This could be the plan !
You have seen all my other plans, and I have never been this excited. I have already been down in the room chalking up heights and visulaising the plan.
Now, onto plan six. This one basically uses the same idea as the Maumee route, in that the layout is a helix, so when the track returns to the orginal spot in the room, it has risen enough to become the second deck.
I also intended to use some stub ended staging in this plans, as secondary staging to complement the main return loop ones. I get the operational benefits of several junctions with little impact on hiding them.
This plan extends this in having a continous loop on the lower level that shares the main staging yard. This means I can use the lower level long before the upper levels are finished. Operationally it makes my options wide open. A fellow layout designer like the notion od double ended staging on a loop (Cat Mountain style). Well I can use the idea, and my reversing loop as well.
I'm back to two simple decks. I had to work on the heights because of the unchangeable height in the main room, under the far wall under tha bench. The lower staging yards are quite low - but not a problem as there will be no switching. The station "D" may a bit low, as is the track from "B" to "D". but I'm happy with them as the upper deck is quite spaced apart. Don't forget the sunroom is 170mm lower thean the main room, and the laundry room is 280mm higher than the main room. Getting the levels right and making sure the deck spacing makes and breaks a plan (plan 5 suffered this fate).
There are 5 stations, a large one, two smaller ones, and the intermediate one, plus the branch terminus. This plan also keeps the track in one scene for most of the layout, except in the sunroom on the upper deck. But that upper decks has a big height variation and seperation of track.
The plan easily allos the lower deck to be built. Indeed for some it would be all the railway they need. I am also planning it to be built in stages. From the lowest to highest level the railway will gradually grow. Passing loops will form the basis for the stations.
Now to some detail on the plan.
- A - Lower return loop staging
- B - MAIN STATION, this is the biggest station on the layout.
- C - 3 track stub ended staging
- D - The smallest mainline station. The station generates alot of intermodel traffic
- E - Passing loop
- F - Continuous loop connection back to "A"
- G - Passing loop
- H - Industrial/Mine spur.
- i - Grain siding /Wye ( part of "J" station control.
- J - A busy junction station, but not that big. The p[asing loop os at one end of the station.
- K - Future extension to the garage.
- L - 3 track stub ended staging
- M - The second biggest station on the layout, still being s 5 track yard with a turning wye within the yards.
- N - Passing loop, serving the oil sidings
- O - Oil spur.
- P - A small branch terminus station.
- Q - Passing loop
- R - Upper return loop staging
Contruction:
Stage 1
- It will start with the lower staging as far as "B".
- The track from "B", then to "C" would be built
- The track from "B", then to "D" would be built
- The cintinuous track back to "A", via "F" would be built.
- The track to "J" would be built
- The track to "K" would be built
- The track from "J" to "M would be built
- The track from "M" to "L would be built
- The branch to "O" would be built
- The track to "P" would be built
- The track to "Q" would be built
- From "Q" the upper staging will be built
| These plans are "artist's impressions" of the actual plan. They are not scale. I still use paper, pen and a weird colour legend for my plans, so these plans were shot with a digital camera, ported into Paint Shop Pro 3 & 5 and drawn on etc. So they are not scale ! |
Plan description.
In all sized pictures, yuo will find the height of the track. for clarity all measurements are in milimeters, and are consistent on all plans. - note any measurement in the sun room should have 170mm added, as the floor is 170mm lower !!( I didn't add that in so to confuse one)
You will also notice the aisle widths as well.
The layout starts in the sunroom (left hand room on plan). The lower staging yards "A" are a reverse loop with two single sidings - one for a railmotor, the other for the XPT. There are 6 tracks on the reverse loop. This section is built at the lowest point on the railway. It has to pass through a hole in the brick wall to the sun room. here
The mainline enters the scenic portion in the sun room at the siding door end.
The track is immediatly into "B", as the lagest station on the railway.At the
other end of "B" is a branch to the stub ended staging "C", just through the doorway.
