Defining a purpose for this area will help in layout design. Right now this is a track plan. If there were a factory or freight house to serve on one end and another industry on the other end it will assist in the design process. Once you establish a purpose it becomes easier to design the remaining. Like a good story, you need plot, conflict and resolution.

BTW, I built a 2x8 switching layout with 18" tail tracks beyond the run around. I wished afterwards that I had room for a loco and two cars and the run around was too long. This was discovered after operating it the third or fourth time.

I have a plan posted on the Beginners Pages of the NMRA site, but it seems that the nmra.org site is down this morning. Will post a link as soon as it comes back to life.

Eric

Carl Arendt's webiste (www.carendt.com/) is an absolute treasure rtove of model track plans.  there are also great small and micro layout design articles in there, and spending some time on it might well save you a lot of trouble in the end.

Bernie Kempinski, lance Mindheim, and Iain Rice also haev planning books out that could give you some ideas about how to proceed.

Also, it would help if you posted your scale/gauge combination.  8 feet by 7 3/4 inches works out dramatically differently in N scale then On30.

The NMRA site has awakened. Here's a link to content I submitted long ago. Three plans can be found at the bottom of the page that may offer some inspiration.

http://www.nmra.org/beginner/vandalia.html

Eric

Thanks for the comments.

I completely overlooked adding the scale, obviously that has a bearing on what can fit!  I've updated my post to include the scale (HO) as well as a cropped image of the plan.

Thanks to both of you for your links - there are indeed some inspirational plans there.

Regarding purpose, this was initially intended to be simply a stretch of single track with a stub siding to be used as a place to test cars or locomotives following repair and / or as a "project" track for cars / locomotives that are awaiting work. However, then I got a Fast Tracks turnout fixture and it became an exercise to see how many turnouts I could get into the space and still have room for the minimum length tails.  This was shortly followed by the realization that what I had *might* be more frustrating that useful.

The storyline is a little weak; I'm looking for the following:
- A RIP track to store project cars on ("industry" #1)
- A separate spur to store cars that are ready to head back to the layout (when built) or storage (industry #2)
- At least one "through" track to test cars, with an alternative route that will force tracking through turnouts (industry #3).
- A run around

Not a good story, but I'm learning.

Matt

Another fine on-line resource is Byron Henderson's LayoutVision site. Lots of good tips and ideas here. Check out the design gallery as there is an example or two you could alter slightly into a functional switching area.

http://www.layoutvision.com/

Byron posts here from time to time and may chime in with a suggestion or two.

Eric

You have somewhat the same configuration as Linn Westcott's Switchman's Nightmare, but with a couple of extra crossovers that may not provide a lot of operating interest but rather might limit the useable length of some tracks. Something to consider.

I think many newcomers to the hobby post track plans that just have lines on the paper - if they've not operated much they have no context for what those tracks mean.

If you understand the problems of facing turnouts, the value of trailing turnouts, and the utility of a runaround track, then you've got the beginnings of an understanding of what those lines really mean on a track plan - and you're much better equipped to tell if your lines on your plan are good or bad lines.

There's also railroading 101 - real railroads exist to move freight and passengers from point A to point B, not to just give the railroad a place to move equipment around for the fun of it (unlike modelers).

There's two basic reasons for modelers to have a layout - one is to display their equipment in operation (you see yourself as primarily a railfan) and the other to is pretend you're moving frieght and passengers with your model (you see yourself as sitting in the cab of the engine, getting the train over the line for a reason).

If you're primarily a railfan, then you tend not to be into switching, and any industry spurs or yard tracks are there mainly for show (add to the ambiance of a real railroad) or to display equipment when it's not operating. If you're primarily an engineer, then industry and yard tracks have a purpose in helping you run your railroad as realistically as possible.

For either type, railfan or engineer, it helps to understand the basic problems you need to solve when switching, so a fundamental understanding of facing and trailing point turnouts, plus runarounds will help immensely in giving you the ability to look at a track plan and see if it is "right".

Also, having some sense of what your railroad is transporting from point A to point B also helps all those lines start to take on meaning. Once you know somewhat why all those lines exist, then you're much better equipped to call a track plan good or bad.

What many newcomers don't realize, is that a track plan needs at least some sense of context and purpose for the lines to have meaning. Otherwise, it's just lines on the page, even to us experienced modelers.

If you understand the problems of facing turnouts, the value of trailing turnouts, and the utility of a runaround track, then you've got the beginnings of an understanding of what those lines really mean on a track plan - and you're much better equipped to tell if your lines on your plan are good or bad lines.

it helps to understand the basic problems you need to solve when switching, so a fundamental understanding of facing and trailing point turnouts, plus runarounds will help immensely in giving you the ability to look at a track plan and see if it is "right".

I for one would love to understand the things mentioned above.  Where can I find out?  Is there an MRH article that can help me figure this all out or do I need to buy a book?

What makes a turnout a facing turnout or a trailing turnout exactly?

I think I understand the basic utility of the runaround track, to allow a Locomotive to "run around" a cut of cars, not?

As for the rest, I am not so sure...?

Here's some pictures to illustrate these switching 101 concepts:

Here's why a runaround track is so important because it solves this fundamental problem:

These concepts are FUNDAMENTAL to understanding what those lines mean on a track plan. Everything else on a track plan builds on these fundamentals.

Once you've actually operated on a layout, you quickly realize why these track arrangements exist and you're much better equipped to do real track planning instead of just drawing pretty lines on a blank page (wink and grin).

In my opinion, anyone who doesn't understand these basics is not equipped to do a track plan that will result in a successful layout. Those are strong words, but I think they're true. That's why I tell people if they're planning to spend thousands of dollars on a nice layout, spend a few hundred dollars first for some plane tickets and go operate on some layouts. The Op SIG hosts op events regularly around the country - and attending a few op sessions will leave you much better equipped to really PLAN that layout!

Ok, here goes:

A trailing point turnout is one that a train can back into after passing it (the points are facing away from the train)

A facing point turnout is one that a train can move ahead into (the train is facing the points).

So the turnout's designation changes depending on the direction of travel of the train involved.

A train can switch a trailing point spur directly. A facing point spur will require a run around move (to get the loco on the proper end of the car being dropped or picked up).

Charlie