The cross overs between what

The cross overs between what I am assuming are a double track main line are in the wrong place. They need to be moved outside the "yard" trackage to be of any use. So in other words... The cross over on the center right needs to be moved to the tracks directly below the turn-table and the crossover on the center left just needs to go away and be placed on the next module to the left. 

The location they are in right now will force a crew to have to see-saw back and forth to be able to get from one side of the yard to the other making them very un-desirable.

Crossover

Thanks Neil I'm not so good at track design and that's the kind of feedback I'm looking for. I was kind of wondering about that.

Not sure if a crossover would be needed on the other end might just leave it at the one.

You may also want to rework the loco servicing track

I'm presuming the top track is going to be used for loco servicing. There's an S-curve on the upper left created by the left-hand turnout branching off to the loco servicing track.  I would suggest replacing that with a right-hand turnout where the straight leg runs off to the loco servicing track and the curved leg runs off to the yard track.

Also, the lead on the right side from the yard track to the turntable may be a bit awkward.  A loco trying to get to the turntable on that lead will need to see-saw back through the yard track, and you will lose capacity on that yard track since you need to leave room for locos to get from the main to the turntable.  Another issue is that any locos using that lead to get to the servicing track will need to run onto the turntable itself in order to clear the switch.  I'd suggest flipping that lead so it runs off the yard lead track going from lower right to upper left.

Is this a small yard for a modular setup? If so then you probably only need crossovers on the one end assuming right-hand running. That allows locos from the lower main (running right-bound) to easily get to the turntable.  Locos on the upper main (running left-bound) wouldn't need crossovers since they're already on the same side as the turntable.  If needed, you could also probably get away with just a single crossover, probably the right-hand one.

You have the beginnings of a nice little yard here.  And don't worry, track planning is an iterative process. My little shelf layout went through at least 12 design revisions before I put the first piece of track down.

Craig

What scale are you working in

What scale are you working in and what style of module are you going with? There may be some alternatives to what your doing in that much space that will give you much more railroading.

Loco service track

Yeah Craig those are some good tips I was also thinking of a rip track somewhere up in that area, ash pit, coal and water towers, etc. This will eventually grow into an oval of modules.

Working in N scale

I'll be working in N scale Neil, It's going to eventually be an oval of modules with various scenery elements. This module will probably be representative of Ogden UT near the Union station.

Ogden

If you want it to be like Ogden then you would need to flip it along the horizontal axis so the turntable is on the right end and toward the bottom.  That would put the roundhouse in the (not modeled) wye with Pocatello or the Lake to the left, Granger to the right, the city of Ogden/Union Station to the top and Salt Lake City to the bottom on the (not modeled) wye leg. 

The ice house and SP yard would be towards the bottom left of the yard with the UP yard to the right.

Track lengths

The way it is drawn you have a lot more space on the bottom tracks of the yard than on the top.  With the roundhouse connections the way they are, on the top yard track you lose probably 18" on the left end and 24-30" on the right end in order to allow access to the roundhouse.

By moving the roundhouse lead switch right next to themain track switch on the left end you gain a foot of track room. 

On the right end you "switch back" on the yard track (an engine bound for the main shoves back into the yard track and pulls forward to the main.  If you move the switch back to the roundhouse lead, you gain at least 18-24" of room in the yard track.  On the right end come off the main with a right hand switch, then come off the yard track with an immediate right hand switch, run the track up to the roundhouse lead and jin the roundhouse lead with a right hand switch.  Gives probably 2 ft more room in the top yard track.

Revised

 Here is a revision top right track is coal delivery top left rip track

I think

I think this was what you were talking about Dave, I also added some track to the bottom and that bottom edge would be the back of the station, passenger platform. That edge would have the backdrop.

Track plan

If the yard is to be used for any type of switching, it will block the main line immediately. A yard lead as long as the longest cut of cars would be helpful on one or even both sides. It could be stub end or come off the main line.

Yard lead

Leads added on top left and bottom right. Not sure about if the track should connect to the station track on the bottom or just come off the main and stub.

A better understanding of the

A better understanding of the lead is needed. the way you have drawn them will only allow a train to by-pass the yard. The idea of a yard lead is to allow a yard switcher to pull a cut of cars back out of one track and put them in another track without interfering with the main line.

In this picture you can see the dual yard leads on the bottom right. The lead allows a train to pull onto an arrival/departure track and then to be broken down in sections or all at once without the need for the switch engine to get back on the main. As was stated in the last post a lead should ideally be as long or longer than your longest train/cut

Also if you take a look around on the web at "Model Railroad Yard Design" you will see some good and some bad examples of model yards. It may ne a good idea to look at some of these and compare what your trying to do in the space you have. IMHO a big thing working against you on your design is the double track main running down the middle of the yard. While you have two tracks on the bottom section of the yard you will find you'll need to leave one open for a run around, so then that leaves you with a one track yard.. Honestly not trying to pea on your corn flakes, but it is cheaper to sketch ideas on paper than cut wood if you know what i mean. 

