Suggestions on trackplans

[coppercoastrail]

Any comments or suggestions would be appreciated on my trackplans. The railyards at the towns of Moonta and Wallaroo will be based on original drawings of the yards so I dont want to change this much, if at all. The only exception will be at the Moonta end as prototypically Moonta was an end terminal and I wish to add a continuous loop to join back up to Wallaroo. What do others think of such a large amount of hidden track? Track 'A' has been dropped, track 'B' and 'C' are the prefered trackplans. 'B' has less hidden track but I am not confident that I can create two seperate scenes with the two visible tracks? Go to this address http://www.yp-connect.net/~robvic/trackplan.htm

Checkout the rest of my site also

Regards

Robin S.

 

[Gary Pfeil]

Hi Robin, Let me say first that I think all 3 plans are well thought out. The first makes most efficient use of the space and provides the most mainline run. However the wharf scene in B and C has the potential for a great scene and these plans provide more interesting operation, and it also seems you want the most accurate reproduction possible of the prototype. The only input of any value I can give you is that the hidden trackage need not be a concern, properly laid it should give you no problems. Lay it first and thourougly test it by running trains over it for some time prior to building the level over it. Build some temporary trackage to make a loop so you can run continuous over it though each season so you can be sure heat/humidity won't cause problems. Only after this should you cover it with the next level. I know this delays the construction of the rest of the road, but you won't be able to easily relay this trackage after the top level is in place. This is experience talking here. Keep the hidden trackage along the front edge of the aisle, and you can put some turnouts where they are accessable to have staging there. Enjoy!

Gary

 

[coppercoastrail]

Thanks Gary for your comments. I am in no hurry and would rather take the time to do it right once, hopefully the first time! Makes sense like you say to get the hidden track running faultlessly before moving on to the visible track. What is your opinion on the 2 tracks in 'B' vs the single track in 'C' along the top of the page. Some have suggested that the 2 track scene may not look right. But it does add more interest to that area of the layout. Prototypically the single track will suit better.

Regards,

Robin S.

 

[Gary Pfeil]

Robin, That is purely a matter of your preferance. Valid arguments could be made for either version. Due to the reduced amount of visable mainline trackage in both plans B and C compared to A, I think I would have both tracks visable in that scene. You would have to freelance that scene, unless there is a portion of your prototypes line which was parallelled by another road. Even so, your railroads equipment would be running on that other lines trackage thru that scene. You could make up a story about detouring due to track work or some such thing, or just not worry about it! It is really just up to you. There is a trade off between seeing trains run and open spaces. Only you can decide what is right for you.

Gary