Version 1.01

The PPNL is based out of Plainville, CT and is a shortline whose main revenue generator is automotive.  The Gregoryville Auto Terminal is located at the "westernmost" end of the shortline's track and is broken up into a double siding for sorting loads and empties, an unloading yard where vehicles are driven off into the [off scene] storage parking lot, and a storage yard where empty autoracks are kept in between transfer runs to and from Hannah Yard (main yard to the left) in Plainville.

Heading "east" from Gregoryville, the mainline snakes through the town of Bristol prior to reacing Hannah Yard.  continuing "east", the mainline travels through the towns of New Britain (upper left) and Berlin (area above helix, which spans two rooms) in upper left corner).  Berlin Industrial Associates (BIA) contains two rail-served industries that are also vital customers to the PPNL.

Some thoughts on widening aisles

If you move the storage yards on the right down about a foot you could bend the center peninsular to the right thus widening the left choke point.

Also, relocating the curved turnout in the lower right closer to the scenic divider you could add a few inches to the 30 inch wide aisle.

Staring at the trackplan

Staring at the trackplan for the past hour, I came up with a few "solutions" which may improve operability.  Doc, I'll be taking your advice in shifting things around.  First and foremost, the "east" benchwork (top of diagram) will be reduced from 30" to 20" allowing the peninsula to be lenghtened some - bending it to the right, as you suggested, will also eliminate those choke points.  Also, I'll be moving the unloading yard up a bit, widening the peninsula it sits on in the process.  In doing so, I can relocate the engine track (noted with an adjacent rectangle) in between the two yards as seen on the prototype East Brookfield & Spencer, making for a more compact scene.  Lastly, I can also reduce the width of the entire auto terminal's benchwork at least 6" which will not only improve accessibility to the lower level, it will enable me to adjust the position of the peninsula.

I'm wondering how the general feel of the layout, thus far, appeals to those with experience.  I think I could increase the aisle widths slightly without sacrificing too much layout space but I'm weary of doing so.  I have a mile-long list of improvements that I will attempt to do tonight.

-Johnny

Version 1.2 - Updated Yard and Peninsula

OK, so here goes Round 2 and I think I might be getting there but there is still much I am not happy with.  For one, I don't like the general flow of the yard, especially at the bottom end where I have to take the main in order to get to another track.  I tried fitting in a lead but I couldn't make it work with the tight radii entering the peninsula.  Fortunately, only one train works the mainline over the peninsula so there will hardly ever be a time where a local will interrupt switching duties.  Any suggestions here?  The pinwheel yard design proved to be efficient but what I made up in track length I lost in operability as it's near impossible to add crossovers in the lower half of the yard.

Taking Doc's advice, I shifted the peninsula to the right a bit and shortened the auto terminal's storage yard which increased the aisle width to something a bit more desirable.  I also decreased the width of the upper benchwork which will now allow me to access the industries on top of the helix.  How does this look to you guys?  Are there any chokepoints that I am missing?

The upper portion of the trackplan represents the "eastern" portion of the upper level prior to entering the helix.  Residing on top of the helix is the Berlin Industrial Associates complex in which ClarkDietrich and Firestone Building Products are tenants.  The tentative plan is to have half to 2/3rds of the helix inside the train room with the remaining portion displayed in the other room  This is chiefly due to the location of the sewer cleanout which is just around the 16' mark from the southern (left) wall.  I sort of haphazardly threw this area together as I couldn't really work out a better way to make the tracks and industry leads fit.  Working with the simulator, I found it was very challenging to switch out these two industries and I will definitely make use out of my plan to run double-ended power!

I'm satisfied with everything from the Gregoryville Auto Terminal (far right) to the "west" (bottom) end of Hannah Yard (far left).  All the industries fit well along the peninsula and I gained a bit of mainline running as well.  For clarification, the Bristol Running Track (mainline from the bottom of the yard to the auto terminal) begins to climb a gradual grade where it will pass over itself on the other side of the scenic divider coming into the Gregoryville Siding.  After running the simulator for a while, I didn't notice any major flaws except for swapping cars at the auto terminal which, as it turns out, is a very delicate ballet between the PPNL and the industrial line that works the facility.

