02-21-2011, 02:59 AM
Hello folks,
in one of my first postings, I showed you some of my custom rolling stock for the Southern and Graham County Railroad. Today, I'like to show you my first layout concept for my home layout. It's based on standards for modular layouts bei FREMO americaN and will be build in small steps. First may be the fiddle yard and Topton station modules.
In this post, I'll introduce you to the whole layout concept and will explain some features. So here's the layout plan :
The journey of a SOU-train may start in the fiddle yard at the right, running thourgh the underground for the first step and will enter the layout through a tunnel portal. After a short distance of valley style main line, the train enters the station of Topton.
Topton i's actually a small station with a plattform for passenger service and some industrial spurs. The run around track was designed only for switching freight cars to the spurs. In earlier days, the train would continue up to Murphy, the end of the line. But today, the train will turn at Topton and run back. The siding alows to run around a train of 3 passenger cars, 2 passenger with 2 freight cars or a freight train with 4 50' cars and caboose. Those trains are long enough for such a small layout.
In freight service, the SOU has to deliver pulpwood cars to the wood landing, boxcars for the grain elevator and mixed freight cars to a team track.
On the way back from Topton, the train will stop at "Graham County Junction" where a small spur is running into the woods. After a short distance, the train enters a small interchange yard of the GCRR. The SOU will interchange freight cars with the GCRR and continues the run back to the fiddle yard.
The GCRR owns just a 70t 3-truck Shay and a caboose. The locomotive picks up the freight cars at the interchange and starts to climb the hill. The big module with the U-turn features a 4% grade to get the train to a level of +2 inches. Now the train enteres the small station of Robbinsville. The GCRR is just a freight hauler, operated by the Shay from a former logging railroad. At Robbinsville, freight tank cars are spotted to a fuel dealer and pulpwood is loaded. The GCRR line continues to a area called Milltown, where a furniture plant and the Bemis Lumber Mill is connected to the railroad. At the mill, woodchips are loaded into hoppers and cut lumber to boxcars. Boxcars are also spotted to the furniture plant to pick up goods. At the Bemis Mill, the old engine house is still used for the GCRR Shay.
The whole layout is designed in N-scale to meassueres 2,7 by 2,1 meters in over all size. Nearly each module joint is designed to match the FREMO-americaN-standards so it's possible to set up a different style of this layout or to add more modules. It also allows me to start with 2 or 3 modules to get a first operational small layout, that can be expanded to the final size as shown above later. All station are named in refference to real stations along this lines, but the track plans are different from the prototype. In Topton, I added some spurs and I simplified the GCRR stations.
Today, I'm not sure if i'll ever will build this layout. But I know, that I'll build modules with scenes of the Southern Murphy-Branch arround Topton and the Graham County Railroad.
Comments are welcome.
Cheers, Gerd
in one of my first postings, I showed you some of my custom rolling stock for the Southern and Graham County Railroad. Today, I'like to show you my first layout concept for my home layout. It's based on standards for modular layouts bei FREMO americaN and will be build in small steps. First may be the fiddle yard and Topton station modules.
In this post, I'll introduce you to the whole layout concept and will explain some features. So here's the layout plan :
The journey of a SOU-train may start in the fiddle yard at the right, running thourgh the underground for the first step and will enter the layout through a tunnel portal. After a short distance of valley style main line, the train enters the station of Topton.
Topton i's actually a small station with a plattform for passenger service and some industrial spurs. The run around track was designed only for switching freight cars to the spurs. In earlier days, the train would continue up to Murphy, the end of the line. But today, the train will turn at Topton and run back. The siding alows to run around a train of 3 passenger cars, 2 passenger with 2 freight cars or a freight train with 4 50' cars and caboose. Those trains are long enough for such a small layout.
In freight service, the SOU has to deliver pulpwood cars to the wood landing, boxcars for the grain elevator and mixed freight cars to a team track.
On the way back from Topton, the train will stop at "Graham County Junction" where a small spur is running into the woods. After a short distance, the train enters a small interchange yard of the GCRR. The SOU will interchange freight cars with the GCRR and continues the run back to the fiddle yard.
The GCRR owns just a 70t 3-truck Shay and a caboose. The locomotive picks up the freight cars at the interchange and starts to climb the hill. The big module with the U-turn features a 4% grade to get the train to a level of +2 inches. Now the train enteres the small station of Robbinsville. The GCRR is just a freight hauler, operated by the Shay from a former logging railroad. At Robbinsville, freight tank cars are spotted to a fuel dealer and pulpwood is loaded. The GCRR line continues to a area called Milltown, where a furniture plant and the Bemis Lumber Mill is connected to the railroad. At the mill, woodchips are loaded into hoppers and cut lumber to boxcars. Boxcars are also spotted to the furniture plant to pick up goods. At the Bemis Mill, the old engine house is still used for the GCRR Shay.
The whole layout is designed in N-scale to meassueres 2,7 by 2,1 meters in over all size. Nearly each module joint is designed to match the FREMO-americaN-standards so it's possible to set up a different style of this layout or to add more modules. It also allows me to start with 2 or 3 modules to get a first operational small layout, that can be expanded to the final size as shown above later. All station are named in refference to real stations along this lines, but the track plans are different from the prototype. In Topton, I added some spurs and I simplified the GCRR stations.
Today, I'm not sure if i'll ever will build this layout. But I know, that I'll build modules with scenes of the Southern Murphy-Branch arround Topton and the Graham County Railroad.
Comments are welcome.
Cheers, Gerd