02-24-2010, 06:14 AM
Yes, once again Stein is absolutely right, The "go right to turn left" trick was used by many railroads where there wasn't a lot of room, especially in crowded urban areas and to avoid "sideswiping" a building. it can also make the turn a little easier with a better approach angle. In this case, using Kadees, they don't like coupling when the stock and loco aren't lined up, and this does give a longer "straight" approach. It also "complicates" the trackplan slightly, which adds interest and makes it "different", at least in my opinion. If you have the room to allow some of the track to be inset in a road or alleyway that also adds to the urban feel. Remeber that in many cases the railroad didn't start out with a nice blank area as we do - they had to fit the tracks into an area that was already crowded with industrial buildings and customers - sometimes it is interesting to look at planning the building positions first, and then wiggling the track about to fit in, just as the railroads did it. If you watch an articulated lorry reverse into a restricted space you will frequently see that the driver will do a very similar manoeuver to get the rear end into a narrow opening or alleyway between two buildings