A single large industry would work

Here are a couple of ideas:

Bernie Kempinski has a new book out of layout designs (45 Original Track Plans - Kalmbach Publishing), which includes some smaller shelf layouts. The one that comes to mind is the very first plan - the Canton Railway, serving a soap factory in Baltimore.

For a similar idea, I wrote on my Achievable Layouts blog about CNR Pine Street - a Canadian National Railways spur that served a paper mill in a small Ontario city. It's perfect for a shelf.

In both cases, you'll have to engage in some selective compression to fit your space (you haven't mentioned what scale you're working in). But both of these prototypes required a variety of freight cars to be sorted into specific track and spot order, and the structures are interesting subjects to model that would lend themselves to flats and backdrop buildings.

Good luck - and happy modeling!

- Trevor

What Scale?

Hi Keegan!

Sounds like fun!  What scale are you building in?  2x5 in N scale is much more generous than in HO.

What would you think of building a T-trak or N-trak module instead of a free-standing switching layout?  You could still do switching, but then - if you've an Ntrak club nearby, connect your module to others and run trains.  N-trak modules are 2x4 feet, with three tracks at precise points on the ends of the modules - what happens in between is entirely up to you, so you could create some switching opportunities when you "un-plug."

Geof

It is HO it always slips my

It is HO it always slips my mind to mention scale sorry

Inglenook

Take at look at this Inglenook site and some of the variations listed there.

Dave

How about a single industry

HI TM247, 

I'll echo Trevor's thoughts 

How about part of a single industry with its own captive fleet of rolling stock? 

This means that you get to choose:

• your industry:
• your cars for that industry and
• possibly some specialized cars that you can "bash" or scratchbuild to add to the mix
• more importantly, possibly a much simplified paint scheme (No interchange reporting marks etc required),
• how much research you do to pick your industry/cars

If you choose an industry that has to move either large heavy or light bulky "stuff'" that is "space limited" then more shorter length cars, tight curves and small switch engines are possible than for a yard switching  90' autoracks.or similar more modern longer cars. Stay with smaller diesel switchers or perhaps tank locomotives for an earlier industrial steam period. For such steam locomotives, long range is not a requirement, so a neither is a tender for locomotives that are working your industry. This also saves about 1/2 a car's worth in siding length for any siding where you want to park a locomotive. 

A design tip - If you include a passing loop in your plan, then use the longer length available diagonally on the baseboard to give you the maximum passing loop and headshunt lenghs possible,

For industries such as refineries, chemical plants, explosives plants where steam was readily available, do some research on "fireless" steam locomotives. In some places this version of a steam locomotive lasted well into the diesel era. This could give you some additional scratchbuilding possibilities.

Engine wise I do have a

Engine wise I do have a Trackmobile I can use, I also have updated al my cars to body mounted Kadees with a mix of flat, box and some hopper cars. Thanks for the tips so far I will look around at the sites suggested.

Track Plan Software

There are many track plans available on the web for small areas and the Atlas Model Railroad site has a free track planning program you can download.

From your description of your available space it sounds like an industrial park or city industrial district would work for you.

The HO track mobiles don't have a lot of pulling power, ( 1 - 2 cars), so if you get approval to build your layout, I would eventually consider getting a small switch engine.

Joe

Something like this take your fancy?

Hi TM247,

Dawn with XtrakCad with Peco HO settrack and Peco HO track libraries. There are other libraries for different manufacturers available.

Key points:

• Anything in the way of shunt moves has to be removed to allow the shunt and then be re-spotted.
• The gantry crane serves the track to Building 1 -  this track has a small loco and 2 (short?) flat cars that are captive to that track. 
• Incoming raw materials go to Building 3 
• Storage tanks are 1 large (inbound solvent or similar) and 1 small (outgoing by-product) each with its own loading point. (hose and pump for for incoming/ standpipe and gantry for outgoing). This allows for 2 different types of tank car.
• Buildings 1,2,& 3 have no wall at module boundary (allows swapping of loads inside the buildings - so you see a loaded flatcar on gondola go into Building 1 and it comes back out empty) 
• Curves are minimum Peco #1 radius set track at 14.6" radius on track centre.
• Plenty of room for some roads, road-based vehicles and crossings, stacks of materials, etc. 