The begins a up grade,heading into the main room via the doorway. It transverses the peninsular and through what I call my tribute to one of the older verisons od Cat Mountain, the picture in a older MR has a black GP7 with white tiger strips crossing a bridge situated in a S bend - a scene I hold as one of THE photos of inspiration.
The station "D" is reached and we thenr each a junction at the other end that will eventually lead back to "A". This track is now over the stub ended "C" staging.
The mainline slowly climbs to "G" (to allow the upper deck enough clearance), and to a single spiral with a passing loop within. The line heads under the stairs and though a hole in the wall back into the sun room, now well above "B".
the line climbs to "H" - a mining siding that can employ a dedicated shunter. We pass though a tunnel and then into "a WYE junction at "i". The mainline curves into the main room into "J". The other leg of the WYE serves the grain silo and the extension to the garage. This extension may have a train staged on it during operating sessions, or act as a shunting lead for "i".
"J" has it's passin loop out of town as the line rises again. We pass into another tunnel that hides this mianline, and the stub ended "L" staging. Above this is "P" - the branch termninus, more on that line later.
The manline has the branch from "L" join it as they ease into "M". "M" is easily the second busiest station on the line. There is alot of shunting in the yard, along with the turning WYE in the yards.
As we leave "M" we see the branch to "P" leave on a tighter radius. The bramch then reverses back on itself into "N", with the oil siding "O", with another WYE for interesting shunting. The branch then heads up grade and curved through the storage/washing machine bay and over the aisle ( above "J") and down into the terminus at "P"
The mainline meanwhile rises and heads back into the sunroom through another hole in the wall. The line now heads up with only the passing loop at "Q" before we reach the start of the upper staging at "R"
Never to stop thinking, here is a small update to the plan 6. It shows a cross section down the main aisle, from "M" at one end, to "B" down in the Sun room.
Note the blue background is like what you would see looking directly at the railway. The side views are still show yellow. At the left hand end of the blue, this is the end of the backdrop, as we are on a peninsular. You can clerly see the effects of the slightly lower Sun Room in how it affects deck heights. That Tunnel moth you can see just on the wall near "J" is that branch line that crosses the aisle.
More thoughts ( 27th Febuary 2002 )
What might bother me about the plan, when I decide to list some"problems" ? The answer is , well nothing - just sharing my ideas on areas that might cause concerns. I still think I have the plan.
- The Passing loop "G" may be eliminated as I may raise all the trackwork from the staging yards etc to make the lower level more inviting - since it is low after it leaves "B" and enters the main room. However, this section is not a station, and it rises enough to "D". Because the sun room is 170mm lower, it's height is acceptable.
- The Stub ended staging at "C" may actually be under "D", with the track going down under "D" then curving around 180 degrees to the staging that would actually be under the pain track from "B" to "D"
- The Wye and yards of "N" & "O" may be simplified to allow easier access to this area
- That duckunder at "i" & "J" could be a head hurter - I do wish it to be on a hindged flap.
- That small duckunder from the terminus "P" to "N" does not seem to be a problem ,but I think it will be high enough. The grade from "N" towards this may be steeper than the mainlione as well, but there will be no lengthy train running that way, so small is okay !
- Having the sliding door with two levels in front may seem to be a problem, but I rarely use it now, but still the areas will have hindged flaps (the lower one raising up, the upper down)
- I am thinking of putting in a 3 track double ended staging on the hidden line from "F" to "A" - to allow for better movements, so not to tie up the main staging for this "alternate destination"
- There are only 3 holes in the load bearing wall, and all are on one side. This is better than many of the other plans which had 5! The holes will be cut up, and reinforced with square steel. The holes will be large enough for the trains( with very generous clearances).
This plan is not set in concrete nor is it gospel. It is a working idea as to what to do. That means whle I may follow the plan to a point, I may just decide to change something. The station layouts may be altered alot, as this layout is built. The benchwork may differ and some areas will look quite diferent than what I have visulaised here. Even the electrocnic and electrics will differ ( though they will evolve not start out complex).
Stay tuned....