Jul
23
Layout 5.0 - Current Layout, For Now…
Filed Under Layout Design
Layout 5.0 is the result of hundreds of interim layout changes, what-if’s, and will-it-fit. I struggled long and hard to come up with a layout that had a little bit more scenic opportunities… eliminating the center peninsula blob while still providing a method to reverse long trains, *and* to add some off-layout staging.
I ended up positioning the reversing loop on the lower staging level, and located it in a corner to minimize its impact on the around-the-walls layout. The track leading to the lower level has a 2.6% grade. I was amazed at the amount of linear track footage that would be needed to drop to my desired lower elevation, while keeping the grade to about 2.5% maximum. In the main trackplan below, the light purple colored track is the start of the decline, and stops at a point where the train would be below the level of the benchwork top. In the lower level image below, the cyan colored track picks ups from this point and continues down to an interim level for the reversing loop, which is shown as dark purple track. After the reversing loop, the decline continues down a bit more [again in cyan], until it reaches the desired lower elevation for the staging tracks, shown in dark green.
Because I am still trying to shoehorn in a ton of scenery and commercial / industrial customers, I ended up going back to having the layout cut across the center of the room. This gave me enough room to properly put in a citrus packing house, box plant for the packing house, and a reasonable [read: acceptable compromise] length icing platform that would hold multiple reefers. I also had enough room to include a portion of a citrus orchard to further solidify the citrus theme.
The curves are all 072 or 084. All of the turnouts are now 072. This layout does provide for continuous running, while allowing for some pretty good switching operations for setting out / picking up freight cars. The lower staging also provides a place for trains to disappear for awhile, and then reappear later to give the perception that it is a part of a much larger railroad. I also was able to futher this even more by including a non-functional junction to simulate an interchange with another railroad.
This layout still has some significant downsides from my perspective. Not only do I have a Lift Up / Swing Down bridge to access the center of the layout, I ended up adding a second Lift Up / Swing Down / Swing Out section to tie the center area to both of the short ends of the layout. My aisle clearance has not improved either.
While Layout 5.0 is getting closer, it still is not 100% or close enough for me to be willing to start cutting and assembling benchwork. I may end up coming back to this layout, but I want to take another run at correcting or minimizing these two shortfalls. My dilemma has not changed much… how to fit in a method to reverse a train 13′ to 15′ long in a minimal amount of space, while not resorting to a “blob” peninsula, or using curves tighter than 072, or ending up with a track plan that looks ridiculous.
Again, the images below are thumbnails that will open a larger image.
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