A Look At Slate Creek.
#46
John:There are some good plans posted here,maybe you could try laying them out with the track pieces you have to see if any one of them ,or maybe pieces and parts of several different ones combined ring your bell.
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That's what I been doing the last two hours. Icon_lol

I came up with several possibilities.

I think when I had my massive heart attack in '05 and being in a coma for three weeks french fried some of my brain cells because I never had this much of a problem designing a simple ISL. Icon_lol
Larry
Engineman

Summerset Ry

Make Safety your first thought, Not your last!  Safety First!
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#47
Larry;

You may just have to scale back and go with a simpler track plan and fewer industries then you'd really like to have. Something like one large industry with say two tracks with specific car spot locations and then one or two smaller industries or a transload track. Some good ideas on here and elsewhere for layouts with that sort of theme.

I used to have an N scale RS-3 and a couple of 50ft box cars around here, but can't find them and have a very hard time visualizing the size of N scale these days. I can sit and draw up track plans using N scale track, but it really helps to be able to see some equipment to get an idea of what would fit on a certain length of track, etc, because as you well know, more often than not, what looks workable on paper, won't work on the actual layout.

I think that it would really help any plan you came up with, if you could have a removable staging track (2-3ft?) on one end of the 12in X 6ft space. It could be straight or curved if necessary and doesn't need to be anything fancy. Just a length of flex track on a piece of wood and a simple plug to supply power to it.
Ed
"Friends don't let friends build Timesavers"
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#48
hi Brakie,
you have a quite different problem.
The image of a billion women between 20 and 40 ain't that bad, they all look attractive. Even worse, a million are very very attractive, how to make a choice.
You yourself is the only one who can do it.
As long as any idea presented to you is responded by....YEAH wow I could do that...... you will not be able to choose.
So many nice plans for industrial switching layouts are presented over the last years; Lance Mindheim's East Rail and Docksider, Keith Jordan's The Patch, Bernard Kempinski 's Bush Terminal, Bob Smaus 's Port Of Los Angelos and Byron Henderson's Alcove RR to name a few.
Making your choice in a candy bar, difficult at 6, still difficult at 60 (+).

The previous poster is also advocating the use of a cassette, curved or straight is not the issue. Time to decide to start things going or to keep on dreaming.
Smile
Paul
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#49
FCIN Wrote:Larry;

I think that it would really help any plan you came up with, if you could have a removable staging track (2-3ft?) on one end of the 12in X 6ft space. It could be straight or curved if necessary and doesn't need to be anything fancy. Just a length of flex track on a piece of wood and a simple plug to supply power to it.


Take a look at <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/42409-the-dangers-of-track-going-to-the-edges-of-a-shunting-plank-layout/page__view__findpost__p__496999">http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index. ... _p__496999</a><!-- m -->
see post #12 onwards - might give you ideas, and pictures are worth a thousand words! Icon_lol
best
Jack
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#50
Paul wrote:The image of a billion women between 20 and 40 ain't that bad, they all look attractive. Even worse, a million are very very attractive, how to make a choice.
You yourself is the only one who can do it.
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At my age(63) all of the desirable ones have husbands.

I usually never ask for help designing a simple ISL because 90% of my layouts been ISLs.

Slate Creek is a unusual beast-it started life as a caption for this photo:

[Image: 003-22.jpg]


and after that it took a life of its own based on Lance Mindheim's East Rail principals-a new approach for me..

I design Slate Creek as shown over the last 18 months from research,study,refining,more research,more redesigning,more refining-well you get the picture.This is the longest amount of time I ever spent on planning what should be a very simple 1x6' N Scale ISL.

Maybe I should revert back to my "plan as I build" since that approach has worked for me for years?
Larry
Engineman

Summerset Ry

Make Safety your first thought, Not your last!  Safety First!
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#51
Sounds like analysis paralysis to me Larry! Icon_lol
Mike

Sent from my pocket calculator using two tin cans and a string
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#52
Mike,Maybe but,I did come up with this:
[Image: SC5.jpg]

I'm still looking at possible changes since that plan is the prize..