So, what do you think?  As I mentioned, I'm not really sure where to go with the upper area and I'm not really happy with how the local Plainville industries got "thrown in" against the wall - I had a much grander plan for these, especially because they are a stone's throw away from my home.

Thanks in advance for your comments!

Comments? Suggestions?

Anyone have any comments or suggestions for me? 

I'm going to be sitting down tonight to rework a few details but I'm struggling to find a better layout for my main yard. I think I have an idea for the upper left corner and I'll try to fit that in tonight. 

I started the lower level design but it's slow going as my vision is not as clear as it was for when I was working out the upper deck.

I also want to incorporate a third level, below the lower level, that will strictly be reserved for staging.  This will represent interchange with four foreign roads plus a few trains that serve customers "off scene".  I have yet to really work out how this will be accessed but I'm toying with a "stacked helix" or just a long, steep grade starting off the helix on the lower level with all staging/fiddle yards on the peninsula so that I can reverse trains.

Pretty Intense Johnny

Looks like you have done quite alot of planning! looks good to me so far. I will try to give you some feedback when i get more of a chance to study youre plan. Bye the way it was cool talking to you last night. looking foward to meeting you. Cliff. PS.   p&w just went by 14 gondolas. not sure what they were hauling.

Latest and Greatest

OK, I skipped a version in between, making this Version 1.4.0.  The major reworked areas, as you can see, are Hannah Yard which now includes an engine terminal that will be a close replica of Providence & Worcester's Plainfield, CT shops (not to be confused with Plainville, CT).  The two tracks to the right allow power to be stored under a shed-like structure with no doors and the other two tracks will be the maintenance area (this is the spray booth on the prototype). I have yet to test run the yard but this is the least complex design I've rendered thus far and can only imagine it will be easier to work than previous versions.

I also decided that the Plainville industries (AmeriGas and Forestville Lumber) weren't ever going to line up like the prototype so I plopped them on either side of the electrical panel out of convenience.  Also moved is JJ Concrete & Masonry (F&F Concrete is the prototype) which now resides in the upper left corner.  This fits much better here and allowed me to keep the engine facility in "Plainville" as opposed to "New Britain" which is where it would've wound up in the last version.  The two tracks within the facility are used for storage and unloading, respectively, while the rightmost track which goes off the layout represents the actual defunct Canal Line (Forestville Lumber and AmeriGas, along with a scrap metal dealer, are the last three customers on the prototype line in Plainville).

I reworked the Forestville Siding which accesses several industries along the left side of the center peninsula.  In testing the old version, I found that it was nearly impossible to switch out each customer with the given space.  The revision separates each customer onto three distinct tracks with a single siding that *hopefully* will prove to be a superior design over my last.

Last, but definitely not least, I measured both utilities in the basement again as I realized something didn't look right and the first three versions were based off of rough dimensions.  The electrical panel, although now wider, was not as much as an issue; the gas meter is a killer: as you can see, I had to shift the trackwork up a good 8" to compensate for the meter which sticks out 13.5" from the wall.  I found that there is adequate space behind the meter to run a train but I'd like to keep as much electricity as I can away from the combustible gas 

Please let me know what you think as I'm ready to call it a day on the upper level and start working on the, less complicated, lower level.  What do you think about the yard?  How do you think the general flow of the layout is thus far?  Is it too cluttered?!?!?  Any comments will be greatly appreciated.

Can you hear me now?

Also, can you read the industry labels?  I just realized I have a massive monitor with high resolution and some of you may not have that capability.  If you can't read it, I'll try to post sections of the layout, focusing on key points of interest.

Thanks!

Two things

#1) Very nice Plan you should have a great many years of fun just building it and operating it by yourself.

#2) I see some posts wanting you to widen your isles. In my opinion, isles 24 inches wide is more than plenty of room for a one man operation which many model railroads are.

I have been building model Railroads for more than 50 years and many of my railroads have had one or two isles as narrow as 18 inches as just access not for standing in or operating from. Myself I find there are two types of isles the operating Isle which I find 36 inches minimum to be perfect. The second type isle can be as narrow as 18 inches when used for just access to fix a derailment or even while building track work & scenery but I wouldn't try doing any jumping jacks in those super narrow isles.

