Port Able Railway v2.0

[paulus_jas]

hi Mike,
a nice little plan.
Just a bit of weathering of the mf-plant and it will look stunning.
I would straighten out the streets, my opinion only; like on this 6x4 plan by the St. Louis model railroad club: http://www.gatewaynmra.org/project10.htm.
Have fun with the build
Paul

[Mike Kieran]

Thank you Paulus. That was very gracious of you. I love that Gateway NMRA layout. I placed the roads where they are so that I have enough track for 3-4 cars at the interchange and enough of a lead for the manufacturing company. on the left side I wanted enough space for the train to be placed there during switching.

I am thinking of elevating the road on the right to make an overpass. That way there is enough room for the interchange and the switch lead.

[Mike Kieran]

Not only did I add an overpass on the right side of the layout, but I decided to make the railroad a 3 piece 66x38 inch layout (3 sections at 22x38 inches).

[Mike Kieran]

Here is my NEW and hopefully final track plan. In order to make it easier to transport and store, I decided to go with a 3 piece (each piece is 22x38 inch sections) for a grand total of 66x38 inches. In the lower right corner, I added a small office and paving for the fuel truck to pull up to the locomotive for fueling.

I put an overpass on the right end to mark the end of track and to visually separate the two halves of the layout. I also plan on using the buildings as view blocks on the layout like on the Gateway Central layout



<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.gatewaynmra.org/layouts/gc10/gc10-02.jpg">http://www.gatewaynmra.org/layouts/gc10/gc10-02.jpg</a><!-- m -->

[sailormatlac]

Mike,

I think your building location really improved since your first draft. Most of them creat a visual barrier at different level, making the background dynamic and deep. That should pay off a lot. If I read well your plan, a long part of the main street after the overpass is still elevated which is a good idea. Regina Manufacturing could be on two level (track level, and upper storey at street level. It would visually justify the track going under the building.

Matt

[Mike Kieran]

Hey Matt,

The track under the building is actually the Hardwood Furniture Company which will be connected the Middlesex Manufacturing Company by Atlas.

I was toying with the idea of making the street level 4 inches higher than the track level like on the Bay Ridge Branch in Brooklyn and the Carbondale Central Project Layout that was in Model Railroader. It would make the layout 12-18 inches deep when stored, but a reasonable compromise. As it stands now, the street on the right side of the plan begins to rise from the intersection to the layout edge. This would be removable from the layout.

[sailormatlac]

Mike, raising the street level of 4 inches would have a drastic impact.

[Ralph]

I think a raised street would add lots of visual interest. I remember the Carbondale Central layout and always liked it.

[Mike Kieran]

Here's my latest possibility. I broke it down to 2 customers - Regina Manufacturing and Whist Building Supply. I park the locomotive at the engine house in the corner and the caboose on the main line. I figured that if I have an overpass at Hill Street and arrange the buildings at angles, I might be able to get away from the roundy round look.

[Brakie]

Mike,Looking at your track plan I can envision a short line with a small drivered 2-6-0 or GE 44 or 70 tonner..

I would operate that layout as point to point.

[Mike Kieran]

That's how I was going to run it. The overpass is the end of track counterclockwise from the interchange. I'm going to do another plan tomorrow with the streets raised and bigger buildings to act as view blocks.

[Mike Kieran]

Here's a preliminary look at the layout below street level. I arranged the buildings to create view blocks for the street sight lines.

Here's the building guide:

[MountainMan]

I'm confused - your track plans do not match your photos of the trackage you have in place. Will you be ripping the extra sidings and crossings out?

[Mike Kieran]

I'm just tweaking track plans before I build it. I came close several times to commence building the layout. I have several factors to consider:

-portability (so that it can travel in the back seat of a 1995 Nissan Maxima)

-storability (I live in an apartment)

-ability to switch cars with some enjoyment

-a minimum radius of 18 inches

-ability of the modeled railroad to be financially viable (if it were an actual railroad operation, would it be able to support itself?)

-realistic operation

-the ability to break up the round- round look.

[kamerad47]

The layout looks good !! But I would leave that turnout in were the engine house was & make that the interchange with a (fold up or fold down track etc.) you can pak the loco there & it is another switching spot!!!!! sometimes with think too much about, maybe you just have to build it & try it?????