Well, it seems like you developed a backstory and plan with some details.  Have you committed that plan to paper or electrons (in the form of a software program file)?  If so, please post either a picture or a copy of the file so that we might know where you are headed.  And, if your software provides for it, please post an exported picture because many of us may not have the software you've chosen to use.

Chuck

Hi Chuck - Thank you for your interest!  I went ahead and attached the Marceline track plan in pdf format.  I have 3rdPlanIt that I used to mock up portions of the initial layout, but with my mixture of track - including Marx, K-Line, Lionel tubular, Fastrack, and Ross, the software is more work than sketching on paper.  That's why I posted in the Toy Train forum instead of the Track Layout and Design forum.  Maybe once I'm on the main layout and using exclusively Ross I can get a more detailed software representation, but I did attach photos of my pencil sketches on the first post.

Bent my first piece of Gargraves!  Pretty close to the 34” target!  Used the 32”sheetrock jig I showed on first post - and track sprung back to maybe 40”, so ended up securing and final bending at the same time.

Added non-derail guides to my 4 Marx 34” turnouts!  Used JB Weld on 3 - the first one I soldered but that took quite a while.  Also added 1/2 track pins into the point gaps where engines were derailing.  See pics!

Nailed down the up ramp out of St Joe Industrial Park, and tested successfully.  3% doesn’t look that steep but it definitely slows or speeds the engine.

I soldered the joints between every other Gargraves piece.  By soldering in the joint, I connect with two pieces with each solder joint, and strengthen the joint.  See pic!

At Hannibal, the connection to points south was the Hannibal & St. Louis.   It interchanged with the Wabash at Gilmore Junction.  From there one could go to STL.  The Hannibal and St. Louis ran a down and back McKeen car daily.

"With some trepidation I start a thread showing the progress on my layout.  Trepidation because starting a thread means some level of accountability - but almost everywhere on this forum there are great encouragers and helpful tips so I don't want to miss out.  Also, there are some things I do that might help others.  I just don't want to realize halfway through that there was something big I wished I had/had not done.  But life without risk gets you no train layout!"

Dan, that paragraph hit the nail on the head!!  In January, 2017 I started what became my Blackwater Canyon Line topic for the same reasons you did.  I hoped to gain ideas for my new layout build, and offer encouragement and ideas to others.  Now 50 pages later, we went through 50 pages of idea swapping and encouragement.  Your layout design sounds like my "Plan C".  It would have been the ultimate for me.  Alas, our older daughter and her husband had mildew and rodent troubles in the lower level of their 100+ year old house, so we are storing some of her furniture and mostly to my chagrin her refinished circa 1900 upright piano.  They don't have the money to fix the house right, and neither do we or his parents who were forced into early retirement like we have been.  The piano was the kicker because we could only store it in the middle of my layout area.  So, we redesigned to her former 11x11 art studio off the old family room where construction had started on Plan C.  Plan D has been under construction for over a year now and I saw you have joined in the fun.

I said all that to say it seems you and I have similar ideas except my layout is situated in the mountains of West Virginia following the former Western Maryland line.  Yes, a level of accountability.  To keep the discussion going, it takes time to take photographs, write up what you did, and answer folks comments and questions.  I have had almost unanimous encouragement from the great folks on this forum.  I can only think of one comment that could have been taken as harsh in 50 pages, and he may have just been blunt.  Yes some folks will challenge you, but it is for your own good and the good of the layout!

Welcome to the "ongoing layout build topic owner club"!!!!!!!

@Mark Boyce posted:

"With some trepidation I start a thread showing the progress on my layout.  Trepidation because starting a thread means some level of accountability - but almost everywhere on this forum there are great encouragers and helpful tips so I don't want to miss out.  Also, there are some things I do that might help others.  I just don't want to realize halfway through that there was something big I wished I had/had not done.  But life without risk gets you no train layout!"

Dan, that paragraph hit the nail on the head!!  In January, 2017 I started what became my Blackwater Canyon Line topic for the same reasons you did.  I hoped to gain ideas for my new layout build, and offer encouragement and ideas to others.  Now 50 pages later, we went through 50 pages of idea swapping and encouragement.  Your layout design sounds like my "Plan C".  It would have been the ultimate for me.  Alas, our older daughter and her husband had mildew and rodent troubles in the lower level of their 100+ year old house, so we are storing some of her furniture and mostly to my chagrin her refinished circa 1900 upright piano.  They don't have the money to fix the house right, and neither do we or his parents who were forced into early retirement like we have been.  The piano was the kicker because we could only store it in the middle of my layout area.  So, we redesigned to her former 11x11 art studio off the old family room where construction had started on Plan C.  Plan D has been under construction for over a year now and I saw you have joined in the fun.

