02-23-2010, 11:46 PM
Quote:Another question - what benefit does the long crossover provide? It appears that Dangle could be served by a turnout. Are there geometry or operational benefits that I'm not seeing, does the shorter "pull" from the interchange to Dangle justify it, or is it (as Stein seemed to imply) an aesthetic choice?
Well, both of those. It will also be quite a bit easier to couple and uncouple the car, since the engine and the car will be on a straight line if you use the crossing, while the engine-car combo will have the engine in a curve if you just use the no 6 turnout. Depending on how long that spur is, relative to the engine+car combo, of course.
But the main thing is that it looks cool - it really says "crowded industrial/city area" when tracks go off to one side and then cross back over the main track to get into a spot.
Grin,
Stein