Here's Option 2 with just Ft. Worth and Midland.

OK here's the upper deck.

The bottom left is the helix up from the lower deck. On the lower section is a few industries in Ft. Worth on the KATY line. On the lower side of the island is the stock yards and Swift packing. I know the KATY didn't actualy service that area but I wanted to include it since it's part of Ft Worth History. The rest of the way around will be open country until you get to Wichita Falls on the upper section. Again I've included a reverse loop around the roundhouse instead of a helix back to the lower level. So what do you think?

Anyone got a comment?

The reverse loop introduces "twice through a scene". Babies won't die because of it however many strive for a "once through a scene" plan.

It was either a second Helix on that end or a reverse loop. Not sure what to do about it.

With a reverse loop, I can run the train for a longer period before it's made one complete loop vice going up a second helix and halveing the time.

But like you said, it was going east/West and now it's going West/East.

Instead of having the reverse loop, have it drop under the layout and run over to the helix.  (See what I did with the N.C.O. track plan in last month's issue.)  It would also give you a place to put a staging yard that is " off the layout" to generate traffic to and from distant points.

Is the roundhouse with the turntable tucked in the corner a good idea?  It looks like it may be a stretch to get to it for maintenance. 

Overall a big improvement from the first draft.  Keep refining it and you will have a great layout.

Don

There are no passing sidings on the top deck peninsula.  Makes it reaaaaaaally hard to dispatch.

I would also spread out the industries, having two double sidings 6" from each other and then nothing for 20 feet will look funny.

The line to Witchita Falls was a low volume dead end branch, so a balloon loop is more or less prototypical.  Anything the MKT ran out there would (with the exception of a few interchange cars) come back at some point.  It would be more unprototypical to helix it down to the lower level.

Now if he were modeling the line to Denison and KC, then yes, a helix would be better.  But for his chosen prototype, a balloon loop works.

Still have a single ended tracks in a run through passenger terminal.  

Sill have a freight yard that won't be useable for switching.

Still have no place for the TP freight or passenger trains to go at Ft Worth.

I would suggest putting a small helix down in each blob to a TP staging yard under the layout along the left wall.

At the Ft Worth blob have all the passenger tracks funnel down to a track along the wall that goes behind the existing helix to go down.  Then have a connection that comes off the TP main and goes to the front edge of the helix for the MKT.  Put a dummy MKT main from that connection across the TP main on a diamond and that gives you Tower 55.

Here is my idea for the Tower 55 area

Don, I'll take a look at an under deck yard or return loop but I would like to try and stay away from that as this is a sectional layout and will need to be taken down at times. I think it's going to be hard enough as a double deck sectional but I'll look at it. Maybe a return run behind the back drop may be more doable? I'll see if that may fit in instead. As I said, this is a free standing sectional layout so I'll have access to the back if need be to work on the turntable/roundhouse. Or I can always take that section out to work on it.

Dave, I really do appreiciate your inputs as you seem to be very familiar with this area. One thing of note though is I think you and I are in different era's. Remember, I'm doing the 30's. At that time, from the pictures I have and sanborn maps, all but one line stubended into the station like I have drawn. There was no Hwy 30 going thru town then. Main street still crossed the tracks and did not go under it. Lancaster was called Front street and the mix master was not there. Also the Post Office had not been built yet between the station and freight warehouse. In 1930, they had just started to build the new station and were building the T&P freight warehouse.There was actually 6 stub ended tracks into the station that came from the North and were the KATY. There was a single T&P line that ran E/W and was a thru line. I've tried to depict most of this.

I did not even notice that there was no passing siding on the upper level. I'll put one in. With the 20' between towns, are you talking of the upper deck or rev 2 of the lower deck? I can spread the towns out some to put more room between sidings/industries but I was trying add in some open scenery bewteen the towns. Or should I stick with rev one of the lower deck and maybe see if I can spread out Wichita Falls or put in another town between them on the upper deck?

Thanks for the drawing, that really helps explain it a lot. I'll see what I can do with it. I'd still like to try and stay away from a thrid deck under the layout. As for the T&P yard, can you point me in a direction to see how a yard is layed out? I'm not familiar as to how the yard operates and the sanborn maps I have are fague in that area as far as track layout is concerned as there were no buildings around there so no maps. I don't really understand the run around track etc.

Thanks everyone for your inputs.