I said all that to say it seems you and I have similar ideas except my layout is situated in the mountains of West Virginia following the former Western Maryland line.  Yes, a level of accountability.  To keep the discussion going, it takes time to take photographs, write up what you did, and answer folks comments and questions.  I have had almost unanimous encouragement from the great folks on this forum.  I can only think of one comment that could have been taken as harsh in 50 pages, and he may have just been blunt.  Yes some folks will challenge you, but it is for your own good and the good of the layout!

Welcome to the "ongoing layout build topic owner club"!!!!!!!

and.. AND... That's what Makes Mark.. "Sir Mark". You, are now a charter member of "Friend of Miggy".

Mark, you are appreciated! <salute> "And Toto Too"

@Hannibal-St Joseph RR posted:

With

Hope you enjoy the development, and here goes!

Dan Wiltshire

Dan, Hello!. you had me with PICKLES! (Keokuk Canning Company Co. Classic Vat Car Pickles)

Great story, Thanks for sharing. I welcome your posts as I am but a 4x8-er with my doctorate in Seasonal Carpet Layouts. Very good folks here. the experience is vast and well shared. "My Layout and Train Accomplishments have breadcrumbs back to those Giants who have traveled this road before me"

Enjoy and thanks for the share. (I Lived next door to Gedneys Pickle Factory in Chaska, Minnesota. On a Hot summer day, the breeze from the south brought along the sweet fragrance from the wooden Pickle VATS. Man, Now I gotta find one of THOSE cars....

Growing up in St. Louis, we’ve made a number of trips to Hannibal. What a great old river town!

Looking forward to seeing your vision come alive. All of those tedious tasks of fixing switches, new transformer cords, etc are all worth it even if progress is slows here or there. My advice is document even the small wins, because it’s fun for us ‘viewers’ out here, and when you look back at your thread, you’ll realize your did more than you thought.

Mark, thanks for your encouragement and sorry for your being forced out.  Definitely something I am concerned about after I turned 50!

Miggy - one consolation I have with pushing forward on a ‘permanent’ layout is i can still piece together temporary layouts for Halloween candy distribution in the garage and Christmas around the tree!  I love to set up temporary layouts.  Fun comment on pickles!

Ahitpy & JD thank you for your comments!  Received my LED lamps today so I can put those in the Marx switches and move forward with laying track!  Repaired an old estate sale Gargraves switch last night- plugging away!

Dan, In the end it all worked out.  I was 59 when I received the retirement package, which was generous, but not overwhelming.  The better deal was that I immediately started working at the same company as a contract engineer for one of the guys I had worked with on a similar project a few years earlier.  That lasted 3 years.  I then went to work with a competitor at an entry level position, but we decided to hang it up when I had to get my knee replaced at 63. 

My layout is like yours in that I bought very little lumber to build it.  I used what I had on hand, what I removed from my dad's shop when he and Mum moved to personal care, and some I removed from my mother-in-law's house.  What I couldn't use I gave to our younger daughter and her husband to build forms for new cement steps.  I bought a little used GarGraves track, but most of my track and Ross switches are new.  I don't need as much as you will.  I have used bridges and a few used buildings.  Most of my engines and cars were bought used as well from Forum members.  That sure did stretch the hobby budget.  I had spent all the money I got from selling my HO stuff on tuition for the daughters 10 to 15 years ago.

I hope you will post some photographs of your progress.  As you can see from my Blackwater Canyon Line topic, I have posted the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly.  LOL

Temporarily laid the track to verify everything works like i want it to.  Had to screw down the corner of a Lionel O42 switch where a high corner and rail caused derail.  Need to modify the benchwork for the track opposite the factory - it only 3 feet, while the factory spur is 4 feet.  Until I shuttled some cars I wasn’t sure I cared.  Video!

Looks great!  Is that a track tunneling through the wall in the corner?

Yes - double track tunnel- one track inclines to St Joe from the industrial park, and the other track stays on the 25” level and enables switching at Weyerhauser.  That’s the one I need to lengthen.   Pics show latest iteration of Industrial Park track plan, and St Joseph track plan on the other side of the wall.

