As progress continues on Wilmington Yard I have a couple opportunities to reconfigure some of the tracks in the area.  

The major yard, Wilmington, has a main track running through it  (red on the diagrams)  with a running track adjacent, that becomes the switching lead on the north end.   On the north end is a pair of crossovers to allow movements from the yard/running track to the main or from the lead to the main.  That part of the design has been proven reliable.  On the south end two of the yard tracks are double ended and connect into the running track.

What is new are two switching areas on the opposite side of the main from the yard.  The Delaware River Extension, DRE, is a long lead to a switching area on the next wall.  The lead will probably be about 12-15 ft long and most of it will be hidden behind buildings.  In front of the DRE will be the Maryland Ave. lead.  It will start about 4 feet south of the south end of the yard.  Each of these will be switched by separate jobs, so will operate independently of each other.

I have 4 general scenarios for how I could connect the leads to the main track and  how they will interact with the yard.  A shifter for the DRE will be an 0-6-0 or 0-4-0 pulling about 6-8 cars and a caboose, it might make one or two trips down the lead during a session.  The MD Ave job would be an  0-6-0 or 0-4-0 shoving about 6-8 cars and could pretty much make as many trips as required.  The main track would see about 2-4 passenger trains, 4-6 engine moves between the roundhouse and the yard, plus 4-6 other shifters working other industries and working interchanges.


Yard 1.    Just south of the existing crossovers , make a connection for both leads to the main track.    The leads would separate by several inches, the DRE running closer to the back drop and at some point disappearing behind trees and buildings.  The MD Ave lead would run parallel to the main until it entered into the switching area.  To get to either track  a train would have to shove or pull back north on the lead or main  to clear the crossovers, then shove or pull south down the main to the junction switch and onto the appropriate lead.  Once on the lead the shifters would have ample head room on the lead to do any switching necessary clear of the main.  Benefits, lots of head room, minimal interference with the main.  Risks, all the traffic moves through the N end of the yard  (similar to the operation with the previous layout design), any run around moves for the MD Ave lead will have to be made before entering the lead..

 

Yard 2.   Similar to Yard 1, except that  a crossover is placed between the DRE and MD Ave leads about 4 ft south of the junction, making a runaround track.  The runaround could be used to temporarily hold a cut for MD Ave or the DRE,   A shifter for either lead could get by the staged cut on the other track.  While it would shorten the leads, it would not shorten them to the point that it would impact the use of the leads for head room.  Benefits, lots of head room, minimal interference with the main, runaround on the leads.  Risks, all the traffic moves through the N end of the yard  (similar to the operation with the previous layout design).

 

Yard 3.   Install a crossover at the south end of the yard to allow a cut to come out of the south end of the yard and enter or exit either lead.  Benefits, increased flexibility on yarding trains.  Risks, shorter leads on the MD Ave. lead, might not have enough head room to switch without fouling main, a little more difficult scenically since there is less  space to hide the DRE, no runnaround on the MD Ave lead.  

 

Yard 4.  Each lead has a separate switch to the main track, with the DRE north of the MD Ave.  Probably the closest to the prototype arrangement, although enough compromises have to be made that strict prototype adherence is not a deciding factor.  Benefits, sufficient head room to minimize interference with the main once on the leads, distinct separation between the DRE and MD Ave leads, easiest to scenic.    Risks, all the traffic moves through the N end of the yard  (very similar to the operation with the previous layout design), any run around moves for the MD Ave lead will have to be made before entering the lead., overall the most interference with the main getting to and from the leads.

 

So what does the collective wisdom of the forum think about the alternatives?  I have my ideas and am leaning towards one of the solutions.  Since I will eventually be on the operating weekend circuit (OS Omaha), there is a potential that some of the people on this list could be working at Wilmington Yard.  What say ye?