L&N Industrial Rail Spur

[FCIN]

Hey Ed,
I'm happy to see you back on the forum.

Howdy Mike. Oh I've never left the forum, just haven't been able to do much work on the layout because of another project. Always check out Big Blue once or twice a day to see what inspiring work others are doing, but don't comment much lately.

If there is a such thing as a perfect plan, I have no idea how to get there. As I've planned my layout, I discovered that there is really no such thing as the "perfect plan." Every time we design a plan, we think that we have it complete and then we have another idea for the design.

The best plans are ones with track arrangements that we enjoy, scenery that's visually appealing, buildings that convey the time & place you're modelling, equipment that belongs on the layout, the ability to run your trains flawlessly, and operation that makes you happy. If you're missing any of these components, then you run into a problem with satisfaction.

Totally agree. I've built numerous layouts over the years (and in several different scales) - most of which never got much past the track laid and in operation stage, and then something else comes along that interests me and it's back to square one!

I must say that I've enjoyed testing out various track and industry arrangements and operating the "proposed" plans. I've spent countless hours on Google/Bing maps and have found many interesting industrial spurs that I'd love to model, but most of them all share one common feature - industries on both sides of the spur.

Some of my previous design tests have featured arrangements like that, and I've really not found it to be a problem, other than being a "display" issue to some people. Guess we all like to be able to see those super detailed cars that we fork over $30-$40 a piece for and not have them hidden behind a structure.

Still, I've been trying to avoid doing that for some reason and thus most of the plans really don't quite hit home with me. Guess it's the lack of realism as far as industrial spurs go, although I've found quite a few that have all the industries on one side of the spur, but then we're looking at track plans that would be much longer than the space I've set aside. A 20 foot long switching layout isn't really as large as it would seem to many people.

It's also been a bit of a problem to try and include prototype industries that will support all my freight cars. Lots of possibilities out there and I may even have to bite the bullet and mothball some of my cars if I can't find suitable industries to include.

I'll test the current design out by operating it some as I get the time and if I end up not being satisfied with it, then I'll try something different. It is fun to actually work the different plans and changing the track arrangement never takes more than a couple of hours at the most. Doesn't take too long to throw together structure mockups either.

I just hope I can get this other project finished by the end of the year so I can actually do some real modeling work. I'm not getting any younger or prettier.