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removable industrial switching area over hidden class yard lead? Dream and design
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Active Member 32 posts Highlandsoft Active Member 32 posts
Highlandsoft

I cruised the forums and didn't find much relevant to this, so a few thoughts from y'all would be helpful.

I have room to add a several track active classification yard, about 8' long. Conventional wisdom would have an 8' lead serving it.

So how much grief would I cause myself by having the most distant 6' of that yard lead hidden under an industrial switching area?

It seems (operationally) that the visible 2' of yard lead closest to the ladder tracks would be plenty to make classification possible, or am I missing something? Does it matter (operationally) that the engine and some cars may be of sight?

More concerning - making that industrial area removable for access to the yard lead below.  No big deal if it was just foam-and-trees scenery, but it'll be about a 6' x 1' (n-scale) area of track, turnouts, wiring, buildings, etc., essentially a long thin LDE over the hidden yard lead.

The yard lead would be just straight track, no turnouts - what could go wrong? (answer: Murphy's Law) so I would still want access for cleaning, possible derailments, etc. If the switch engine stalls for some reason, I expect I could 'nudge' it by pushing/pulling on the cars still exposed near the ladder tracks (very gently!)

But if access is likely to be needed "often" then I'm not sure it's a good concept. The switching area "removable module" would need easy electrical connections, stable track alignment mechanisms, better durability for "frequent" handling, all the fixin's.

It kind of boils to "how often" removable sections actually need to be removed - and I have no experience.  And whether not being able to see the whole length of the lead is a problem. Anyone care to comment on this - pros and cons? Or provide a link to discussions where the yard lead is hidden?

Thanks,

JimW

 

 
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David Husman dave1905 MRH Author 9,844 posts
David Husman dave1905

Hidden

Major problem is engine stalling.

Other would be some sort of unwanted uncoupling and result in a derailment.

Other than that it would be just that the switcher wouldn't be able to see (hear?) its engine which is more of an ambiance issue.  The crew's probably going to be down at the yard lead where the switches are so it won't be that much of an issue.

Stalling depends on how frequent the layout is operated.  Shouldn't be that much of an issue if the track is clean.

Hidden track is always a risk, but this one seems minimal.

Dave Husman

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Highlandsoft Active Member 32 posts
Highlandsoft

thanks

Thanks for your response. I didn't get a lot of other opinions, so I especially appreciate the time you took to express yours.

JimW
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KennyInNC New member 23 posts
KennyInNC

Suggestion

Depending on your upper track plan put in access holes covered by buildings and scenery. That way no track would be disturbed in case of a stall or derailment .
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Highlandsoft Active Member 32 posts
Highlandsoft

good idea

Thanks - that's a pretty good idea since the upper level track plan is not (yet) cast in concrete. I've seen the occasional article about having a removable/replaceable industry (or group of structures) near a track to provide different operational scenarios. These don't encompass having the track itself be removable, so it could be *much* easier to build, and provide some pretty big areas to access that yard lead, even in n scale.  I think I may have locked myself into the TOMA concept where the entire section is a removable piece, not just a portion, so thanks for the mental kick.

JimW
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eastwind Super User 3,607 posts
eastwind

Questions to think about: 

How will the operator know when the switcher is approaching the end of the drill track? 

Are you going to put in some kind of optical detector or video camera, or just assume the lead is going to be 'long enough'? Or maybe have a few inches of dead rail at the end? 

Are you going to put rerailers in the hidden section? 

You can call me EW. Here's my blog index
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Highlandsoft Active Member 32 posts
Highlandsoft

dead zone diodes

I plan on having an short engine-length+ isolated power section at the end of the track that will have a diode in the power feed, so it will be 'dead' for the last bit when pulling cars, but will allow a 'push' operation to get off that isolated area. You'll note this is a DC layout, but if I change to DCC I'd go with the optical sensor and a buzzer. I may add one anyway so I can tell the difference between an engine stalling and it being 'at the end' if the exposed cars at the ladder end where I'm working quit moving.

Using rerailers is a good idea, no reason not too, and it certainly could help -  thanks.

I appreciate these suggestions from everyone.

JimW
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