Delaware & Hudson - Champlain Division

[bdennis]

Mark,
Thanks for the feedback.
I went and found a track plan for John's Canadaigo Southern. I will have a look at the idea however want to keep the requirement of no duck under.
As the layout is in a shed there is no possibility of a stair into the layout.

Peter,
Thanks for the comments re the yard throats. I can see what you mean, however with the turnout arrangement as it stands, I can get from the main line into and out of any track within the yard. So locals can be made up and prepared and dispatched from any of the yard tracks. If I was to move the turnout to the right, then I could only get to the arrivals and departure tracks and then have to back up to get to the main yard.
The alternative is to move the turnouts to the right and then connect the end of the yard lead to the main line back around each corner to enable access.

I will look at that idea again.
Thanks

Regards
Brendan

[S Class]

Hey Brendan, just as a side note (I'm not sure how I missed the replies from two weeks ago) if you're still unsure about the width of  aisles and can get to Glenn Iris on the 8th of September AMRA has their open house and you can see just how poor some of the determined aisle widths truly are.

[bdennis]

Tony,
Thanks for the reminder. I also operate at a few other N scale layouts in Melbourne and am using those layouts as a yard stick in terms of isle widths.
I have not been to the AMRA club rooms for many years.. So will put that date in my diary..
Thanks.

[mark dance]

Mark,
Thanks for the feedback.
I went and found a track plan for John's Canadaigo Southern. I will have a look at the idea however want to keep the requirement of no duck under.
As the layout is in a shed there is no possibility of a stair into the layout.

I will look at that idea again.
Thanks

Regards
Brendan

Hi Brendan...a spiral or serpentine layout does not require a duck under.  Just imagine a single, double-sided peninsula that comes out from one of the walls and spirals or turns back on itself until reaching a single turn back loop.  By reducing the area on each side of the mainline, and having only a single space-eating turn back loop stuck out in the room, you maximize aisle widths and run length for a given floor space.

Hope that helps. 

md

[bdennis]

Mark,
thanks for the update.
So kind of like a mushroom. So each side is still seen but they are effectively on top of each other.
Or
As one side is seen, then the other side is hidden but a tunnel and is effectively under the upper section. So the net effect is a narrower section of bench work and the separation of the trains is only say 100mm but when 1 side is seen then the other is not and the dividing wall in the middle is the view block?

The reason I have kept the narrow sections is that I want long runs but also want to model the sections of the D&H where the main line runs along lake Champlain so I dont need much depth.

Thanks for your tips they are most welcome.

[mark dance]

no, not like a mushroom. Mushrooms are not very efficient from a run length Point of View.

I am very sorry for my lack of drawing tools.  I am at our cottage and I am using my work laptop so all I have is Word and Powerpoint.  Here goes...



Ouch...sorry

Two variants of a spiral.  The thick lines are track. The dotted lines are a double sided back drop.

The narrowest point would be a line across the room through the turn back curve. If you used 250 mm for all the benchwork through this line point (so 500 mm for the back-to-back benchwork on the peninsula) and 1100 mm for the turn back curve then the aisles at this narrowest point would be:

6000mm - 6x250mm- 1100mm = 3400 mm for 4 aisles or 33" each...and they could be wider (perhaps much wider) elsewhere.

The benchwork can be widened out away from this pinch point to accommodate yards, industries, etc. at the expense of wider aisles there obviously.

I hope that helps visualize things.

Double-decking the mainline (should that be of interest) could be accommodated with a helix against the wall somewhere turning back to spiral on the upper level (but I think that would change the direction of the traffic - a bad thing - between the decks. The long run length for a helix is also unattractive).  Alternatively, the run length may be long enough to gain elevation through a "nolix" (should the prototype allow the grades) and then a nod under at the door would keep the same traffic direction.

md

[LKOrailroad]

The word SPIRAL in your post caught my eye. I too found a spiral to be an efficient use of space, lengthening mainline run, and maintaining good aisle width. Here is what my spiral looks like: http://www.lkorailroad.com/track-plan/

[mark dance]

The word SPIRAL in your post caught my eye. I too found a spiral to be an efficient use of space, lengthening mainline run, and maintaining good aisle width. Here is what my spiral looks like: http://www.lkorailroad.com/track-plan/

I realize somewhat off topic, but I think that is a beautiful plan LKO.

md

[bdennis]

Mark,
Thanks for the update. Now I see where your going.

I will have a bit of a play in Anyrail and see how it works out.
I have not started to cut timber yet but am close.

In terms of givens, I have the following:
1 Central main yard.
Staging on a lower level that is separated by 300mm rail to rail
No duck under.
Max 2% grade
Prefer not to have a helix
Long runs
4 to 5 smaller towns with plenty of industry.
Continuous run into and out of staging

One of the things that I think is a challenge with the spiral is getting the turn arounds at the end of go into staging.
Thanks for the tips though.
I will have a look and see how it may work.

[bdennis]

More progress on the planing of the D&H.
I think im there in terms of the final plan.
I have made some changes to staging in order to get people trafic in better places and also to enable more separation between staging and the main deck at Saratoga Springs.
The aim is to have 300mm from rail bed on the top deck to the rail bed on the staging deck.

This is the main deck.


This is the staging deck


I looked into the sprial idea and decided it did not work for my space and the requirements that I have. I do appreciate the input that is being provided. it is most helpful.

Here is a picture of the room with the staging from the old layout in its rough location.
The tape on the floor is the basic outline of the layout.


As always, all comments welcome.

Thanks.
Brendan.

[John]

I like it .. I like these types of layouts .. wide aisles, and long mainlines

[Philip H]

Brandon,
I'm with john - this will be fun to watch and fun to run when you get it going.  What part o f the layout is that on the floor?

[bdennis]

Philip,
Thanks for that. The part that is on the floor is staging. I reclaimed it from the old layout.

[Coxy]

That is one sweet track plan.

- Coxy

[bdennis]

After a bit of thinking and talking with other local friends I have adjusted the staging slightly so that it works with the operating plan of Trains in to staging via the North exit staging via the north with a new train number.
One of the issues I had was that I was trying to reuse the old staging from the old layout as it was.. This was causing issues and have scraped the idea. So have pulled up the track and will re use it on the new layout.

One of the trains of thought with the staging is that I have staggered the tracks in such a way so that when an engineer goes to find / select a train from staging, the loco number is easily seen as it is not hiding behind other trains.. Well thats the theory anyway.

I have updated my blog with the new plan and some more details on this practice.
http://dh2ndsub.blogspot.com.au/

The upper deck is mainly unchanged apart from from tweaking.

Now just waiting on my timber to arive and then it is all systems go!.