I know a few people that never have any visitors or op-sessions ever. They keep their RR totally private and normally don't let anybody into to their private model railroad world except to show a very trusted friend like myself what they have built. In these private railroads I have had the pleasure to see some of the finest models I have ever had the privilege to view.

As for the track plan you have shown this will be great fun to build, detail and operate, As far as operations, if you plan to be the only operator or maybe have just a single friend or family member join you once in a while to run trains then your isle space is adequate. I wouldn't want to have more than a single friend trying to operate trains with your narrow isles and your plan does look like you have the room to widen them and could have isles as wide as 42 inches which will make moving through safer and make it much less likely to knock a train on the floor with a misplaced elbow of loose clothing. 

If this plan is for you own personal enjoyment and you have no plans of bringing in people to help you operate it then I wouldn't change anything as it looks to be a sound plan with lots of operating options.

Dan

Aisles

Dan, thanks for the comments and I'm glad to see you like the plan so far! It barely compares to others I have seen but I attempted to utilize the best design features I've found such as keeping tracks at an angle to the fascia and having plenty of yard space.

I forgot to bring up the layer in XtrackCAD with the aisle dimensions when printing but they have not changed from the previously posted plan.  I do see what you mean about being able to widen the aisles somewhat; I can definitely take a few inches away from the Plainville and Forestville benchwork as well as chip away at the Gregoryville's width. But, as you guessed, I will be the sole operator 90% of the time and the other 10% will either be my fiance or a close friend so ~30" isn't going to be an issue most of the time.

I am still toying with the idea of making this a double-decked layout with the joining helix under Berlin (track along upper wall connects to helix, not shown on current layer).  I feel, though, that this single level may be more than enough for me to build and keep my occupied for the next few years.  If I nix the lower level from the plan, I would, at the very least, like to include a large staging yard to represent traffic from the southeastern section of the PPNL as well as interchange with three other railroads. 

As there isn't much room beyond the Berlin section, I'll probably have to utilize a helix, regardless, to access a staging area located under the main deck. So, from personal experience, would it be wise to "keep it on the level" and leave the plan as-is or "go big or go home" and build the lower level as well as staging?

Thanks!

Just a couple thoughts

Johnny,

Since you were so kind to offer ideas for my track plan, I feel I should offer ideas for you.  Let's start with the "go big or go home" concept.  I have a similar space to yours, just a bit shorter (5' to be exact).  Originally I was going to put staging under the layout, in fact I was already building the helix.  I'm not opposed to having one, but I really want to keep it simple so to speak.  I don't think I'll enjoy it any less.

Where is the entrance to your train room?

Here are my ideas:

• Stay one level.
• Turn Gregoryville into staging.
• Move Forestville to the top of the layout and turn the old area into a scenery only area.  (This will increase the feel of distance between your towns/cities.)
• If the entrance to your room is at the bottom, think about removing the helix/turnback loop and coming down the right wall effectively making the layout point-to-point.  I might even move Forestville to the right wall/side and make the top another scenic element.  You could still keep the corner fairly deep and keep the industry there, just access it from the right wall.  You'll want a runaround in the city on the right wall so the engine can pull the train back home, not push it.
• I might dump New Britian.

These are just some ideas if are good with a switching layout.  You'd end up with staging, Bristol, ​Plainville, Forestville/Berlin.  Based on what you have here, even with the changes I suggested, I'd be thrilled to come over and operate on it.

Good luck!

Ryan

The entire state wishes we could dump New Britain!

aaaaaaannnnnddd apologies to anyone who grew up/currently lives there

Ryan, thanks for the suggestions!  You make several valid points that I'll have to consider during my next revision. And, once construction is well underway, you're more than welcome to take a trek out and operate the PPNL with me.

The layout entrance is visible, but not defined, in the track plan.  The gap between Berlin and the Gregoryville peninsula is about where I'll be locating the door to the room.  I wanted the entrance to be located in the lower right corner where the stairs come down but I didn't want to force the placement of a duck(crawl)under or the dreaded lift/swing bridge.  The upper, left and bottom sections of the layout run along the foundation; the right section, Gregoryville, runs alongside a staircase.

