Room layout and operation

Room layout:

Operation plan

Traffic on the branchline originate from either the yard via the interchange to the mainline or either of the industries from town 2 and 3. Woodchip would travel from the mill in town 3, across the line, to the yard, to the interchange and off layout. CC Lumber would receive lumber from town 3 and from interchange via yard in town 1. Fuel depot would be served by the interchange via the yard in town 1. Both town 2 and 3 would have a team track for special load via flat car.

Where we are now

Clearly after drafting the plan below, even reducing to a min radius of "24, the givens cause no issues but the druthers will require some compromises or serious rethinking. I am aware that there is a gap between the computer and the real world it still clearly shows me that I simply do no have enough space.

Can't see the drawing

I can't see the drawing (big blank space on my screen). Is there some other way to submit a drawing to the forum?

--Joe A.

Same here, it could be your

Same here, it could be your provider if you didn't use MRH

Fixed!

I'd rather not do an attachment but until I figure hosting, it shall suffice.

Thanks it looks good.

Thanks it looks good.

Thanks it looks good.

Thanks it looks good.

Suggestion 1 - Short trains more often

Hi Mgazaille,

A suggestion that might add more spice to your operation, is that you "run shorter trains more often". Because you are operating without grades, look at using several smaller lower-horsepower switcher locomotives as your motive power. This allows you to operate 2 or 3 smaller trains over the layout with trains having to cross, rather than attaching everything to a GP40 or larger similar mainline locomotive and moving your load all in one trip. 

This option also gives you an easy way of shunting each town - the locomotive that brings ?? to town also spots it where its needed.

The smaller locomotives will each have to visit the fuelling point more often than a bigger locomotive, also adding to the traffic pattern complexity.

Another suggestion - With your woodchip operation and grain elevator, set their loading gantries towards the middle of their respective sidings, so that you can roll "empties" under the loading gantry from one side and "fulls" out the other side. One of the things I pick up on quite often in models quite is that the loading point is sited at the far end of its siding, meaning that technically only one wagon can be loaded before the rest of the siding has to be pulled to spot another empty wagon for loading. 

Not sure whether these suggestion help or hinder, but they are submitted for your consideration

All suggestions are welcomed!

All suggestions are welcomed! They may not be implemented but they will listened to!

I did not mean to into motive power and rolling stock but since the subject has come up, let's gets into it if this can get the creative juices flowing.

Current motive power is a CN green and yellow livery GP9 (no sound) and a black yellow SW 900 (sound). There is also a GP38-2W (sound) on long term loan. Rolling stock is composed of 3 woodchip gondola, 1 bulkhead, 1 pulpwood, 2 tank cars, 5 box car ('40-'50), 1 Canfor thrall door, 2 cylindrical hooper, 1 '50 flat car, 1 2 bay hopper and two cabooses. The railroad is always looking to acquire new rolling stock, as long as it fits in either era, obviously earlier era is preferable. Possible future acquisitions are an RS-3 and another GP9 in black wet noodle. RDC acquisition is also a possibility only if it makes sense for the railroad to run it.

Train length excluding engine and caboose would be 3 to 5 depending on car length.

Also missing from the first post is a turntable at the end of the line, special request from SWMBO. It will be used to turn engines around and operations possibilities.

There are exceptions to this

There are exceptions to this rule but one thing that you might wish to consider would be the maintenance aspect. I am not meaning your models but the prototype of what you are modeling. You have a GP9 and an SW 900 plus a GP 38. If I was running the railroad you have depicted I would try and stay with the same locomotive type and depending on the activity the number would be 2 or 3 units. Mixing alcos, emds, baldwins, and fms for example would create a big nightmare for parts inventory. Imagine if the roster instead consisted of  2 or 3 sw 900s for example. Boring from a modeling standpoint but very sensible for the short line. other choices could involve more modern locomotives like sw 1500s or MP1500s.

"UPY MP15DC 1338". Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Commons - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:UPY_MP15DC_1338.jpg#/media/File:UPY_MP15DC_1338.jpg

The photo above is an example of a more modern locomotive built between 1974 and 1980 which would seem to be a good example of a switcher with road capabilities for a short line. Two or three of those would surely meet all the needs of the railroad and be easier for them to stock normal spares etc.

You could also do the same thing with other brands but your rolling stock seems to indicate a more modern era than one for RS3s for example. EMD for example is still in the locomotive business so parts for older engines of that make might be more readily available.

There are examples of lines that just grabbed what was available at the time.

I am well aware of the

I am well aware of the duality of motive power and rolling stock. That is something that I will either eliminate in the future or have the ability to run the layout in two different eras by changing what's on the rails and what's on the road.

I am also giving myself has much artistic / freelance license as necessary to accomplish my goals.

On the subject of the branchline, I could be modeling sections of the branchline not necessarily geographically next to one another, hence the arbitrary MP. values.

Plan

There are three "ends of the line", two on the left and one on the right.  Where is the turntable?

Before you go too much further I would suggest that you solidify your concept of that the line you are modeling is.  You have a list of all sorts of things you want, but nothing really unifying them together.  You also have a small space so you have physical limitations too.

You have basically 3 sides of an 8x12 space.  That means your max mainline run will be 24 ft.  An engine and 5 modern cars will be about 5 ft long so that makes about a max of a 19 ft run, if you have an interchange yard on the right and a runaround at the terminus on the left that gives you an effective mainline of about 10-12 ft.

You are talking about passenger service and multiple trains.  That's going to be tough.  Alternatives areto model just the terminus of a branch , but not the junction with the main route (terminology point : When different railroad companies meet its an interchange, when two parts of the same railroad meet, its a junction, interchange is ONLY between different companies).  Or to model the junction but not the terminus.  Or to model an industrial lead, a la Lance Mindheim. 

Physical plant options include a turnback loop on one side or the other  to double back over the layout on an upper level to get a longer run.  Downsides are an intrusive bulge into the room and a steep grade.  With short trains and tight radius its still doable.  That would give more of run.

Other option is to put a junction on the right side and a terminus on the left, make the junction at elevation 4 and the terminus at elevation 2.  Then have a "switchback" industrial lead off the terminus going down to elevation 0 on the back and right sides with a switching area.  Have a couple industries on the right side junction level, a larger switching area on the top on the upper level.  A couple more around the terminus, then a few on the lower level  at the end of the industrial lead.

You also have to decide on whether the junction tracks are to be "live" or static.  With a live junction a "main line" job puts cars into the yard and takes cars away.  With static the cars are put into the tracks and the paperwork is changed, rather than the cars getting swapped out (any swap outs are 0-5-0, or cassette, unless you are going to use a sector plate).

Turntable would be placed by

Turntable would be placed by the door, yard would be on the opposite side of the room.

The switcher would work the yard and the GP9 or GP38 would work the line. Longest train would be engine+3 woodchip cars + caboose or 2 tankers + 2 box car, etc.

I had planned the junction to be static, cars to be pushed in, ready on track to be picked up by an hypothetical mainline job from somewhere else off layout.  

Passenger operation looks like its out of the window at this point, I can live without it.

I have been toying with the idea of 2 only accessible via the junction yard​ in 1 and no direct connection between 2 and 3 with the line passing behind 2.  This would require any traffic between 2 and 3 to transit via the junction yard. Since there is not enough space to create enough grade for the line to be above 2 and would end up behind a backdrop remove a nice rail fanning opportunity.

I have been mucking around with some yard layout but it appears to me, I should start at the end of the line figuring out the industries and then design the yard to serve 'em.

Here is a terrible  schematic of the general layout of each area (towns)

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