Something I have been cooking up for way to long is a small test layout, undergoing a ridicules amount of revisions.
I'm about as far away as I could be from North American industrial railroads IRL, but it has not stopped me discovering interesting locations. Determined to build a urban concrete grain silo, a la Cleveland Flats, I was inspired to come up with this.
It will be my first finescale attempt, long ago I had a British 'door' layout in code 80 track, that sometimes ran American.
I don't intend to run that tight a radius again, it barely worked on some engines
Aiming for 22'' min radius now on visible sections. On some other plans for hidden, I put down 15''. We will see.
Foam is only 10'' wide!
8' 8'' & 5/16' long on the back way x 3' 11'' & 1/4'' on the 'L'. I'm extremely out of practice using imperial units and avoid it where possible
Ugh why is it so blurry?
And I can't attach a Trainplayer file?
Anyrail doesn't allow for data entry for measuring rules, so it's a close a guide as I can draw.
Oh well if anyone can see It I would like some feedback, It's ops based and small rather than micro, using bits of foam and wood I have, gathering experience in using a table saw for the first time. The 'L' isn't really needed but I have the stuff to make it, and it's an excuse for a tiny depot. Because it
will be hand-laid track, I tried to get a switch of every type in for practice. There is no crossing in Anyrail to fit, so its overlaid for now.
The hidden staging simulating an interchange, may well get turned into British sector plate style, with a transfer table at the end. This allows ops with a caboose which adds interest in a compact layout, with totally hands off in the most comfortable chair I can find. Standing is not an option, alas, so anything bigger like around the wall layout will need room to scoot around.
Freight is an emphasis on food production, because I like food and wanted to model grain hoppers.
If I could, I would have a 15'' gauge line IRL connecting all the farms in the county, so I could rail in organic goodness everyday rather than the ordeal of actually going to the supermarket...steam haul organics
It might all change as its worked on. It's not supposed to be a puzzle, but there are built in complications depending on the freight and length. I can get six long modern hoppers in the passing track. Running different rule sets would be interesting, it only needs one switcher, but two would get really busy fast. I am not totally sure about the 'right' way to do it, it appears to work in Trainplayer. Maybe 1/2 hour to 1hour ops?
I thought of throwing in 'wildcars' that only come in special like once a week, keep them all in a separate staging road. It means some shuffling backstage, all done remotely with camera and detectors for decouplers.