When I first started layout planning for another fictional railroad (one that will be built in a future home with a larger space) I was deeply interested in running long trains with vast scenic vistas.  As I became more and more aware of operations and their potential, the vistas were paved over to make way for factories and industrial parks!  After all, trees don't generate revenue! I can definitely say, after operating on my other layout, that operations flat-out won over scenery and long unit trains.  I will eventually have a CC/WB system established for the many industries.  I'll also be modeling a modern-day team track (Washington Multimodal Services).

I should clarify a few key points to my layout.  This is a rough proto-freelance based out of hilly central Connecticut.  Aside from Gregoryville, all the towns on the layout are real and are in their true geographic positions (Forestville is a section of Bristol which borders Plainville).  Of course, that means I can place Gregoryville anywhere I'd like and, in fact, the original plan was to place it on a peninsula which ran horizontally across the room under where NB and Berlin currently reside.  Also, NB is only there to drive home the geographic sense of the layout and really serves no other purpose.

Gregoryville only exists to house an auto unloading terminal - an element that is important for me to incorporate.  Going by your suggestion, Ryan, I could very well place it along the upper wall but then I would lose the long, slow-moving auto train snaking its way through rural CT and stopping up traffic! (Nearly every grade crossing in my area is flagged which takes more time and drives motorists crazy!)  It would free up a lot of space for staging, however.

The prototype Highland Line runs from Amtrak's Hartford-Springfield corridor in Berlin through the towns of Plainville, Bristol, Terryville, Plymouth and Waterbury where it joins up with another line.  Through most of Bristol (including Forestville) and Terryville, there are the reminders that the railroad once fed nearly every industry in the area.  If you follow the line on Google or Bing (love bird's eye view!) you can see that the line runs along a few dozen old industries that are relatively close to one another.  I wanted to recreate the feel of the Good ol' Days by having many of these industries open their doors once more with the arrival of a well-operated and responsive shortline railroad that would cater to their manufacturing needs.

Like you, I think I'll be exploring the route of maintaining a 2-3 turn helix in order to access virtually unlimited staging under the layout.  Of course, if I do decide to add a lower level, staging will have to be placed under that which will set it a mere 28" off the floor!  There is another option: extend staging only into the other half of the basement.  This way, staging can be open to operators and can easily be accessed by trains on either level.

Thanks for the suggestions!  Keep 'em coming!

Minor Tweaks

Without killing myself over this, I shrank the benchwork in a few key areas that didn't require me to move tracks around.  The mainline near Redstone Mfg in Bristol will have to be reworked slightly in order to decrease the benchwork width giving me a total of 34 1/2" of aisle space between Bristol and Gregoryville.  I also decreased Plainville's benchwork slightly as I want to keep the multimodal terminal open for a paved transloading lot.

I also shifted tracks 1-3 in Hannah Yard (right - left from fascia) up several inches after I had to double over a 15 car + 2 loco train during testing.  The shift allowed me to fit the entire train and then some in tracks 1 and 2 which will act as the arrival tracks during ops (the left side of the yard will be for outbound blocks with no dedicated departure track).

I'm still on the fence about building the lower deck but I feel myself leaning towards a single level as a quick cost analysis puts me back roughly $1200 just for track, including turnouts (I'll be handlaying these with a Fast Tracks jig) on the upper deck.  This doesn't include the helix which will suck up at least another $150 in track.  Having the lower level will clearly add an immense amount of operability but the investment in time and money may outweigh these benefits.

I like the direction the

I like the direction the changes are taking you, Johnny. Have you thought about how you will hide the spots where the track vanishes on the LH side of the center peninsula and then reappears?

A few...

There are two tunnels along the prototypical Highland Line - one under I-84 between New Britain and Plainville and the other, aptly named the Terryville Tunnel, between Bristol and Terryville (a section of Plymouth, CT).  Although geographically inaccurate, I could very well model one of these tunnels "out of place" but I'm also exploring a few other ideas.  One is to build Melnick Metal Works in a way that completely hides the track on the lower wall, coupled with some densely-set trees and underbrush.  Coming out on the peninsula is a bit trickier but, prototype to the rescue, I could mimmic one of the myriad road bridges which cross the line.  #1 on that list is the route 177 crossing (N. Washington St) in Plainville which borders Forestville.  Again, a little out of spec, geographically speaking, but close enough to make me feel comfortable with it.

