Dave,
I see what you mean on all counts. Yes, I was aware that as drawn the top and bottom are too close to the walls, but figured that no plan is an etched in stone affair, and some pieces will need cut and trimmed to make it all fit. As to the switches, I have some Ross and some GarGraves on hand, so I will try to fit sidings accordingly. What I planned for the siding on the extreme upper right is that it would be an engine track (I may try to fit a small 1 stall engine house there) where the engine would pull in front facing the corner, then when it backs out through the switch and comes around to couple onto the cars in the 2-track yellow yard, all would be in order. (I'm just calling the locations by color now, since it is easier for everyone to understand. I have names for all these places in my mind that will be marked on the fascia when the layout is built that far.)
I hadn't thought much about the S-curve on the blue yard tracks, but you are absolutely right. At low speeds it may not matter, but there may be that one or two ornery car that isn't quite as well suspended on it's trucks that could possibly derail. The tracks forming a wye configuration will work because the intent there is for a couple unrelated industries, whereas the yard tracks in yellow are intended to be like the coal marshaling photographs in yesterday's post. That all works out swell.
I may or may not put in both spurs on the green passing track, but I like the idea of one. Of course the scenery will be such that the proximity to the yellow and blue loops will be at different elevations and camouflaged in such a way that they won't seem to be in the same scene. I like that ...daz4.scarm plan a lot.
On to another note. I have been seriously considering mounting the table tops to brackets fastened to the studs in the walls. Then I would have legs supporting the two loops that stick out into the room. I realized after I took down the shelving our daughter had installed on the walls, that it wasn't a big deal to patch the holes before repainting. I can hardly tell myself where the holes were. I even found steel brackets at Home Depot that reach out 20" from the wall and the claim is they will hold 1000 pounds at less than $10 each. The reviews are amazing as to what people have stored on the shelves and what expensive items they have put under the shelves without fear of anything breaking. I am going to buy two brackets this weekend, mount them somewhere and 'load them up' as a test. I also have to finish tearing apart the 'mighty' workbench at my mother-in-law's and bring pieces over to my house. I can even unbolt it and I have double supporting legs for the two loops already pre-fab, so to speak!! Also remember, the workbench has two 12' long sheets of Homasote on it, I am going to cut into more manageable sizes to get over to our house. I think I can build this thing at a really discounted price, with a lot of the heavy carpentry eliminated or pre-fab.
