How did you do those great graphic diagrams?

Nice!

Thanks for sharing!

Joe

Way cool idea. SPSF. Love it.

I really enjoyed seeing your layout.  I especially like the simple track diagrams located around the layout. 

Great to see your posting here Eric!  Your layout looks great!   Even after all our years of trading emails, I think this is the most thorough look I've ever had of it.  Really neat to see how everything has come together!

Thanks, everyone!  The track diagrams were done in PowerPoint.  It gives you a lot of control with inserting graphics, adding text, and track lines are easy to draw.  I just started with a basic size that would fit in a laminating pouch (4"X6") and copied it throughout, then created the track for each one.  I initially struggled with whether to have the industries labeled with text or their logos, but thought that the logos would help show the identity and character of the customer better.  These are loosely based on the diagrams on John Parker's BNSF Fall River Division layout.

Thanks, Joe - I thought you would enjoy this since I have never shown much of the layout to you, just little projects here and there.  I plan to keep adding updates to this blog in the future.

Eric Miller: Modeling the Stockyard Industrial Lead small switching layout in HO Scale
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youtube.com/channel/UC56eO8z_PU1hf5xxo4KSI2Q

A neat concept whose time came and went, without completion. Lack of foresight by "Government Entities". IF it had been a step in BNSF's evolution, Unc Pete would be a second rate RR now! Or maybe it is, and, pathetically just doesn't know it? Food for thought. John Colley, Sonoma, cA

Thank you for the tour. It looks like a lot of fun to operate. I like how you noted plans for large engine facility and plenty of staging tracks, but not needed now. I think many of us have those same decision changes during layout construction and designing operations. 

I also liked the corner where the freeway goes UNDER the tracks. What a great way to get elevations changes on a layout that is modeling some of the flattest portions of the US. 

What challenges does modeling the SPSF bring besides finding enough equipment?  What year(s) are you modeling and how that does that affect operations? 

Looking forward to more posts about you and your layout. Hopefully some video and operations showcase. 

Thomas Gasior

I like it and would like to keep up with your progress.

Really nice Eric Miller, now that we have been tantalized with all those nice pictures it is time for some video with your trains running. I thought it was very interesting that you were keeping a staging yard that was bigger than what you presently need. At the very least you will be able to store extra rolling stock or have new trains that operate instead of rerunning the same ones each session, makes you seem to be a very clever man.