Seaboard Central 2.0

[packers#1]

Sawyer,

This is exactly what my thinking was before, i.e., try to use the empty spot just to represent miles between towns and avoid the spaghetti bowl.  But, having a destination for coal hoppers would be nice.   I'll think about it further while I'm on vacation next week.

Thanks,
DFF

That is true; in that case, here is a coal fired power plant not far from me in Pelzer, SC, serviced by CSX on what I believe is the old Piedmont and Northern mainline. http://binged.it/1H40v4h

A quick internet search shows it was built in 1951 and was retired just last year. Technically it isn't in your modeling region, but the overall layout would seem to fit that corner quite nicely. Here's the Duke Energy page http://www.duke-energy.com/power-plants/coal-fired/lee.asp

[OldEastRR]

Did you consider narrowing the four-track staging into just wide enough to hold the tracks, thus allowing a long but narrow shelf to go across the back part of the water heater and not obstruct it? As a narrow shelf it would be removable for any reason (access, moving, just changed mind) but you could get more equipment in the staging. Plus camouflaging the entrance to the yard would be very simple (heavy tree cover, overpass, or the old standby tunnel trick).

[mcjaco]

I don't think there's enough space to justify the power plant.  I'd leave it with the original plan of the Amtrak station....well, because Amtrak is awesome. 

[Specter3]

Since it is just staging how about this?

Cut down the foam in front of staging and give yourself a couple of tracks and a pile of coal to park hoppers at. [ Guests cannot view attachments ]

[seusscaboose]

make the jump over the water heater....    keep going!

[Blazeman]

Specter's on to something. My thought was to make the staging tracks parallel rather than across, but you need access to them to 0-5-0 cars on and off. So, like Specter suggests, a track or two for a coal unloading station (think of Dave Popp's "4 Week Expansion" project a few years back without the other structures). Or you could simply depict an interchange with the power plant...drop cars for them to pull and return empties. That would let you remove coal loads and then move empties back to the SCL for return to the mines and reload the car set for another delivery. A hill placed strategically to separate the two functions, but not too high to make it difficult to handle staging.

Just keep in mind, you'll only be able to drop about six or so cars....enough of a train to operate as an extra, and suitable for the locomotives you have for A&R to handle the grades.

[Rich_S]

Dave, I understand the idea behind needing the staging tracks, but stub ended staging requires constant 0-5-0'ing equipment which can lead to issues. Is there someway to add a sector plate to the end of your new staging? What I'm thinking is something that is not permanent, maybe hinged to the end of the layout at Fayetteville. The other end of the sector plate would have a single leg that is used when the sector plate is in the up position. That way you can do a little switching in Fayetteville without having to handle equipment? Just a thought?

   

[davefoxx]

Guys,

Thanks for your responses this week.  We just returned from a week-long vacation on the Outer Banks of North Carolina and did not have a good internet connection.  I hope to get back into the basement tomorrow to consider some of the suggestions that have been posted.

DFF

[basementcalling]

Guys,

Thanks for your responses this week.  We just returned from a week-long vacation on the Outer Banks of North Carolina and did not have a good internet connection.  I hope to get back into the basement tomorrow to consider some of the suggestions that have been posted.

DFF

But did you have sharks?

[davefoxx]

We had no sharks, but a swimmer about six miles north of us in Avon, North Carolina had one.  Bit him on the butt.  The Avon Motel burned to the ground last week, too.  That's a bad vacation for a lot of people, but, thankfully, no one was injured.  My stepson asked if the guy who got bit was staying at the Avon Motel.  Now THAT would have been a really bad vacation.

DFF

[davefoxx]

Back to the drawing board, folks.  I took a lot of suggestions that I have received since I built Fayetteville two weeks ago and decided to try again.  First, I removed the HCD holding up Fayetteville and installed a 5/8" melamine shelf on shelf brackets screwed to the wall.  The shelf is 64" long, so, yes, I jumped the water heater.  I had to move an outlet down a few inches, but there was plenty of slack in the electrical cables to allow this.  This outlet needs to be under the shelf, as it is where my DCC command station plugs in.  As you can see, I notched the shelf to create plenty of space around the top of the outlet box and the two cables.



Two layers of 2" foam on top of the melamine shelf create stepped staging for both the A&R and the SBD.  Since this is only staging, I do not plan any significant scenery here.  I am even considering doing the ol' Carolina Central trick and painting the staging area black.



The A&R (on top) gets three staging tracks that are much longer than the tracks in the previous design.  The SBD (down below) gets four stub tracks.  This will add significant capacity to both lines.  I will be able to keep many more cars on the layout.  Yay!  As you can see, there's plenty of clearance under the cable that feeds power to the water heater:



For those of you concerned about the water heater.  There's an inch or two above the discharge pipe and the safety valve is clear.



Sadly, I will have to order some #5 turnouts this week, but I am hopeful that I can stretch my dwindling stockpile of Atlas flextrack and cork roadbed far enough to complete this project.  We'll see.

Thanks for stopping by,
DFF

[basementcalling]

Dave, staging yards and other places where I want perfectly straight track are one place I often use Micro Engineering Code 55 on my layout. Atlas is great in places where you need curves. I know you have been using Atlas on the main layout, but consider the ME here and live a little.

Yea, that shark attack is all over the TV news here. Lots of outright speculation on the boob tube about why the sharks seem to have taken a liking to swimmers, who are mostly the other white meat. I think the Chik Fi La cows went to the beach one night and had a conversation with some stranded bull sharks.

[davefoxx]

Peter,

I'm going to start with whatever track I have left in my inventory and hope that I have enough to complete the yards.  I don't really have any problem laying Atlas flextrack in a straight line, but, since I used ME flextrack on the Southern return loop interchange during the Atlas flextrack shortage, I may have a piece or two of ME track left.  I have no objection to using ME flextrack if I have to.

DFF

P.S. I figured out the track layout through the yard ladders.  At a minimum, I need two Atlas #5 left turnouts, one #5 right turnout, and some rail joiners.

[Chris333]

Again:



 

[davefoxx]

I'll pass, Chris.  Thanks for playing!   

Seriously, that would take out my workbench, require a duckunder, and just be too much layout for me.  I can't imagine ever finishing this layout at its current size.  The main problem: trees.  I will need thousands of trees.   

DFF