Southern Pacific Switching Layout

[torikoos]

Alright, Time to "cut the crap"

I took that deep breath that Bil mentioned and cleared my head.

I had alot of time to think about things, and I have decided to go with the track-plan that Ed drew up earlier.

Track-laying and wiring should be fairly simple, which will allow me to get to operations quicker, this way there will be no "Rush to get finished".

Sorry for all of the frustration I caused you guys, I promise it won't happen again :oops:.

Hi Justin, good luck and take it SLOW.. Remember to put in the electrical insulations on the turnouts where needed (I would be using insulating rail joiners), and test each step, meaning apply power to the track and run a loco over the newly completed section. This way you can keep track of your additions, and will find out if there are any problems. In this case lay some track, add a turnout and test. Then add a bit more and the next turnout , and test again. Do the tracks join smoothly ? No major kinks, height differences or miss-alignments? If there are problems , then you'll easily remember what you've done in the last step, and take one back. Once all track is down, wired and tested, then solder rail joiners if you must (I usually don't do that), but not before it's all tested and running to your satisfaction. Push and pull a light weight freight car with your loco on each completed section, this will easily indicate problem spots that you may not have noticed visually, if the car de-rails, investigate why it happens. (is the coupler touching something etc). It will save you time and frustration. Then you can start your scenery.
Are you still basing it on the SP? This sort of switching plan is great for an SW1500 or other smaller 4 axle loco like a GP15 or GP35 etc. Keep us posted, and go slow! ;-)