Small commuter focused layout?

[Green_Elite_Cab]

If you want automated layout with lots of passenger trains moving, have a look at at the Broadway Lion's subway layout (http://broadwaylion.com/page4.html).

There is also an automated downtown Philadelphia layout (http://www.prrnortheastcorridor.com/)Steve Smith made with lots of moving passenger trains and trams and what not.

I've seen that one. Steve is actually a member here, under the name AC_Catenary. always cool stuff on that layout.

But none of these really qualify as a "small" layout.

As for what would be the most interesting situation - terminal switching, or throwing a turnout between two trains to send train 1 off into staging on track 1 and train 2 into staging on track 2 - it really depends on what you like.

Personally, I find the description in Model Railroad Planning 1997 of passenger terminal car handling at Argentine on Chuch Hitchcock's old layout a lot more interesting than just watching trains scoot through a junction, but your mileage may of course vary.

I suppose, but i figure the rate by which trains need to be switched and moved might make it a little more interesting. Having spent half an hour switching out my layout, i'm not sure that is necessarily the most exciting thing.

Perhaps I just like to see the trains roll. This is something that perhaps only now has occurred to me. Of all the trains that are always on the move, commuter trains would be the busiest. They may not be much with operations, but I guess I just like to see them flash by.

The core problem with simulating a lot of traffic through a small scene over some time (not just train1, train2, train 3 - done) is that you have to have lots of staging (or turn/recycle the sets pretty rapidly - e.g. using run-through staging and fairly generic looking commuter trains - so the same set first is train A eastbound, then train B eastbound, then train C westbound, then train D westbound or whatever).

So I would say that the core design decisions for a commuter railfanning layout is length of the repeat cycle, and staging design.

Smile,
Stein

That seems to be the issue. Staging many commuter trains you might need (assuming one even owns enough, given the rarity of commuter cars of the past 40 years), could be problematic. Staging to run a small layout could easily oversize the actual layout portion. If you re-use the trains as you have said, on a continuous circuit, that could help alleviate problems. To most people, Commuter trains look exactly the same, especially the Silverliner and Arrow types I run on my layout. It could probably be done.