JonMyrlennBailey
Active member
In all of choo-choodom, the yard seems to be the most troublesome to get geometrically perfect. I've even heard of templates for precise placement of spline points.
Yesterday, I improved the small yard of my grandest model train Trainz layout to date. I spent about eight hours. The original ladder tracks were a series of s-curves that looked junky. I converted this to straight ladders which most American railroads seem to employ. I didn't have a template so I had to use my Surveyor ruler and the wireframe grids as references. I used the BN speeder as a test vehicle. It took a lot of trial, error and adjustments. I had to use spline points to pin down the track where junctions were placed along the ladder to keep the ladder track from bending. I had to use the track straightening tool strategically. If the track is bent ever so slightly, so as not to even be detectable to the human eye, near the junction the train will still yaw abruptly as it passes the switch. Using the test speeder allowed me to see if the ladder could be negotiated smoothly. Small vehicles (powered units, as opposed to train locomotives) like the MOW truck or speeder give a good cab view to the track to help spot flaws easily. Of course, you want to use long locomotives and railcars to check for loading gauge clearances in tight places. Will a 65-foot-long engine negotiate a 70-meter curve?
My yard does not have dedicated lead tracks for drilling operations. The main line must be used for this operation and holds up mainline traffic in the process. There is a ladder at each opposing end of the yard which connects directly to the main line. The mainline runs smack along side the yard and is in a 25 mph zone. 10 mph is yard speed limit. I always keep one of my yard sidings clear of parked rolling stock and use this as a runaround to avoid using the main line for this purpose. The smartest railroad architects are yard designers, I think.
There is no special departure/arrival tracks also. Again, there is the main line or one of the long yard sidings near the mainline for this purpose. There are mainline crossovers at either end of this yard so mainline traffic can access the yard from either track of the two-track mainline system.
I finally got my cute little yard right and it looks nice. I planted a few shade trees inside the yard where there was some spare space too so as to give the railroad a more civilized, cultured, image. Railroads aren't all diesel smoke and iron, you know. Even American military installations have neatly manicured green lawns and hedges so outside people visiting don't get the impression that the service is nothing but blood and guts. There is no greasy, junky-looking stuff lying around my yard. It looks neat and fit for a military-style white glove inspection.
It is a very small yard in a rural layout setting. It has only five parallel tracks in the body for a total of only about 6,700 feet of combined rolling stock capacity. In other words, this little yard only holds up to about a mile and a quarter of broken-up train. The yard also has a couple of extra sidings to park several cabooses and the Big Boy engine. There is also a large round house in the corner of the yard that holds about 30 engines or so. My yard also has locomotive service facilities as diesel fuel pumps, diesel storage tanks, coaling tower, sanding tower and water tank.
Yesterday, I improved the small yard of my grandest model train Trainz layout to date. I spent about eight hours. The original ladder tracks were a series of s-curves that looked junky. I converted this to straight ladders which most American railroads seem to employ. I didn't have a template so I had to use my Surveyor ruler and the wireframe grids as references. I used the BN speeder as a test vehicle. It took a lot of trial, error and adjustments. I had to use spline points to pin down the track where junctions were placed along the ladder to keep the ladder track from bending. I had to use the track straightening tool strategically. If the track is bent ever so slightly, so as not to even be detectable to the human eye, near the junction the train will still yaw abruptly as it passes the switch. Using the test speeder allowed me to see if the ladder could be negotiated smoothly. Small vehicles (powered units, as opposed to train locomotives) like the MOW truck or speeder give a good cab view to the track to help spot flaws easily. Of course, you want to use long locomotives and railcars to check for loading gauge clearances in tight places. Will a 65-foot-long engine negotiate a 70-meter curve?
My yard does not have dedicated lead tracks for drilling operations. The main line must be used for this operation and holds up mainline traffic in the process. There is a ladder at each opposing end of the yard which connects directly to the main line. The mainline runs smack along side the yard and is in a 25 mph zone. 10 mph is yard speed limit. I always keep one of my yard sidings clear of parked rolling stock and use this as a runaround to avoid using the main line for this purpose. The smartest railroad architects are yard designers, I think.
There is no special departure/arrival tracks also. Again, there is the main line or one of the long yard sidings near the mainline for this purpose. There are mainline crossovers at either end of this yard so mainline traffic can access the yard from either track of the two-track mainline system.
I finally got my cute little yard right and it looks nice. I planted a few shade trees inside the yard where there was some spare space too so as to give the railroad a more civilized, cultured, image. Railroads aren't all diesel smoke and iron, you know. Even American military installations have neatly manicured green lawns and hedges so outside people visiting don't get the impression that the service is nothing but blood and guts. There is no greasy, junky-looking stuff lying around my yard. It looks neat and fit for a military-style white glove inspection.
It is a very small yard in a rural layout setting. It has only five parallel tracks in the body for a total of only about 6,700 feet of combined rolling stock capacity. In other words, this little yard only holds up to about a mile and a quarter of broken-up train. The yard also has a couple of extra sidings to park several cabooses and the Big Boy engine. There is also a large round house in the corner of the yard that holds about 30 engines or so. My yard also has locomotive service facilities as diesel fuel pumps, diesel storage tanks, coaling tower, sanding tower and water tank.
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