out another reason to assign a caboose to your local crew..Then there was some that had industrial sidings both ways-a locomotive on each end of the local ended the need for a run around-and in this case a caboose...

[Russ Bellinis]

Larry, when I worked in the Los Angeles Harbor, I noticed a lot of the locals just put the locomotive in the middle of the train. The locals usually consisted of one locomotive and 6-10 freight cars. The cars destined for a facing point switch were in front of the loco, those destined for a trailing point switch were behind the loco. I also noticed that the crews would come in the morning with a loco only to pull the cars out of the spurs, and then they would be back a couple of hours later to spot fresh cars. I think the yard they worked out of was less than a mile away. The U.P. (at the time I worked there the S.P.) had a yard pretty much in the center of the Los Angeles Harbor terminal area.

[Gary S]

Russ, I like the idea of morning pick-ups and afternoon set-outs. Interesting. Would be very easy to do on the industrial layout.

[Brakie]

Russ: I also noticed that the crews would come in the morning with a loco only to pull the cars out of the spurs, and then they would be back a couple of hours later to spot fresh cars.
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That's a unique operation plan and one that is simple to emulate.
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Russ:I noticed a lot of the locals just put the locomotive in the middle of the train.
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When we did that on the PRR we used 2 cabins-one at each end of the train.Not a popular move and most conductors frown on doing it if there was a avaible run around..

[Russ Bellinis]

Russ: I also noticed that the crews would come in the morning with a loco only to pull the cars out of the spurs, and then they would be back a couple of hours later to spot fresh cars.
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That's a unique operation plan and one that is simple to emulate.
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Russ:I noticed a lot of the locals just put the locomotive in the middle of the train.
---------------------------------

When we did that on the PRR we used 2 cabins-one at each end of the train.Not a popular move and most conductors frown on doing it if there was a avaible run around..

I saw this in the 1980's without any cabooses in sight anywhere.

[Justinmiller171]

You guys are never gonna believe what just happened, I just when out to my layout room and the black widow I thought I had killed is still alive
It is glued to the wall though, so it can't get me. Somehow it survived almost a week without moving

Anyways, I am about to go to the store to get some sand for my layout, I still don't have all of the track put down, but I thought it wouldn't hurt to put some down in a small area to see how it looks.

I was able to run trains on my layout the other day, and it was strangely satisfying to be able to pick up a car and put it on another track .

I promise to have all track layed down by the end of the week, after that progress should go alot faster .

[mountaingoatgreg]

Justin,

Sounds like you should by some bugbombs when your at the store too
Please post some photos when you have the sand in place!!

[FCIN]

Kurt;

Just wanted to say that I'm enjoying watching your layout progress and think you've come up with a really nice plan. Between Lance Mindheim, Kurt (CNW1961) and you, I've already changed my planning for my HO switching layout. Was going to be based on a very small short line, but now I'm looking for an interesting L&N switching spur to base my plan on, since I worked for the L&N during the 1970's. Have located a couple of interesting ones (Evansville, IN and Marietta, GA) and working out potential plans.

At least your layout is under construction right now, which is more than I can say!

Keep up the good work!

Ed

[Justinmiller171]

Justin,

Sounds like you should by some bugbombs when your at the store too
Please post some photos when you have the sand in place!!

Unfortunately the store was all out of the sand I wanted , So no progress will be made until I get my track down.

Meanwhile, I have been thinking of building an Ho-scale 4x8 layout in my room for when the weather is too bad to work on my current layout, I miss being able to run trains around in circles, I also want to practice my scenery building a little bit more and N-scale is just too darn tiny to do detailing very easily.

[Justinmiller171]

I will be going to the hobby store tomorrow to get some more flex-track to finish the track-work, I can only afford to get a few, so I may not be able to finish the track-work completely, I need 4 or 5 pieces to finish, but I can only get a few for now, it depends on how much my hobby store is selling them for, I think they are about $5
for a 3 foot piece. and all I have to spend on track right now is $20( i am only 16, so most of my money comes from working at my grandpa's shop and money I get from doing chores around the house :oops: ).

[Russ Bellinis]

Black widows are tough to kill with sprays. I remember spraying them with starting fluid at the shop where I worked before retirement. I thought I had killed them, but it only put them to sleep for a while! You need to smash them with something or step on them, when the guts squeeze out, they are definitely dead.

[Justinmiller171]

I got the rest of the track that I will need to finish the layout and I will be laying it down in the next couple of days .

While I was at the hobby store I bought something that I really didn't need but I couldn't resist buying it, I BOUGHT A NEW LAYOUT!!! .
The new layout is 12x7 so I will have to cut it a little to fit it into my room, I don't have any pictures right now cause I can't take it home until tomorrow, It already has the track laid, wiring done, and most of the scenery is finished, I spent $73 on the whole thing and even the track is worth much more than that. Anyways I will be making another thread about it once I get it tomorrow.

[FCIN]

Justin ..
I'm a little late in asking this question, but do those turnouts have live frogs? I'm asking because if they are (and they appear to me to be live) you'll have shorts when you line the turnouts for the diverging track. Do you plan on cutting gaps in the rail just beyond the frogs rather than use insulated joints?

Keep up the good work!

Ed

[Justinmiller171]

Ed, those turnouts are Walthers code 83 dcc-ready turnouts, I was experiencing some trouble when a switch behind the engine was not set to the main completely and caused no power to get to the engine, I will be using ground throws to ensure that the turnouts are set to the main behind the engine.

[Justinmiller171]

I just laid the last piece of track on my layout!

Now all that I have to do is scenery, I will post some pictures of the track I layed tomorrow.

BTW I will also post some pictures of the layout I bought, it was much, much bigger than I thought it was, it barely fit into the back of my grandfather's truck!
Now all I have to do is chop it up into smaller pieces, then I can devote all of my attention to my current layout.