20ftx15inch Switching layout

[postman]

Hello everybody.
After tearing down my last layout, now I´m designing a building a switching layout based on modules. The layout will be 20ft long and 15 inches deep and my idea is to model a single track mainline and a switching lead with industrial spurs. Maybe I´ll go only with a switching lead and the industrial spurs but right have built 4 modules with the single mainline track,. The line is served by CSX but haven´t chosen a place, think I´ll proto-freelance. This is a rough plan of the layout, minus industry labels.

[postman]

And pictures of the built modules.

[postman]

Hello.
Did a modification on the trackplan.

[Engfanuk]

Nice length of layout. What industries are you planning? From the scenery I can see on the existing modules you are looking at a fairly green rural location.

I'd be interested in knowing how you join your modules. I can see a connecting rail piece for track alignment. What about the module connections?

Good luck and I'd be interested in hearing more.

Steve

[postman]

Nice length of layout. What industries are you planning? From the scenery I can see on the existing modules you are looking at a fairly green rural location.

I'd be interested in knowing how you join your modules. I can see a connecting rail piece for track alignment. What about the module connections?

Good luck and I'd be interested in hearing more.

Steve

Hello.
I´m planning to put max 3 industries, a food processor, a logistics warehouse and maybe a transload track. Yes, those two modules were the first I built and did scenery, testing scenery techniques, but my idea is to model an industrial park or long industrial lead near a city. The modules are joined with c-clamps, it´s fast, easy and effective. BTW. I´m not good with trackplans, and that is a rough scheme , only know will be a single track mainline and a siding parallel to the mainline, have to decide where to put the industrial spurs and how to operate the layout. Any advice?

[Engfanuk]

Thanks for the info. I'm connecting my modules as an exhibition layout might be but its only modular to make moving house easier. Maybe I'm over engineering it for my purpose. I don't like obvious module gaps however so I'd planned on scenicing ng right over the gaps and cutting it when I need to move and then repairing it upon rebuilding.

Those sound good and plenty of prototypes to model out there of that sort. Operation I think really depends on the industry and I'm no expert of US rail. Im still in planning stage myself though I have the module bench work built. We are actually looking at a similar scheme. There is a Mindheim article in Model Railroader April 2015 which you might find inspiring. It's main industry is a corn syrup plant but it shows how he approaches an industry better than any of his books I've read. Yes it's the same concept but the explanation and graphics provided better food for thought for me. I think it's better to look at the article but essentially it had several specific spots for different product grades, an off-spot track and a part-time transload using an often neglected 90degree curve. I also liked the two road grade crossings which I like as operational interest slowing down progress so maybe that's something to think about?

Was it intentional that the main may be required as a switching lead to pull longer trains out? If not could you move the switch further to the right? However I like that you can set out a train on the left of the main and operate the train movements past the spur and push back. You may wish to have a train made of more than the freight cars for these industries so you can leave part of your train to the left of the switch, and then reform the train with pulled cars. That would be nice too.

Steve.

[postman]

Thanks for the info. I'm connecting my modules as an exhibition layout might be but its only modular to make moving house easier. Maybe I'm over engineering it for my purpose. I don't like obvious module gaps however so I'd planned on scenicing ng right over the gaps and cutting it when I need to move and then repairing it upon rebuilding.

Those sound good and plenty of prototypes to model out there of that sort. Operation I think really depends on the industry and I'm no expert of US rail. Im still in planning stage myself though I have the module bench work built. We are actually looking at a similar scheme. There is a Mindheim article in Model Railroader April 2015 which you might find inspiring. It's main industry is a corn syrup plant but it shows how he approaches an industry better than any of his books I've read. Yes it's the same concept but the explanation and graphics provided better food for thought for me. I think it's better to look at the article but essentially it had several specific spots for different product grades, an off-spot track and a part-time transload using an often neglected 90degree curve. I also liked the two road grade crossings which I like as operational interest slowing down progress so maybe that's something to think about?

Was it intentional that the main may be required as a switching lead to pull longer trains out? If not could you move the switch further to the right? However I like that you can set out a train on the left of the main and operate the train movements past the spur and push back. You may wish to have a train made of more than the freight cars for these industries so you can leave part of your train to the left of the switch, and then reform the train with pulled cars. That would be nice too.

Steve.

No, my first idea was pushing a short train from the right before switching the industrial spur, using the right of the main as staging track and having a long run before taking the siding.
Your idea of staging a long train on the left of the main is nice too.

[postman]

Hello. I´m thinking in changing a bit the theme of the layout. It´ll be a former mainline now used as a industrial lead. what do you think?

[FCIN]

Hello. I´m thinking in changing a bit the theme of the layout. It´ll be a former mainline now used as a industrial lead. what do you think?

Nothing wrong with that idea. If you spend a lot of time on Google Maps, you'll run across many locations were a piece of a former main line is now used as a lead to reach one or more industries. There are three such branches in my area of Kentucky, the Bloomfield Branch in Shelbyville; the L&E (Lexington & Eastern) spur in Winchester, and the L&A (Louisville & Atlantic) spur in Richmond. None of them are in rural areas as such, since the towns have built up around the spurs, but plenty of trees and cuts can be found on the Bloomfield Branch that certainly gives it a rural look. Spur crosses a busy highway, has a little street running, and even crosses a busy NS main line at grade protected with a swing gate!

