PRR/Conrail Juniata Division Engineering Report

[Dave V]

Nonsensical bullsh!t with plugins.   Website is back up but I need to reinstall all the plugins.

Starting not to like InMotion Hosting much...

[cireeric]

Does anyone have a SCARM file for the Juniata plan in code 55?

[Dave V]

I made the mistake of not archiving DKS's awesome plans...and now that his Internet presence is gone, I'm reduced to doing the pencil and paper thing:



This revised concept replaces Enola with Huntingdon.  I have a much expanded staging capability, but it's stub-ended rather than run-through.  By keeping staging separate from the main layout I can get away with using Unitrack, which should make those long backup moves a lot less of a significant emotional event.

[davefoxx]

Dave,

I like it, because it practically doubles your mainline length.  I know that you, like me, tend to be a roundy-round guy much of the time, so that will be a bonus for you.  A couple of preliminary suggestions:

1) Don't forget a runaround (crossover) on your arrival/departure track in the yard.  That will let you get your power out without having to always having to back the entire train into or out of the yard.
2) Perhaps (if it's appropriate) you should make the highway underpass in Huntingdon an overpass to mix it up a little.  You already have two underpasses on the original portion of the layout.

I'm glad to see you move J.C. Blair to Huntingdon where it belongs.  When we railfanned the Middle Division back in September, I was able to get trackside in Huntingdon for the first time.  Russ showed me the real J.C. Blair building.  It's cool that I now have perspective on how portions of your layout are laid out.  Oh, and I got to see Lewistown, too.

DFF

[glakedylan]

removed

[wcfn100]

3. just an ANYRAIL rendering based on the pencil sketch using Atlas code 55 and #7 turnouts

Dave's going to need you to redo that with Unitrack. 

Jason

[Dave V]

Dave, there really is an underpass right there in relation to JC Blair.  Where do I need the runaround track?  I don't quite follow.

Plan for now is Atlas/ME code 55 from my stash with Unitrack only for staging...for now.   

[davefoxx]

Where do I need the runaround track?  I don't quite follow.

You just need to add a crossover near the end of one of your stub tracks, so your locomotives can run around the train.

Here's an example from the Yard-on-a-Shelf on the Virginia Central.  Counting from the left between Tracks Five and Six you can see a crossover.  The U23Bs have just cut off of that freight train and can escape from being trapped in the dead-end stub.  Is this clearer?



DFF

[conrail98]

Dave, I downloaded quite a bit of DKS's plans before his presence online went blank. Which one's were you looking for in relation to the Juniata?

Phil

[Dave V]

Dave, I downloaded quite a bit of DKS's plans before his presence online went blank. Which one's were you looking for in relation to the Juniata?

Phil

None at the moment.  DKS went offline before the current iteration.  Others may want to see them though.

Dave...  We'll see.  I don't plan to do any switching in the yard.

[Dave V]

Dave's going to need you to redo that with Unitrack. 

Jason

I'll be honest...  It's really, really tempting given how easily my brass locomotives sail around even the sharper curves on my son's Unitrack versus watching them wobble and sputter through Atlas and Peco track.  I know that it's more my tracklaying skill (or lack thereof) that is to blame, but still...

Also, I have a Tomix EF-15 waiting to become a PRR FF2, but with pizza cutter wheels that don't roll on 55.

Then again, I think as soon as I go to take close-up photos again, I'll regret it.

[davefoxx]

Then again, I think as soon as I go to take close-up photos again, I'll regret it.

I almost wrote, "This," in response to your statement, but the other thread on painting/weathering Kato Unitrack has me refraining myself.

That said, I do love how Code 40 rail makes the locomotives and rolling stock seem more massive . . .



 . . . but if you don't have Code 40/55 and Code 80 side by side like this picture shows, weathered and painted Unitrack might be your answer, especially if you're running long wheelbased and/or pizza cutter wheeled locomotives.

DFF

[Dave V]

Indeed...  In fact, when I go back to my GMR 2014 article, really the only clue that it's N and not HO (and this isn't meant to sound boastful) is the track.  Between the telltale Peco switch throws and the huge slab rail, it's immediately obvious in a two-page centerfold that "this is N scale."

So the compromise for the JD is likely Unitrack for every portion of the staging (including the long lead from Huntingdon, where I'll have to paint and ballast to match the mains) and the rest of the visible in carefully laid code 55.  In fact, I may use my stash of ME #6s for the crossovers and my Atlas turnouts for the industrial trackage to ensure maximum reliability.

Unitrack would give me much more confidence in backing a coal drag into staging while the rest of the layout would stand up to close-ups.

You're a better man than me on the code 40...  I've not found that it adds much to my enjoyment of even close-up photos.  Code 55 looks close enough to real track to me, even in sidings, where I can use color and ballast to differentiate between sidings and the mains.

[davefoxx]

You're a better man than me on the code 40...  I've not found that it adds much to my enjoyment of even close-up photos.  Code 55 looks close enough to real track to me, even in sidings, where I can use color and ballast to differentiate between sidings and the mains.

I am definitely not a better man than you, but I agree on the Code 55 sufficing, especially considering the amount of work it takes to build Code 40 track.  I ain't got time fo' dat.  This is why the track in the picture above (two small stubs and one #6 turnout) is the only Code 40 on my entire layout and everything else is Code 55.

DFF

[Rich_S]

I guess that is one of the pluses of getting older with diminished eye sight,

This now:




Looks as good as this use to:



But seriously Dave, the bottom line is it's your layout. If you feel better working with Kato UniTrack and feel it will provide you with better operation than Atlas code 55 or Atlas code 80, I say go for it. I just can't wait to see the expanded Juniata Division