Please feel free to use/modify/ignore anything above,

Plenty of switches...

You can build an Inglenook with a few extras to hide the puzzle

Maybe something like

Maybe something like this.

" looking for ideas that I

  If I had to build a layout in a 2by5 foot space I'd probably build an N scale pocket terminal served by car float. A circular run around design like used along the Harlem river in NY city would fit well on that size board and offer lots of modeling and operational interests. Tim Warris models the older era CNJ terminal in HO scale and a video of modern era car float operations at Brooklyn  is on youtube for those interested in the possibilities. ...DaveB

I am thinking HO is best

I am thinking HO is best choice for these reasons: I have the cars and track, I have engines while N I have very little and I think less money spent the better

Messing around with some track

a possible design

the location I hope to build the layout, the cassette would be on my desk.

Gone, but not Forgotten

Dear MRHers, 

Surprised no-one's mentioned the late Carl Arendt's SMALL/micro layout website
(emphasis added) as an inspiration point.

http://www.carendt.com

Particularly, head into the "micro layout design gallery",

http://www.carendt.com/micro-layout-design-gallery/

and browse thru the various categories.

Contrary to popular belief, Carl did cover "larger than Micro" and "other than dinky NG/whymsy" layout designs...

Happy Modelling,
Aim to Improve,
Prof Klyzlr

Further Inspiration

Dear MRHers,

Further inspiration

- Google "Stein model railroad trackplans" and you should end up here

http://home.online.no/~steinjr/trains/modelling/

- Google "Andrew hunter lines model railroad design" and you should end up here

https://huntervalleylines.wordpress.com/layout-designs/

NOTE it's a WordPress site, so navigate thru the menus to "layout design" and head for "small layouts"...

https://huntervalleylines.wordpress.com/layout-designs/small-layouts/ 

https://huntervalleylines.wordpress.com/layout-designs/ideas-and-scribbles/

Happy Modelling,
Aim to Improve,
Prof Klyzlr

​PS I understand the temptation to simply butt the turnouts heel to heel,
thus forming a compound zig-zag array,
but without starting-position GIvens-and-Druthers context,
the simplistic "more track = more interest" ethos frequently doesn't hold true...

Narrow and standard

That layout by John Garaty has some real potential, I think.  That bit of captive track could even be HOn30 or HOn3, representing a small part of the plant's industrial railroad.  Microtrains has some basic industrial HOn30, and scratch-building a loco and a few cars isn't likely to be hard...

Or it could be all SG

Hi all,

Given TM247's limited finances, perhaps a better story is that "isolated line" became isolated after a later plant upgrade caused tight clearances and track curvature problems that prevented the "old"  line from being connected to the new interchange track - so a gantry crane is required for transhipment of "stuff" from the isolated line to the new interchange track (and it is a good excuse to attempt an operating accessory) 

idea

Something like this may work.

Nice

I like your plan, very plausible

My idea with some labelling:

@idea

I think that would work very well. The only thing I would add would be a removable interchange cassette that could be hung on the end of the track at the bottom left. He could then have a few of these to represent staging and hold additional freight cars and change them out as he went. His track mobile or switcher would work very well on this plan. It would also allow for it to be incorporated into a later larger layout at sometime in the future as it looks like it would make a nice industrial addition to a larger layout.

Thanks,

I am thinking at the right end of the blue mainline I would attach the cassete, the design is one I just whipped up messing around with track and seemed like the best one. 

Cassette on the left?

If you can put a removable piece of track on the left I'd start a run-around track right at the left side and make it go almost to the right side, just leaving enough room for a loco and one or two cars on the right. That way you could stage a train on the cassette, run it onto the layout, run-around it ,and switch it out using the cassette as switching lead. Your industry spurs could face both ways off the main or run around track. Probably best to put taller industrial flats in back and maybe a team or transloading track in front. If the cassette must connect at an angle the run around would need to curve toward the front on the left side.Something like the sketch with industry tracks rearranged to suit your needs. ...DaveB

It couldn't be on the far

It couldn't be on the far left sadly due to space, I have my desk on the right which the cassete can go on/over with a wall on the left. Maybe I could put the table on casters which would then allow it on the left when in use.