I've given it some thought but your post just now made me realize this is something I'll have to deeply consider and work into my plan. Thanks for the comment!

Utilities clearance/access

You might want to consider contacting your utility company(ies) about their rules for accessing the electrical panel and gas meter.

Usually, electrical panels are required to have enough clearance in front of them to allow an electrician to stand and work on the wiring in the panel.

Same thing for the gas meter, plus they will want access once a month to read the meter (unless your utility company is switching over to remote-reading meters. 

And then there is always the question of needing to get to the panel or gas meter to quickly shut them off in case of an emergency...

Regards

Chuck Lee

Utilities

Hey Chuck,

Yeah, these have been riding me since the begining.  This whole project is on hold until the furnace is converted over from oil to gas and, when that happens, I'm going to look into how much it'll be to move the gas meter into the corner where it isn't as much in the way.  At the moment, both utilities sit well above the upper level and neither will have layout structures in front of them.  Also, when it comes time to put hammer to nail, I'll devise a "quick access" panel so that the electrical panel can be reached immediately in case of emergency. This will probably consist of a "drop" panel that, when slight pressure is applied, it will detach and fall to the floor behind the layout, exposing the panel.  For the gas meter I'm just making sure the two shutoffs - one for the pipe coming out of the foundation and the other neaer the top of the meter - are exposed at all times.  The gas company has already invested in remote readings so I don't have to worry about that, thank goodness.

But you bring up a valid point and, before I begin this project, it would be well worth my time to see what - if any - regulations are in place. 

Thanks for the suggestion!

Lower Level Version 1.01

Aside for some very minor tweaks to the upper level, I feel that it's pretty solid and, after running the simulator, looks like operations are pretty smooth.  The yard may need some work before its 100% finalized and still and the Multimodal Yard isn't exactly what I wanted but I'm happy overall.

Here is my next installment: The Lower Level.  

The modeled portion represents a short section of the Rose Line (from the helix to the throat of Holly Hock Yard) and the Casino Line which runs south from the eastern throat of HHY along the Thames River into Winthrop Park Yard in New London (named so because the prototype line passes by Mohegan Sun casino in Uncasville, Montville, CT).  Since there is inadequate space to model the entire line as planned, the towns in between Berlin and Norwich were left out namely because, with the exception of Middletown, there is zero rail activity in these towns.

My initial plan included New London as a bustling port city scene with a modest yard and a Northeast Corridor and I-95 flyover through the middle of the yard.  Since selective compression wasn't cutting it, and I needed a staging yard, I decided to model New London as a staging yard with no scenery details.  This will work for my purposes but the staging yard appears to be useless as I need a better way to turn power.  Need help here for sure!

Some of the largest industries served by the PPNL are along the southeastern route.  These industries include a Home Depot distribution center, a wire manufacturer (upper left corner) as well as a plywood and veneer manufacturer (peninsula) and a structural steel distributor (lower left).  The latter will be the most complicated scene on the entire layout as it will require three wide gantry cranes to unload steel beams and rail from bulkhead cars into the storage yard.

I placed three extra sidings around this part of the layout just to toy with the empty space but I'm undecided as to whether or not to add more switching and, therefore, more cluttered scenes.  I'm sure at least one will eventually be occupied with one of the several "leftover" industries that I have in my proposal.  These include a brick mfg., a bakery (accepts a single covered hopper on a monthly basis), an appliance mfg. and a storage facility.  The latter may tie into the multimodal yard which will then be relocated from the upper level to the blank area on the right side of the peninsula.  This may offer more visual interest to this area as Atlantic Plywood (peninsula) turned out to be a lackluster scene for me (check out the prototype Atlantic Plywood on Bing in E. Providence, RI at the intersection of Noyes Ave & Bourne Ave and you'll see what I mean).

