PRR/Conrail Juniata Division Engineering Report

[DKS]

Snow day, so hunkering down to stay warm. Decided to tinker: did a little Bing Map survey of Huntington and tried to make the plan more true to the source. The comment about the river inspired featuring it more prominently in the "negative space" area. Also tweaked the 4-track bridge and threw a dart at the map to pick a locale. Just a bunch of mindless fun, really.



Edit: Noticed the other posts. I can re-jig it with sectional, but I do think it would have to be a mix with flex to get the sweeping curves. I'll check the Enola module to see what switches it will provide, and tally up the remainder required.

[Scottl]

Love it. The river side will give lots of scenic opportunities.

Staging is my only concern  with this layout design.  There is potentially storage for four trains in the "staging", but is that enough?  I don't know the answer to this but I wonder if some contingency for off layout storage in cassettes or the like might be considered?  My own limited experience suggests there is never enough storage, and I model a single era!

[conrail98]

Love it. The river side will give lots of scenic opportunities.

Staging is my only concern  with this layout design.  There is potentially storage for four trains in the "staging", but is that enough?  I don't know the answer to this but I wonder if some contingency for off layout storage in cassettes or the like might be considered?  My own limited experience suggests there is never enough storage, and I model a single era!

Without seeing it in the room, one could possible put a 4-6" shelf on the staging side and curve it into the corner giving 2-4 more tracks of staging with all being stub-ended,

Phil

[DKS]

Here's a sectional version. Bright red parts are flex.

Enola switch tally: the two curved are utilized. Unfortunately, the yard is right-switch heavy: 13 R and 3 L, while the plan calls for 7 each L and R.

[Dave V]

Very, very nice.

During the PRR years, just railroad west of JC Blair was a freight depot not unlike the unprototypical one I have at Lewistown.

I think for the purposes of clutter suppression I would leave the freight depot in Lewistown.

I think most of the switches can be reused.

One nit to pick...  I don't think I can have track joints between sections in the tunnel.  Nevermind the Hurculean task if ensuring proper alignment even with an access hatch, but joints in tunnels are begging for trouble.  I would ditch the tunnel on the inside curve and recontour the mountain to place the portal on the backside squarely on the original JD.

[DKS]

Refresh.

[Dave V]

I think we have a winnah!

Now to inventory the track.  What number are those turnouts?  The one crossover in Enola is made of #7s and I have a number 7 leading to the diesel shop.

[Ed Kapuscinski]

I think it'd be slightly better to string the interchange parallel to the PRR ROW for a little bit there, then jog off on a bridge closer to the road. That'll give more interchange space, and I think a closer relationship to the prototype.

Also, take a look at the aerial map of Huntingdon for road placement by the station. I feel like the grade crossing by the station is a key part of that scene. And, in that case, make sure to include a gang of railfans in the lot (drinking "iced tea").

[DKS]

What number are those turnouts?  The one crossover in Enola is made of #7s and I have a number 7 leading to the diesel shop.

Hmmm... thought they were all 7s. Will have to see if the plan can be revised to take that into account. At the very least, it would be best to avoid 5s on the main as much as possible. As for the rest of the track requirement, I can have that in a jiffy.

I think it'd be slightly better to string the interchange parallel to the PRR ROW for a little bit there, then jog off on a bridge closer to the road. That'll give more interchange space, and I think a closer relationship to the prototype.

Coincidentally, I had it that way for a while. Couldn't decide what worked better.

[Ed Kapuscinski]

Also, I think this highly recommends a field study trip this summer to really understand the area

Or, I'll be going through there early next month, if you want pictures of it all covered in snow and ice.

[Ed Kapuscinski]

Oh, and don't forget this trove of photos:
http://thecrhs.org/Images/CR-21510-Class-N7-at-Huntingdon-PA
http://thecrhs.org/Images/PRR-pedestal-signal-at-Huntingdon-PA
http://thecrhs.org/Images/CR-6852-at-Huntingdon-PA
http://thecrhs.org/Images/CR-7890-at-HUNT-Tower

[DKS]

Required track (I swapped out as many 7s for 5s as possible):

2002, N Atlas Code 55 2002. Straight 6".   9
2003, N Atlas Code 55 2003. Straight 4.25".   2
2018, N Atlas Code 55 2018. Curve radius 15", angle 22.5º   12
2020, N Atlas Code 55 2020. Curve radius 16.26", angle 22.5º   16
2021, N Atlas Code 55 2021. Curve radius 16.26", angle 11.25º   1
2022, N Atlas Code 55 2022. Curve radius 17.5", angle 22.5º   8
2023, N Atlas Code 55 2023. Curve radius 17.5", angle 11.25º   1
2024, N Atlas Code 55 2024. Curve radius 18.74", angle 22.5º   2
2025, N Atlas Code 55 2025. Curve radius 18.74", angle 11.25º   1
2027, N Atlas Code 55 2027. Curve radius 20", angle 11.25º   1
2028, N Atlas Code 55 2028. Curve radius 21.26", angle 22.5º   1
2030, N Atlas Code 55 2030. Curve radius 30.59"   9
2050, N Atlas Code 55 2050. Left turnout#5, 5.98".   3
2051, N Atlas Code 55 2051. Right turnout#5, 5.98".   2
2052, N Atlas Code 55 2052. Left turnout#7, 5.98".   5
2053, N Atlas Code 55 2053. Right turnout#7, 5.98".   4
2058, N Atlas Code 55 2058. Left curved turnout 22.5º, 21.25"/15".   2

Plus ~40 feet of flex.

Refresh the page to see the latest tweaks.

[Dave V]

I love it!!!  DKS again proves...  He's da man!

[DKS]

I feel like the grade crossing by the station is a key part of that scene. And, in that case, make sure to include a gang of railfans in the lot (drinking "iced tea").

Man, that was a tough one to work in, owing to that highway crossing over the left end of the 4-track stretch, which placed too many bridges together. Fiddle-farted with it until something sensible-looking came out. Actually, it was worth it because the highway bridge now helps disguise the mainline split much better.

Refresh again to see:

[Dave V]

Perfection!

I see what Ed is saying about having the H&BTM run parallel for a bit if for no other reason than to provide for a few more interchange cars.  Not that the H&BTM had much traffic by the 50s...  In fact, having the line active in '56 is a bit of a time machine stretch anyway, but it's OK!

In Conrail days it's just a spur to an industrial park.

Now to kitbash Huntingdon Station and HUNT tower!