Talk to me about staging
#16
Thanks Russ. A very good point about having only one staging track. As I mentioned in my track planning thread, I am redoing my track plan, so your timing on this is perfect ! I was trying to squeeze in a turntable ( mainly because I like them ) and now I have a real reason, since I want to run small steam engines eventually.

Loren
I got my first train when I was three,
put a hundred thousand miles on my knees.
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#17
nomad Wrote:........I was trying to squeeze in a turntable ( mainly because I like them ) and now I have a real reason, since I want to run small steam engines eventually.

Loren

Often, these turntables would be all there was at the end of the line - maybe a small shed for tools, but no enginehouse. The turntable would be either an Armstrong-type (with a handle on each end - operated manually) or one operated by the loco's air pump - a hose would be connected to the loco's brake hose, which powered an air-operated motor to run the turntable.

Wayne
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#18
Thanks Doctorwayne. I never heard of air operated turntables. I would imagine there would also be a coal bunker and small water tower on the lead going to the turntable, is that correct?

Loren
I got my first train when I was three,
put a hundred thousand miles on my knees.
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#19
Loren: there would ceratainly be a water tower at or near the end of the branch, as well as a number all along. Probably a small coaling facility. Back about 1957-8 Model Railroader had an article on a Branchline Bucket Coaling Station -- a crane with buckets and coal storage. I think it's been reprinted in one of their books.
Depending on traffic flow, you might keep a loco at the end of the branch overnight so that the morning trip was inbound, possibly with a small passenger component.
David
Moderato ma non troppo
Perth & Exeter Railway Company
Esquesing & Chinguacousy Radial Railway
In model railroading, there are between six and two hundred ways of performing a given task.
Most modellers can get two of them to work.
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#20
Thanks David. That article sounds great, I will see if it's in reprint.

Loren
I got my first train when I was three,
put a hundred thousand miles on my knees.
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#21
I am a late comer as usual any more. I have 2 hidden / staging yards on my layout. My main layout is a continuous loop, I have a track in each direction going to hidden yards. the yards are beside each other. I have 3 tracks in each one. The 3 tracks converge back to one at the end of the yard. the switches there are Atlas with no machines, so you can run through them with no problem when exiting the yard. this single track continues to the ladder on the other hidden yard. sounds confusing how about a quick drawing

[Image: hiddenyard2.jpg]

The red would be coming from east bound the black from west bound Kay Dee magnets would be on the right end of the red yard and left on black. Train enters red yard from left goes onto empty track continues to magnet where loco uncouples then continues on through switches with no machine to hold it. continues out of red yard to black lead track. then reverses to black yard to pick up train to return to layout. If there is no train to pick up in opposite direction just leave the loco at magnet. I hope this is understandable.
Les
Les
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#22
I could understand it with no problem Les. Thanks.

Loren
I got my first train when I was three,
put a hundred thousand miles on my knees.
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#23
I've been thinking about Delta Lines recently. There was no staging there, except where a particular car happened to be at any given time out on the road OR in the yards at either Chappelle or Donaldson, the terminus points of the railway. Not sure if the middle yard served any such staging function...I think it was a division point, rather. The car routing system served the staging function.

G&D same thing. Great Divide and perhaps Andrews had staging functions, but these were strictly visible and/or imaginative. I won't say imaginary as the trains on the tracks really did exist, but the imagination was required in order to make a leap that allowed for these cars to be shifted off layout somewhere and return, either by physically removing and replacing them between sessions (like the car ferry Annabelle) or just imagining that they had been out and returned, to be classified and shipped somewhere on the layout.

I have a staging plan as well for my timesaver - just a stretch of track 'off layout' where an engine and the few cars on its switchlist can run after the job is done, and from whence the engine and it's cars enter the scene. I am debating still as to whether or not this section will be scenicked, and if so, how?

If you are willing to suspend reality and tell yourself not to look while you change out cars in the interchange yard or on an interchange track, it can save you some time and space. Yes, running a train behind a scenic divider can add to the play value of operations, but at some point you or someone else must physically get those cars and swap them out with others (or turn over their waybills from loaded to empty, routing them back onto the layout). Leaving this location as visible trackage in an already planned yard can repurpose that area that would've been used for staging tracks to an additional industry or something scenic. Plus, you don't need to come up with any tricks to hide any tracks under or behind scenery or structures.

Galen
I may not be a rivet counter, but I sure do like rivets!
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#24
Galen, that was my plan. Have a track designated as staging in the yard, and with out a engine it would look like a cut of cars sitting in the yard.

Loren
I got my first train when I was three,
put a hundred thousand miles on my knees.
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#25
Galen you lost me some where but thats ok. I Model an imaginary section of the C&O. My main part is Clifton Forge Va., everything leaves or comes to there. I run east and west locals, east and west through trains. All through trains stop at Clifton Forge. East bound get taken apart for one of two destinations which are the hidden yard east bound. the west bound drops local cars and picks up west bound cars. The work in Clifton forge is non stop during an operating session. the locals / through trains are relitively new addition. As the local used to be taken care of by through train . But I wanted to try to add a new twist to things. Oh yeah the west bound changes power and continues on to Russell KY, which is stageing. I dont fiddle cars in staging. the entire train will be brought back onto the layout in the opposite direction later.
Les
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#26
Lester Perry Wrote:Galen you lost me some where but thats ok. I Model an imaginary section of the C&O. My main part is Clifton Forge Va., everything leaves or comes to there. I run east and west locals, east and west through trains. All through trains stop at Clifton Forge. East bound get taken apart for one of two destinations which are the hidden yard east bound. the west bound drops local cars and picks up west bound cars. The work in Clifton forge is non stop during an operating session. the locals / through trains are relitively new addition. As the local used to be taken care of by through train . But I wanted to try to add a new twist to things. Oh yeah the west bound changes power and continues on to Russell KY, which is stageing. I dont fiddle cars in staging. the entire train will be brought back onto the layout in the opposite direction later.

Delta Lines was Frank Ellison's layout, and the G&D was John Allen's layout, both of which were gone by the mid 1970's if not earlier. I think John allen died in 1972, but I may be mistaken. Both of these layouts were designed before hidden staging was invented (perhaps a better term would be discovered since I'm sure a lot of modelers thought "Why didn't I think of that?" when they first heard of hidden staging) for the hobby. What Galen is talking about were locations on those two railroads that the owners used for staging or interchange of trains. Since none of the layouts mentioned had any hidden trackage except for what might be found in tunnels, they used yards in full view at all times to stage trains between operating sessions.
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#27
I would have done the same if space were not a problem. If I can find the money and ability I would like to add on to my layout which would require adding to my building and if I do what I would like I could add a toilet, which would be nice since it is about 400 feet from my house. oops I am now getting off topic, sorry. I like the hidden yard be under the layout or at same level. Maybe I should call it staging yard although it is an off layout destination for me with no fiddling in it. By thew way it works rather well except for access tracks being hard to get to if there is trouble. Here is a train prepareing to depart from hidden yard
[Image: 100_1150.jpg]
if you look overhead you will see the track going up to the layout or coming down from depending which way you are going.
Les
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