Please offer your comments & criticism as the lower level, for some reason, was much more difficult to design and I suspect this is due to the fact that I moved a lot of industries from their true geographic locations which, for me, is throwing me off a bit.  Ahh, the joys of design and planning!L 

Electric panels and another comment

My recollection is they want 3' clear in front of an electric panel. I don't know if having the layout below the panel level would make it kosher in the eyes of the county inspectors... If you're adventurous you could call the county building department and ask. I'd recommend doing it anonymously.

My other comment was that the new, improved, Berlin area looks like it might not have enough clearance over the helix the way the new spurs are laid out -- unless you run uphill from the turnout on the main and gain an 1" to 1-1/2" of extra elevation...

Looks like it should be interesting to run though.

Charlie

3' Clearance

Charlie, thanks for the comment!

For the sake of my layout, I'm hoping you're wrong on the 3' clearance as this will totally scrap it!  I'm going to do some research today to confirm the clearance in front of the panel and report back with my findings.  The "report" may be nothing more than a string of expletives if I get the bad news I now expect.  In any case, thank you for pointing this out to me as I was concerning myself with access to the panel rather than the town's building code.  If I'm forced to start over, the PPNL will be nothing but a mere shadow of its present self...

Good observation on Berlin!  I don't know exactly how the helix is going to sit at the moment as I don't trust XTrackCAD's measurements which differs greatly from my original math.  Berlin will be a "played by ear" arrangement until the helix is in its final, physical position.  This isn't ideal but the current trackplan allows for the mainline to descend 1 1/2" prior to reaching the helix and the siding for the BIA complex to ascend just over 1" which, when combined should be more than adequate to clear the first spiral of the helix.  I'm going to focus more on the helix once I get closer to construction time.

Great points and, again, thank you!

Typical Load Center Placement Requirements in US <600V

3' open space in front of a panel

6-1/2' max height of main cutoff

30" open space width (includes box width)

Door must be able to open 90 degrees

Permanent footing in workspace

Now in English...

Thanks for the confirmation, Alan! 

After the post this morning I did some research and found similar literature on the subject.  Alan, I've seen your work, and can therefore safely surmise you know your way around electricity!  I know what the code states but, in practice, what does this mean for a table, in this instance a layout, placed under the panel?  The only part that will actually "interfere" with the opening of the door is a removable section of backdrop that will be no different operationally than if you installed the panel in a cabinet to disguise its presence (which I've read to be acceptable practice).  Otherwise, it will be easily accessible from the aisle without the use of a step stool.

With that being said, am I still breaking electrical code even though the panel will be fully accessible in the case of an emergency?

Thanks!

Likely, but not for sure

No one but your local inspector can answer your question. Every inspector has his own take on the rules and many municipalities amend the rules.

The intent is to make it safe for a person to access and work on the panel whether that be routine work or in an emergency situation. Primarily for routine work since if power needs to be cut by first responders they will pull the meter, not flip circuit breakers.

Just be safe in whatever you do. Use common sense. Make the panel accessible with minimum hassle. Make sure the panel door can be opened completely. Don't put anything in front of the panel that is permanent or semi permanent, unusually heavy, or can't be moved easily by a single person.

I'll be making a phone call,

I'll be making a phone call, then, to my local inspector just to be certain.  Thank you for your input, I'm glad this all came up now and not this time next year when I start cutting wood!

Phone call pending, let's get back to the trains!  Now, as for the lower level track plan: your comments/suggestions will lead me to determine whether or not I should include a modeled lower lever. I still would like to include the helix for staging access... but, at that point, I may as well put a small scene... and if I add this here then I can put in this industry... but then there's all this open space here, so... OK, I'm on the fence and one leg is about to drop on the double-deck side. 

The two biggest expenses (money, time) are my only determining factors.  Money is always an issue but not as pressing as time.  Am I going to be in this house for the next 5 years? Most likely, yes.  10 years? Maybe. 15 years?  Eh, ok now that's pushing it.  Not that this is a huge layout, but I suspect the benchwork and major track laying (mains, helix, at least one yard) will take at least a year to accomplish.  After that's out of the way the wiring, industrial structures (with a good portion scratch built), then scenery... Will I get to enjoy this layout before I have to tear it down for a move?

So that's my question.  I have the time to dedicate to the hobby so it's more a matter of will it be worth it?