WM Western Lines Engineering Report

[wm3798]

The east yard throat.


viewed from the west.


...and suddenly, filled with cars!

The drill track out to the fold down section worked brilliantly, save for a few underweight talgo mounted cars, and the temporary switch throws may just work out to be more or less permanent.  There are a couple of turnouts that definitely need the frogs powered on, mainly in the single track at the turntable, which handles all yard traffic at one time or another.

Once all the drops are in, I can bet that Ed (who serves as my yard master during ops sessions) will have one of those four-hour erections they talk about in those pill commercials...

Lee

[wm3798]

Worked out the west throat this evening.  Tomorrow I'll work on getting it installed.  I've got #7's on hand to employ here, so it shortens the shorter outside tracks quite a bit, dropping them down to about 30"  The middle tracks are still nice and long, but it might be trickier to work the yard from both ends... we'll see. 

I've got some tortoise installations on the west end that are going to be absolute bears...  I may end up disassembling the plate over the helix to do the job... not pretty. 

Also not until after the 26th...

Lee

[Philip H]

So will you be needing those ballast cars of cinders before the 26th?  I can have my agent expedite shipping . . . . .

[wm3798]

No, not yet.  Ed's got me on strict orders not to ballast anything until he gives the yard a thorough sniff test.
I'm surprised I haven't heard from him yet...

Lee

[wazzou]

The east yard throat.
Lee

Lee, on the right set of bowl tracks, it looks as though you used a LH TO in lieu of the RH you had marked there.  Is that just temporary until the couch cushions have been shaken out again?   
It looks like the geometry will be much more reliable and efficient if the RH is used.

[sizemore]

Lee, on the right set of bowl tracks, it looks as though you used a LH TO in lieu of the RH you had marked there.  Is that just temporary until the couch cushions have been shaken out again?   
It looks like the geometry will be much more reliable and efficient if the RH is used.

I agree the Feng Shui looks a little botched up with the LH opposed to a RH switch.

The S.

[mcjaco]

The only real choke point might be conflicts between the Elkins operator and the west end of Ridgeley, but given the lighter density of work at Elkins, this could feasibly be the same person.
Here's the track plan (more or less) as a reference.

I run at a buddies layout that has the same issue as you do at Elkins.  He makes sure that job is done during one of the lulls in the sessions.  Depending on the crew and the size, sometimes the job is the first one assigned, or the last one.

[conrail98]

Lee,

You need to reverse that right-left-right hand turnout you've got going on on the tracks in the middle (tracks 6 & 7 counting up from the aisle). The yard will constantly derail there. If anything, I would suggest removing or shortening tremendously the curve coming out of the turnout at the bottom (the end is just appearing in the photo) and go with two right hand turnouts in a compound ladder. I would hate to be the one to operate the yard if the throat in its current configuration is maintained,

Phil

[DKS]

Like this?
 

[conrail98]

Like this?
 

Precisely,

Phil

[wm3798]

Good news, everybody...  I've got a RH switch to correct the offending S turn.  I wanted to make sure I had everything I needed in order to work on the West End, which I did today...


For now, the LH will remain in place.  All of the turnouts are #7's, and so far, in the process of bumping a few cars through here, I haven't had any problems.  The only cars that presented a risk were the trailer flats and auto racks, so I'll have to change it sooner or later to make sure the yard provides optimal flexibility.

Here's an overview of the whole mess...


You can see the replacement turnout laying over the errant left hander...

Lee

[DRGW Jake]

Lee, I'm jealous, your yard is shaping up to be larger than my entire layout will be! :'( Everything looks great aside from that one pesky left hand turnout. Also, that's quite an impressive roundhouse! Is it scratchbuilt?

--Jake

[wm3798]

Lee, I'm jealous, your yard is shaping up to be larger than my entire layout will be! :'( Everything looks great aside from that one pesky left hand turnout. Also, that's quite an impressive roundhouse! Is it scratchbuilt?

--Jake

Kind of...  It's an amalgam of about 4 Union City roundhouses, which provided the floor plates, the skeleton and the roof panels.  The sides and back walls will all be customized to look more like Hagerstown.

Lee

[sizemore]

Excellent work Smithers.

-Mr. Burns

[Scottl]

Nice work- I like the tanks defending the east end.  Talk about railroad security.