My cornflakes are fine

Neil that's the whole purpose of this thread, so I can get things worked out for a good yard before I do anything else. I'll do some looking at yards online. Would it be better to do  single main across all modules or double main everywhere and before it enters the yard bring it down to single main?

Found some gold

I found a bit of gold from the search you suggested Neil, rather than just looking at pictures of yards I read http://www.housatonicrr.com/yard_des.html. This was something that was very helpful as it helped me understand the different functions of the yard tracks. So now I'm going to basically start over on the yard design.

Better design

I think this is a better design, getting to / from the engine service would be the most clunky part of this design I think.

Wrong turnouts

I realized I was using the wrong turnouts on the classification tracks. I changed them out for right hand and got 6 tracks for the classification yard.

Purpose?

You have started with one design and it has morphed into a completely different design. 

Before you go any further, you need to ask yourself what the purpose of the design is.

Is the yard to support an N-Trak type operation where you have several trains that run around a modular layout and are swapped out at various times?  If so then the earlier designs, while less protoypical, would be far superior to support that purpose.

Is the yard to support prototypical operation on a single track main railroad?  If so then the last designs are better to support that.

The last design won't support the N-Trak style operation well at all and the first design won't support the protypical operation well at all.

Which operation are you trying to support?

Another good resource is

Another good resource is Track Planning For Realistic Operations. Some of the material is out dated as the book and info has been out there for many years. If you take a read and then look at some info on the web of what people have done with this info and how they have adapted it that will help in yard and layout design. https://www.amazon.com/Track-Planning-Realistic-Operation-Armstrong/dp/0890245045

Dave brought up a good point about the design and what your intentions are with the module. Are you planning this with intentions of it matching a particular modular group standard or using the word modular as your building your home layout in a modular way (TOMA)? 

I personally prefer the single track with passing siding layout approach to operating a railroad. To me it is more fun and makes the operating group have to think ahead about moves to be made so not to create "cornfield meets" and such.  So that was my next question. Do you need a double track main? 

In regards to your present design. Much improvement IMO Not sure the caboose track is really long enough for much more than one caboose so may have to find a way to lengthen that. Also what era are you planning to model. Is the Turntable needed? Steam engines require turning, but diesels really don't. Another thing, on the right hand you have no way to move from the center "main" to the top "main" if you are coming from the right to the left. and the last thing is I would flip the entire design so that your station is at the rear and all the work you will do is at the front. So the drawing is very crude...

Operations

Initially I will only have on or 2 modules so need to do operations, I can see that this new plan would make the thing operable for this time. Eventually it will be an oval of modules and I will be able to make a hidden staging to support trains running in circles while I do operations on this module. The modules will stay in my basement and be for my enjoyment of building and using.

Latest iteration

Here's the latest iteration I think I'm getting there.

As far as taking a module from my basement to the outside world it would never be this module and if I do build a module that can mate with the local club I can adapt my stay at home modules to incorporate it. For the time being I don't have the time and cant even predict that I'll be home for any club activities so I haven't even really explored joining my local club. I do try to get to their main show at the Ogden union station when I can be home at the time of the year.

In the beginning this will be the one and only module (toma) I think that it will give me some operating fun while I am building it. the reason for a double main is that I will be the only one operating it and on one of the mains I can have a train or two running in circles while I operate a yard once all the modules are complete. 

Crossovers

Move the pair of crossovers on the left to the next module, having the A/D tracks as the shortest tracks in the yard doesn't really help you, plus if the passenger train hangs out onto the main you can still get around it.  Then make one more track in the yard double ended.

I have never understood why modelers always want to put a passing track between the passenger station and the main tracks.  Its a huge waste of a track.  Passenger trains tend to stay on the main track.  With it the way it is, you can't put a passenger train in that track to hold because you would block the platforms on the main track and then the passengers would have to cross two tracks to get to the train on main 2.  If you want a storage track for passenger equipment make it go behind the depot and put the depot next to the main track with a platform between the tracks to service main 2.

The crossover between main 2 and the A/D track on the right side has options.  If you leave it where it is then you can arrive/depart a train out of the A/D track and switch at the same time.  If you move the crossover  to the right of the yard ladder switch, then you can depart a train to the right out of ANY track in the yard, but will have to stop switching while you arrive or depart the train.  Either way is "right", just depends on your operation and needs.

Look these changes over.

Add one more crossover

Adding to Neil's changes above, I'd suggest one more left-hand crossover on the right end of the modules from the yard lead to the lower main.  That will let any trains built in the yard tracks to depart directly onto the main instead of having to switch-back to the A/D track (which itself may already have another train on it).  It also allows you to use the main track as a longer switching lead if/when needed. You may need that when the yard crew needs to pull an entire yard track, for example to move a block of cars from the yard track to the A/D track.

Craig