Looking good. Couple of things I would recommend are : *Skew the small yard on the right towards the centre, perhaps add another siding. * Move the cross over on the right down further from the original yellow position to the blue. * Lay your single slip so that a train cannot access the small yard directly from the station. This amended plan shows these three points in better detail... You can see I have drawn a green arrow (route) as the direction a train can take from leaving the station. I feel that the red arrow (route) is too short a run, as you can still access the short yard by running a full loop of the layout, entering the yard from the points at the top left. Cheers, Gary.
Hi Gary, really appreciate your feedback and suggestions, here is the latest revision, thoughts? https://platform1mrc.com/p1mrc/index.php?media/screenshot-2023-07-26-060646-v5-1.16148/full
Couple of things to think about... 1. The red track... Does it serve a purpose ? You can still access the yard (orange) via the pink and light pink tracks from the top left. 2. Reverse the points high lighted blue. This will create a loop line to pass trains on, using the pink tracks. 3. Think about de-cluttering the layout. The two yards (yellow and orange) are quite busy for the area/space you have. Consider having more 'negative' space in that area which will allow for more scenery. Consider leaving out the yellow yard. 4. Remove the single slip (purple) and replace it with a left hand point. 5. The green siding to the right, what does it serve ? You could leave this out to gain more negative space. 6. A small industrial siding could be built off the track to the left hand side of the layout (gold). There is an old saying, "less in more". Cheers, Gary.
Hi Gary, The orange Yard is on the upper level and will be an industrial area, The red track allows for access to the lower level yard withoupt the need to reverse the train into the yard. The green siding and platform access is for a local shuttle train, i have modified the plan (again....) to allow it access to the lower yard station. The point on the left rises to the upper level and the second point drops back to the lower level
A few goodies arrived today, breakout boards for the BDL168 block detection boards, the edge connectors with screw terminals for the Tortoise motors and piano wire for the Tortoise motors. A late delivery was the backscene print 300 x 7000 continuous print. More progress with the inclines/declines installed
Well, after some reworking and simplifications and a few changes, I have finalised my plan (I think) https://platform1mrc.com/p1mrc/index.php?media/version-5-4-final.16199/full
Hi mate, I recommend removing the S curves in the two locations shown below. This is the yellow circled area showing the original alignment to to smoother alignment. You can see the blue line has a awkward S curve built into the plan and this is how I would avoid it. The red line shows a smoother alignment. The same applies to the blue circled area. Again, the blue line shows the S curve, whereas the red and green show a smoother alignment. This is a simple fix and it will greatly improve the running qualities too. Cheers, Gary.
Finally settled on the plan! Managed to get the whole plan printed out 1:1on A3 sheets for a very reasonable price. One retailer wanted $5.25 per sheet and there are 65 pages. Called another retailer who said $0.50 per sheet! Emailed the plan to him 30 mins later he emailed back and said the printing is ready to pick up! Great service from Snap printing in Lilydale.
View attachment 40859 Fresh start, I now three levels, with the base level having storage and a fiddle yard, Mid level has the end of a branch line and a goods yard while the top level is a return loop to the mid level. https://platform1mrc.com/p1mrc/index.php?media/base-level.16217/full, View attachment 40859 https://platform1mrc.com/p1mrc/index.php?media/middle-level.16218/full
After a few weeks of procrastination and a crook back, today I plan on making progress and laying/wiring the base level track
Could I suggest taking a look at the link below as it shows diagrams of through stations and branch line teminus stations/yards. This could give you another idea for track planning on that right hand side you are having trouble with. Something to remember when designing your track plan/layout is that in the real world, the more track the more points the (government) railways laid meant more cost, in laying and maintenance. This is why in the real world the track plans are relatively simple. http://www.victorianrailways.net/signaling/completedia/sigdialist.html Cheers, Gary.
Hi Gary, I opted for this plan, allows for goods trains to enter or exit from either direction, break down train/ rebuild train and depart
That plan does look simpler to operate and also offers you the entry/exit as you suggested. I operate in a slightly different manner depending on the direction of the train. This image shows how I operate opposing switches (points). This is closer to prototypical operations where the only run around is only located on the last siding/industry of the branch line. Cheers, Gary.
Good progress yesterday, removing the risers and associated no more nails after some Muppet (me ) didn't weigh them down properly while the glue dried, rookie mistake they all moved and ended up out of alignment. More to do today and hopefully start laying the base level track and wiring as I go.