I should also point out that on the Bloomfield Branch, there is no runaround track on the roughly two mile long spur so cars must be pushed/pulled on the spur. In years past where there were several tobacco warehouses and a couple more industries on the spur, we (the L&N) had to line up our train with cars on both ends of the engine in order to work the branch.

Didn't mean to get so long winded, but might give you some more ideas, or at least point out that your idea is prototypical.

[postman]

Hello. I´m thinking in changing a bit the theme of the layout. It´ll be a former mainline now used as a industrial lead. what do you think?

Nothing wrong with that idea. If you spend a lot of time on Google Maps, you'll run across many locations were a piece of a former main line is now used as a lead to reach one or more industries. There are three such branches in my area of Kentucky, the Bloomfield Branch in Shelbyville; the L&E (Lexington & Eastern) spur in Winchester, and the L&A (Louisville & Atlantic) spur in Richmond. None of them are in rural areas as such, since the towns have built up around the spurs, but plenty of trees and cuts can be found on the Bloomfield Branch that certainly gives it a rural look. Spur crosses a busy highway, has a little street running, and even crosses a busy NS main line at grade protected with a swing gate!

I should also point out that on the Bloomfield Branch, there is no runaround track on the roughly two mile long spur so cars must be pushed/pulled on the spur. In years past where there were several tobacco warehouses and a couple more industries on the spur, we (the L&N) had to line up our train with cars on both ends of the engine in order to work the branch.

Didn't mean to get so long winded, but might give you some more ideas, or at least point out that your idea is prototypical.

Thanks Ed. How is the look of the roadbed and track in those spurs?. Have a bunch of 3/16 inches cork roadbed strips.

[FCIN]

Thanks Ed. How is the look of the roadbed and track in those spurs?. Have a bunch of 3/16 inches cork roadbed strips.

The use of roadbed would be just fine for the branches/spurs I mentioned. It does vary somewhat, but would look fine in most cases. Here's a link to Google Maps showing the start of the Bloomfield Branch: https://goo.gl/maps/1AHBG Follow the line southward and it will give you a good idea of how this line looks. Note the tree lined right of way in many places and even some shallow cuts. Might not be obvious, but if you look carefully, you can see where some of the now gone industries were located along the branch.

[Mike Kieran]

There are former main lines that have been reduced to branch lines and industrial spurs. The Grand Rapids & Indiana Railroad (later Pennsylvania RR) became a 1.1 mile short line called the Kendallville Terminal Railway. The old Reading and Columbia Branch became 2 short lines, the Landisville RR and the Lancaster Northern Railroad.

The Kendallville Terminal serves a Kraft marshmallow plant and a road salt facility. I came up with a car loading scenario for a fictional marshmallow company called the Squarepuff Marshmallow Corporation in another thread at the bottom of page 9 http://bigbluetrains.com/forum/viewtopic...&start=120. If you include delivery of GERN Flux, your marshmallows will be 3% fluffier.

[Mike Kieran]

I happen to have a track plan for your dimensions. I was envisioning a short line with a small yard and 2 industries, a manufacturing company and a food processor.

Interchange takes place at the yard. After arranging the cars for delivery, the engine pulls the cars past the turnout for the manufacturing company, switches the customer, and then shoves the train back to the yard. The crew then goes to beans later to return to servicing the food processor. The crew does the same as listed above except that it shoves its train to the food processor.

As you can see, the layout is divided into five 48x15 inch modules.

   

[postman]

I happen to have a track plan for your dimensions. I was envisioning a short line with a small yard and 2 industries, a manufacturing company and a food processor.

Interchange takes place at the yard. After arranging the cars for delivery, the engine pulls the cars past the turnout for the manufacturing company, switches the customer, and then shoves the train back to the yard. The crew then goes to beans later to return to servicing the food processor. The crew does the same as listed above except that it shoves its train to the food processor.

As you can see, the layout is divided into five 48x15 inch modules.

[ATTACHMENT NOT FOUND]

Thanks Mike. My idea is to model the mainline and the industrial lead, no yard. A CSX local train does the switching in the area. Maybe will use the mainline as staging track. This is a picture of the rough track plan, updates will come.

[FCIN]

Thanks Mike. My idea is to model the mainline and the industrial lead, no yard. A CSX local train does the switching in the area. Maybe will use the mainline as staging track. This is a picture of the rough track plan, updates will come.    

This plan is shaping up nicely! Not filled with track and plenty of room to switch the industrial spur. You could possibly add another industrial spur coming off the the "S" curve section if you wanted like this:     but otherwise it has a nice clean look with plenty of room for scenery. I'm a firm believer in the Less is More layout style plans.

From doing a lot of "plan and operation testing" over the past year or so, I've found that just three or four multi-spot industries can provide for a nice hour or so of operation. No need to try and squeeze an industry or track into every inch of the benchwork. Just think "prototype operation".

I'd probably stage the train on the left side of the plan so you'd have a nice long run before you reached the industrial spur to do your work. I'd also use a caboose/shoving platform for the reverse move back toward the yard or wherever.

Since it appears that I'm going to have to find a new location for my own switching layout, I may have to "borrow" some ideas off your plan once I figure out what I'm going to do. You've already given me an idea or two.

Will be following this thread with great interest.