Help needed with Paper mill branch line

[mu26aeh]

Looking for some help here with my paper mill branch line.  I had a drawing done up and set the track, ran a few switching sessions.  I'm just not liking the way it flows.  I have attached the current set up on paper.



Buildings from top to bottom along the wall are Milton A Corp (Pikestuff), 3 Prefab warehouses (Pikestuff), Walthers Superior warehouse, Walthers Kraft Mill, and Walthers machine shop.  I have since acquired a second Superior Paper kit.  I do not have the pikestuff kits.  Trying to figure out a new track and building arrangement.  I want to keep the 3 track yard, and Medusa Cement in the corner.  Planning on using the machine shop as a coal dump/drop.  Just have a "modelers block" , can't get around it. Someone give me a push in a different direction.  The area is rough 2' x 8'

[MichaelWinicki]

OK, when you say "Don't like how it flows" what do you mean precisely?

What challenge(s) is the current setup presenting?

How many trains go into and out of that area of the layout?  How many cars in each train?

What purpose does the one yard track serve?

[Bsklarski]

I would try to do something else than those 3 cross overs. Your going to have to split tracks all the time.

[mu26aeh]

By flow, I guess I mean flow of the plant.  I would like to add coal delivery and either pulpwood or wood chip delivery.  I figure I could bring a train each for the coal and wood product, and then another for switching the warehouses/chemicals and cement plant.  Trains would be anywhere from nothing to 10-12 cars if I call for everything to be switched at once (rarely).

One of the tracks I use to hold extra boxcars, one to hold cars coming in and one to hold the outgoing cars.  Might sound confusing, but it does work out that way.

The crossovers don't really cause splits, they are far enough away from car spots to prevent problems.  I'm thinking of moving the machine shop building to the track that doesn't have anything to it right now, and can eliminate one of them by moving the switch and using that for wood delivery.

[MichaelWinicki]

OK, well it doesn't sound like you're that far off from what you want to achieve... Just a little chang'n and test'n. 

[mu26aeh]

I think another problem I am having is getting the buildings to fit the tracks, whether it be the stock building, or kit bashing.

[Bsklarski]

I would spread some of that out. Lessen the angles of the tracks to the backdrops, not alot but maybe no more than 25 degrees. I Like what you have now, but I would spread it out more along the backdrop. It will make the complex look bigger in the end. What is the chance of moving that cement complex to the inside of the curve to the upper left? Then you can extend that yard a little with a run around cross over at the end.

[LIRR]

What occurs to me is that when trying to switch either or all of the trailing point tracks, and/or maikng a run around move, you would run out of track near the bottom of the plan near the cement plant. It doesn't show what's there and why the bench work ends there, but maybe a fold down extension as a switching lead might help.

[Specter3]

I have seen your threads on this layout over the years and like it a lot. I liked this scene on the angles as it was but if it is troubling you then i have a couple ideas. The main comes in from the rest of the layout but it attaches to the green arrow track which is labled storage. Seems like that could be a easy fix. With a plant of this size i might throw one more storage track on the front side. It would not have to be double ended. You could rotate all the facilities to be served on tracks that would be parallel to the front of the layout. I shot pics of a paper plant in eastern nc last year and it had all of the things you are trying to model. Boxes coming out of the large brick building and smaller metal ones. Tank cars going into a refinery looking ara and wood chips were brought in on trucks with a neat dual stall full truck dump. Many possibilities if you rotate it parallel. I will see if i can find the pics.

[mu26aeh]

Well, I've been playing around with different building setups and came up with a few kitbashes.  Trying to figure out a debarker or something, haven't seen too many examples anywhere.  I'm going this route since I have a few pulp cars, but I was also thinking chips, but I don't have any chip cars.  Still have alot of work to do for the warehouse section, will worry about that later.  Staying at this end of the mill for right now.