8x1.5 foot Port Able Railway HO Scale Time Saver Variation
#1
   

I now have the final(?) track plan for the Port Able Railway. I am planning on an easily transportable (hence the name Port Able) layout 8 feet long by 1.5 feet wide that stores easily and sets up quickly. It will have two wings on each end so that it will fold into a 48x18x3 inch carrying case/sleeve that I will slide the layout into. The layout will be 3 inches deep so that I can store the rolling stock, power supply, and support legs within the layout and carrying case. The structures will be transported in a separate tote. I plan on modeling the summer of 1979 because I have an obsession with IPD box cars.

The backstory is that once the Port Able Shipbuilding Company shut down in 1978, the city of Port Able bought the property and repurposed it into an industrial park. The Port Able Railway was named as the designated operator to provide rail service to the former shipyard. The Atlantic Lines bring in cars from the left side of the layout and drops them off into either yard track 1 or 2.

I was originally going to go with an 8x1 foot track plan, but I decided to add another track to the “yard” so that sorting will be easier and so that I had a little more room for scenery. With the extra width, I will be able to add the crane canopy for the manufacturing company in the upper left corner of the plan. I also bent the track in the lower left corner of the plan so that center beam flat cars may be unloaded from both sides. There is a small dock in the lower left hand corner so that I have a reason to give the layout a maritime name.

The switchback in the upper right of the plan is long enough to accommodate a car in E. D. Ibble Foods and a small train of 2 cars and a locomotive to serve the manufacturing plant and chair company. I designed the layout so that at maximum, one car would be pulled and one car would be dropped at each spur. I plan to run 3-5 cars per operating session by rolling a dice and using a shuffled deck of index cards for each industry.

Here is a list of the maximum number of car loadings per week:

   
Mike Kieran
Port Able Lines

" If the world were perfect, it wouldn't be " - Yogi Berra.
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#2
Being a "track doodler" 40+ years couldn't resist this revision of your plan. >)
   
Andy Jackson
Santa Fe Springs CA
ATSF/LAJ Ry Fan & Modeler
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#3
Andy, Nice revision Thumbsup Cheers . It's what the Highland Terminal Railroad could look like.

I just wanted a runaround because I'm using the yard tracks as staging and trying to keep everything contained within the boundaries of the layout. The lead on the left may come up short.
Mike Kieran
Port Able Lines

" If the world were perfect, it wouldn't be " - Yogi Berra.
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#4
Nice one, Mike!
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#5
Looks like it should be plenty entertaining! Thumbsup
Mike

Sent from my pocket calculator using two tin cans and a string
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#6
Mike Kieran Wrote:Andy, Nice revision Thumbsup Cheers . It's what the Highland Terminal Railroad could look like.

I just wanted a runaround because I'm using the yard tracks as staging and trying to keep everything contained within the boundaries of the layout. The lead on the left may come up short.

Put the runaround on left side of yard lead so there's less travel using it. That also gives more room below for industry spots.
Andy Jackson
Santa Fe Springs CA
ATSF/LAJ Ry Fan & Modeler
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#7
I hear you Andy. I was just going with 2 yard tracks. I originally planned on only one, but when I ran the simulation on XTrackCAD, it became a switching nightmare. I designed it this way so that it is 1 car in and one car out per spur. That way I don't overwhelm the layout.

I originally tried a design similar to what you proposed/Highland Terminal, but I felt that the drill leads were too short. I only need a runaround for 2 cars. With this design, I felt that I could have switching, a small yard, and compactness.
Mike Kieran
Port Able Lines

" If the world were perfect, it wouldn't be " - Yogi Berra.
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#8
Mike,
Your plan looks like it will be a lot of fun.
I am a big fan of layouts with lots of shipping/ receiving action.

I'm particularly intrigued with your plan to use dice & cards when generating waybills.
Can you explain a little more how this would work?

Doug
Willamette City Belt Line (HO)
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#9
Looking good Mike! Should be a lot of fun to operate!

Love the industry names! Thumbsup
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#10
As a rule I don't like Time Savers but, this one has merit, lots of merit due to the basic design. I would go with the runaround as planned since its not in the way nor would it block the yard tracks from being used.

1,000 cars annually is roughly 83 cars a month or around 20 cars a week or roughly 4 -5 cars a day.. A excellent choice for this layout. Thumbsup The crowning point is the two track yard which gives you room to work plus gives you a room for any overflow cars that can't be spotted "off spot" on the industry siding. Applause As a side note the runaround on the bottom would extend your run time between switching moves which is a good thing on small ISLs..

Why type of engine are you planning to use?
Larry
Engineman

Summerset Ry

Make Safety your first thought, Not your last!  Safety First!
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#11
Thanks Larry,
I can use any kind of locomotive, but I plan to run it with the 45 tonner. I actually designed it with that purpose and designed the plan to accommodate one locomotive and 1-2 cars per move. Basically to switch out one car for one car on each spur with that built in time extension - like you said. I hope to commence building it soon.
Mike Kieran
Port Able Lines

" If the world were perfect, it wouldn't be " - Yogi Berra.
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#12
Hey Ralph, I don't know how I missed your post. I'm a card carrying member of The Society of Industry Pun Names. Icon_lol

Hey Doug, I plan on filling in blank dice (which are sold at teacher stores, craft stores, or online) with 3, 4, and 5 on two sides each of a six sided die. I would then shuffle a deck of index cards with the industry names and car requirement (E.D.Ibble Foods - 1 Corn Syrup Tank Car). I would roll the dice and pull as many cards from the deck as the dice tells me. Simple plan for my simple mind. Cheers
Mike Kieran
Port Able Lines

" If the world were perfect, it wouldn't be " - Yogi Berra.
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#13
Hey Mike it's been 20 days since you started this thread and still no track laid, no finished scenery????? What's the hold-up?
:wait: Crazy Icon_lol
Mike

Sent from my pocket calculator using two tin cans and a string
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#14
Well, the stuff is in storage right now, so I have to go through it. I also have to go through it. Add in a 2 year old who loves sitting on my lap so that I could read to her (something I would never trade), family emergencies, and every weekend being booked since October. Things are slowing down now, so hopefully soon.
Mike Kieran
Port Able Lines

" If the world were perfect, it wouldn't be " - Yogi Berra.
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#15
One legitimate comment that people have made to me is that they were concerned about the switchback in the upper right corner of the layout. The one at the top for E.D. Ibble Foods is designed to allow for whatever car is loading at E.D.Ibble Foods as well as space for two freight cars and a locomotive with a slight space in between. At 28 inches + 9.863 inches for a total of 37.863 inches, it's a drill track with a rail served industry at the end. This way, E.D. Ibble Foods doesn't have to be emptied.

That's why I moved the turnout going to the Yard and E.D.Ibble Foods all the way to the left. So that I would have more room for the drill track lead with a train of 2 cars and a locomotive (16 inches + 6 inches).

I hope that this explains the track plan better.
Mike Kieran
Port Able Lines

" If the world were perfect, it wouldn't be " - Yogi Berra.
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