I am also looking hard at Justin's plan:
[Image: SlateCreek3.jpg]


This has a lot of potential.
Larry
Engineman

Summerset Ry

Make Safety your first thought, Not your last!  Safety First!
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#53
hi Brakie,
it is time to start being realistic.
First, Stein allready made very clear why your plan (the upper) won't work; coming back to it is not the way to go.
Second i do not understand your measurements. Track spacing and the width of your plan indicate a scale; almost 1:12.
This means the length of your plan is about 9 feet, not even close to the 6 you mentioned all the time.
Look at your drawing more closely and it is obvious.
The plan Justin provided is about the same as my first contribution, the major difference is a cassette.
Smile
Paul
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#54
Paul:This means the length of your plan is about 9 feet, not even close to the 6 you mentioned all the time.
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Paul,By actual measurements its 7' 0" not 9'.This was done on my 6' board and I place the switch at its spot..I need the extra 12"(by tape measurement) for the track beyond the switch and in that light the prize is still obtainable if I want to squeeze the extra foot which is a very good possibility..I found the solution to the puzzle now finding that extra foot..

As far as a cassette or fiddle yard the jury is still out since both ideas sounds feasible.

BTW..IF I had 9' I would be considering HO.
Larry
Engineman

Summerset Ry

Make Safety your first thought, Not your last!  Safety First!
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#55
"BTW..IF I had 9' I would be considering HO."


Shame on you!!!!! Eek Eek Eek

Icon_lol
Mike

Sent from my pocket calculator using two tin cans and a string
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#56
Tyson Rayles Wrote:"BTW..IF I had 9' I would be considering HO."


Shame on you!!!!! Eek Eek Eek

Icon_lol

Mike,I already played around with one 7' HO ISL not bad but,far from what I'm after.

N is still the best for my space-even at 7'. Thumbsup
Larry
Engineman

Summerset Ry

Make Safety your first thought, Not your last!  Safety First!
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#57
hi Brakie,
i do not like it at all. You are a grown man and should know better.
All contributions by Stein, Justin and me were taking the 6 feet you mentioned for granted.
Not even one time you were telling us your layout had a different length.
Only after i was looking better at your design and i told you my findings you responded rather cool.
As if it was no mistake at all.

It is so easy to draw a 9 feet long plan, and how come tracks will not fit when they are laid down if you have a different length.
Now suddenly, out of the blue you have 7 feet of length. I am out


Paul
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#58
Paul,Heres the thing.

I could sqeeze a extra foot-if I can find the open space.

A Peco medium switch is "5 3/4"(about)

<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.modeltrainstuff.com/PhotoDetails.asp?ShowDESC=N&ProductCode=PEC-SLE396F">http://www.modeltrainstuff.com/PhotoDet ... EC-SLE396F</a><!-- m -->

A Peco small switch is 5".

<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.modeltrainstuff.com/PhotoDetails.asp?ShowDESC=N&ProductCode=PEC-SLE392F">http://www.modeltrainstuff.com/PhotoDet ... EC-SLE392F</a><!-- m -->

Micro Engineering flex track is 36" cut as needed to fit backed by Atlas 6" sectional track

Atlas #5 switch isn't that much larger then the medium Peco..

<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.modeltrainstuff.com/PhotoDetails.asp?ShowDESC=N&ProductCode=ATL-2051">http://www.modeltrainstuff.com/PhotoDet ... e=ATL-2051</a><!-- m -->

Atlas flex is 30" cut as needed to fit back by 6" sectional track.
Larry
Engineman

Summerset Ry

Make Safety your first thought, Not your last!  Safety First!
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#59
Brakie, what about building an N-scale version of Lance Mindheim's Palmetto Spur? something like this:
[Image: PalmettoN.jpg?t=1319247976]
Justin Miller
Modeling the Lebanon Industrial Railway (LIRY)
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#60
Justin,I like that very much..I have plenty of room to add scenery plus a "fake" yard to fiddle on-like your revise one with the fiddle tracks.

I could use a tall building and a overpass to hide the fiddling area.

Will it be ok if I make a copy?
Larry
Engineman

Summerset Ry

Make Safety your first thought, Not your last!  Safety First!
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