Looking for some thoughts...

[Leggy]

Scale is N, room is 8'6"x11', radius is larger than 20" atleast (I think...). Not entirely to scale....

The greens are to show elevations (light being lowest, dark being highest). Grey lines are concrete tie Code 55 track whilst the brown is wooden ties, thought about code 40 but that equals handlaying turnouts and that's something I'm not entirely sure I want to do just yet. The furthest mine on the branch will be a small raw ore mine, the large plant is a ore processing facility that spits out taconite pellets and will take quite a few cars along with needing some supply boxcars and tank cars of acids and fuels. The yard is to hold empties and loads, there's a loco provisioning facility (the stub ended tracks) for the mainline locos to be serviced between runs and the branchline power that serves the industries.

No real location yet other than it'll be somewhere on my freelanced GDRMCo. Thoughts? Ideas? Criticisms?

[basementcalling]

+1

[Scottl]

I like it a lot.   What is the reverse siding at the mine for?

The line from the taconite loading might be considered for concrete ties too.  That would be heavy loading.

[Leggy]

At the furthest mine? That'd be a mine supply siding.

[davefoxx]

I like your plan.  It's got a bit of hidden track, which can be a real pain when the inevitable derailments occur.  But, if you have access to those tracks and can make the track as bulletproof back there as you can, I'll give your plan a thumbs up.  My layout is also a roundy-round with a large yard and a branch.  Fun!

DFF

[Scottl]

OK, it was not clear to me what you were thinking with it.

As I said, I like it a lot.  Notwithstanding the hidden track that Dave points out, I think this is an excellent use of space to give you a large radius mainline for large equipment, and an interesting and substantial industry and switching opportunity.  It will be relatively easy to build and will give a lot of operation potential while avoiding the aesthetics of a simple loop.

[Leggy]

Should've said that before! The hidden trackage would probably have one or two turn helix at each end to give enough clearance for the yard below.

[davefoxx]

Should've said that before! The hidden trackage would probably have one or two turn helix at each end to give enough clearance for the yard below.

I don't think the helixes are required for the necessary clearance, and I would recommend avoiding them, because:
1) that's more hidden track ("Where is my train?");
2) the additional expense incurred to build the layout; and
3) the added complexity in building the layout.

DFF

[Leggy]

Just one of the ideas up in the air atm, some sort of vertical clearance would be handy however.

[Scottl]

I would avoid the helixes if possible.  Dave's points are all valid to me.  What I like the most about this layout is the operational potential, the large radius curves and the simplicity, all in a modest area.  Indeed, it would take much less room space than a HCD or 4X8 when access is considered.  You could have this running quite quickly as well.

What about adding some grade to the mainline to give more clearance to the hidden track?

[Leggy]

From the crossovers to the tunnels where the main disappears have that on a grade maybe?

[davefoxx]

That definitely works, but I would point out that you're not necessarily going to have the branch track directly over top of the lower mainline, because you will likely want some scenery between the branch track and the edge (wall?) of the layout at the bottom and right sides of the plan.

Hope this helps,
DFF

[basementcalling]

I agree about trying to offset the branch and hidden portion of the mainlines. Layering and offsetting are a better option to solve the clearance issue than even a single loop helix.

On the upper left mine spurs, I would worry about the length of tail track for the trailing point spur to the supply building. I would move that turnout back one turnout spacing, and splice in a RH turnout to add the second track under the tipple.

That would keep the basic look the same but give more room to pull cars of the supply spur.

[ednadolski]

I wouldn't be too quick to dismiss the helixes.  The additional vertical clearance will be valuable when you need to access the hidden track.  In any case it looks to me like you will have to crawl underneath to access the hidden track (but it would be helpful to have a complete drawing).

The other things I notice is that some of the yard turnouts and crossovers look rather sharp as drawn, and the reach-in depth seems long in some places.  The grade from the yard to the branch line may turn out to be rather steep, if it has to clear the double main and avoid the 'convenient cliff' scenery.

Ed

[ednadolski]

Another thought: if you want to avoid the hidden track and some grades altogether, you could also pull the branch line a bit forward toward the front edges and put the staging tracks behind some kind of profile boards or other view block.  Then you would access the staging tracks by reaching from above.   That may require relocating some of the foreground track, and perhaps sacrificing a yard track or two, but sometimes less is more

Ed