Track Plan

Skip

I would suggest that you sketch up some industrial switching along with an interchange. Since you have retired from a railroad use your past experience of prototype operations for the basis of your design. I would also highly recommend that you follow Lance's one turnout layout concept in this issue of MRH to get started.  

Concept Idea

From what little you've said, and assuming HO scale, I'd probably start my doodling with a diagonal "big RR" track running through the shelf, slightly nearer to one end than the other, plus an "interchange track" curving from a passing siding on the larger end of the shelf (your railroad) to the front of the layout, and looking like it's gonna connect with that diagonal "big RR" track somewhere in the aisle.  Then I'd start running sidings off the passing siding, including a track that crosses over the "big RR" line to the other end of the shelf, with 2 or more industries there.  

Just a first idea.

Sandy

http://www.sandysacerr.com 

Working interchange?

Do you have the option of adding a peninsula that can be placed on the layout when you're using it, and removed when you're done?  Then you could have a train lumber onto the branch line at need.

How about...

How about something like this 18" x 12' plan?

Some possibilities...

Dear Skip,

Some of the layout designs from the late Carl Arendt's website may be of use to you, particularly those out of a small layout-design challenge Carl posted a few years ago.

http://www.carendt.com/scrapbook/page98/#masterclass

I'd point you to the "Haston Nomad", "CSX Vs Apalachicola Northern", and "Southern Pacific" entries as possibles...

Happy Modelling,
Aim to Improve,
Prof Klyzlr

Cool track plan!

Bill, that's a pretty cool track plan.  I'd build that one in a heart beat.  I can see an elevator in place of the ice/freight house.  Team track by the depot for just about any kind of load.  Factories along the backdrop.  There's even room to add one more spur someplace.  I like it!  Two thumbs up!

Skip.  I'd look at Bill's track plan closely.  It's a good start.  

Tom 

"Shelf layout with crossing and interlocking"

  I'm building a similar layout in a spare room. It's N scale 15 feet wide with a 5 foot L extension on one end. I put the SP(or UP) mainline along the left L shelf with an interchange coming off the SP  siding and around a curve. The middle is the B&G switching shortline and the right side has an ATSF (BNSF) main with 90 degree crossing and a curved interchange track. The B&G track heads on east off scene. Operations will be fiddling incoming cars onto the SP and ATSF interchange tracks then having the B&G pick them up and deliver them to the on scene industries and to the off scene B&G eastern trackage. After the out going cars are placed on their respective interchange tracks the SP or ATSF crews will fiddle them off sometime during the night :> )  I sketched up this rough draft of the plan ...DaveBranum 

INRAIL

Thanks Tom,

I whipped that up after reading Sandy's suggestions.

I agree about the elevator, and was going to show that but then I thought the scene should be more urban.
Personally I'd prefer the elevator

Thanks Bill

Nice job, Bill.  That's just what I had in mind, but I got too lazy to draw it out!  In looking at your version, I would suggest four small changes - all pretty minor. 

(1) I'd move the interchange track turnout to the left, closer to where you've drawn the station.  After all, that's going to become the fiddle track when you operate, so having room for a couple more cars there would be a good idea.  During construction, I'd include a rerailer at the start of the interchange track too, which will make fiddling easier.  Just run a road or driveway across it somewhere close to the turnout. 

(2) I'd either move the station into the triangle between the interchange track and the "big RR" (so it serves both lines) or just omit it altogether (a pure industrial area needs no passenger station.)  Is this layout going to be the start of a longer shelf layout for a railroad with passenger service, or just a little industrial line?  The "team track" dead ending at the drawn station is fine, even without a station there.  A loading dock along the front edge of the shelf to serve it might be nice.   

(3) On the right hand side, I'd curve the "little RR" main slightly, either toward the front or the rear of the shelf, because I think having track that doesn't run dead parallel to the edge of the shelf makes any layout look a bit bigger.  Plus, that curve increases the space you have on the outside of the curve -- creating more room for another, or a bigger, industry there, and maybe even another turnout and siding, depending on how congested Skip wants his scenery to be.)

(4) Real railroads avoid switchbacks whenever they can, so I'd either tie both turnouts that serve the factory flats into the passing siding (back to back, or even overlapped so that you'd also need a shallow crossing to get them past each other), OR I'd add a stream or drainage ditch running parallel to, and just behind, the passing siding, so that the short track between the two turnouts crosses the ditch on a wee bridge.  (Not incurring the expense of building two bridges is a logical reason for why the "little RR" might have opted for a switchback to serve those factories.)  Just for scenic reasons, I'd also probably make one or the other of these two factory sidings run into or through a deeper building. 

Other than those little changes, I think we've given Skip what he was looking for - certainly there are a nice mix of facing and trailing point turnouts to switch, and a way to get more rolling stock onto the layout as Skip's collection grows.  This one should be fun to operate.   (Sandy pats self on the back with one hand, Bill on the back with the other.)

Sandy

http://www.sandysacerr.com

For Prof K

Nice link,Prof,  very interesting to see how the six of you handled a 1x6 space so differently.  Just shows how much space Skip really has for his layout -- twice as much as any of those designs, and since several of them would provide fun switching opportunities, he should be in "high clover."

Remember the described era

In 1900-1901 a junction between a "big Ry" and a small would justify a train order station at a minimum. Additionally the tower between another "big Ry" a small one would be staffed by the latest railway to arrive on the scene, so you have a choice between the two for the color and design of the tower.  The control devices at the junction could run a gamut of "a gate", smash boards, or semaphore signals.  So for signals on this short layout you can have two types (both big Ry train order signals, which will be white (clear) and red (stop) lenses), possible block signals on the big interchange ry, and three different types of switchstands.  This could be great history in six or eight square feet.

BNML ....

Bill,

Yes - that's more or less what I am looking for .... I'll keep it in mind.  Thanks! 

Skip

Remember the described era

Hi, Tom.  Yep - that's what I had planned to do ..... just needed some inspiration here on how to get it into a small space.  Who knows? Maybe I'll cross the C.M. at grade  

Skip

Thanks, All ....

All very good ideas .... I had some ideas in mind but was hoping to get some input and inspiration before starting out. I also may be able to use the idea of a temporary island into the room. Also, at the right end, I could run a folding extension out into the aisle for some more fiddle space. It would be in front of a window, but if it would fold down or be removable, that'd be fine. 

Thanks again for all the inspiration. 

Skip Luke

Thistle & Shamrock Ry. 

Skip, Crossing the CM at Grade

had no signals, the instructions on which road had the rights were covered in the Special Instructions in the ETT.  For instance at New Castle the CM had their eastbound trains had rights over the D&RG trains and the westbound D&RG trains had rights over the Midland trains.  So in each instance the Head Brakies would flag the crossing for their respective trains.