Looks great!  How much have you done on the other side of the wall?

Very little on the other side - basic benchwork for St Joseph.  My mandate is to get Disney Home at Marceline open for Christmas, so I’m pushing ahead with the industrial park underneath Marceline so I can move up.  From Marceline I’ll ramp up to Keokuk and down to St Joseph.

picture is of the ‘creative process’ after the track test!  Soldering leads and getting track nailed down.  Fascia experiment on right side. Apparently pictures should be sideways and video should be vertical.

Dan, it all looks good!!  What is the fascia material?

Fascia is the back side of 3/16” paneling I had leftover, cut in 4” strip.  4” because I need to get underneath, and 3/16” vs 1/8” because it’s strong enough to support a curtain or something.  I bought another sheet for like $15 for the rest of the layout - (they ripped it into 2-2’x8’ pieces I transported in my Fiesta!).  You can see I have extended the fascia 1/4” above the sound board ($12 for 1/2”x4’x8’ sheet from Lowe’s), so I can add scenery without spillover.  Also shown is the 1-1/2” thick leftover interior door I used in this section for benchwork.  A small piece of fascia will cover that edge.

The operator panel is recessed and tilted up - recessed to reduce aisle interference, and angled upward for better visibility.  Track diagram on operator panel is 1/4” pin striping from auto parts store.  40’ roll for $4 at O’Reilly’s. Switches are from Electronics Supply in downtown Kansas City.

Johnson Controls battery plant is cardboard mock up with interior boxcar lead unloading area.  White Radon vent pipe will work for a sulfuric acid tank!  I’ll add another acid tank next to it (that isn’t functioning as a radon vent for the house!)  The 3-1/2” pipe is about the right diameter for the 5,000 gallon fiberglass tanks that are used.  St Joe battery plant now produces 50,000 automotive lead-acid batteries per day.  When I started in 1992 we put out 12,000 on a good day.

Dan, looks great!  Good ideas on camouflaging  the Radon vent pipe

Wanted to share a few micro projects - Tunnel Lining, Marx Switch lens repair, and wire routing.

To line the dual-track tunnel through the 4-1/2" thick stub wall, I used heavy card stock black paper.  I cut the paper 1" wider than the wall, cut slits in the portions of the paper that would need to bend, then folded the tabs over and stapled them to the wall.  When the tunnel face is in place, I see one staple I need to paint but other than that it is nice and black.

I have a Marx Switch with a melted lens housing, but I really like the color-change feature, so I bought a packet of colored cellophane sheets from Hobby Lobby and taped a couple pieces in place.  I am expecting that with the LED bulb replacement (LED-1447WW from Town and Country Hobbies) the taped lenses will stay for many years.

To clean up the rats nest under the layout, I really hate to spend money.  Being neat shouldn't be costly - it's already somewhat time consuming!  So what I did was shoot a staple where I wanted the wires to be gathered, then slipped a bread tie / twist tie under the staple and tied wires up that way.  Looks fine and it's easy to add more wires.  Incidentally, I am using 18Ga red and black for track feeds, 16Ga jumpers on terminal strips, and 14Ga "bus" from transformer to/between terminals.  For accessories and switches, I am using 18Ga yellow bus and 20Ga to the accessory.  (actually 22Ga on switches so far - I have leftover 3-wire roll.  22Ga has worked fine on multiple layouts and the distance from operator panel to each switch on this layout is no more than 3 feet.)  Using 18Ga blue for 24VDC "track occupied" signal, and 18Ga orange for 12VDC Tortoise switches when I get there.

See pics!  I'm almost done wiring the St Joe Industrial Park, getting ready for scenery, buildings, and lights.  Just reading Lance Mindheim's "How to Operate a Switching Layout" - great insights that I will use!

The tunnel liner and wiring look great, Dan!!

Dan

Been following your progress with enjoyment. Keep up the good work and the fun you're having doing it all.

Attached full track plans - lower and upper levels.  The setback is to be expected I suppose

when using 50+ year old switches - after getting the Industrial Park track all set and operator panels wired, the one Lionel switch is balking, and one Marx switch needs the wire posts replaced - they are too loose for consistent electrical contact.

Dan, Thank you for the drawings!  IT looks like a nice track plan with lots of operating potential!

April 20 Pallets and Paper Trucks.

Assembling some wood pallets from Rail Scale Models, and trying my hand at paper trailers and trucks.  There are free paper trucks in S scale at DAF.com.  I had them scaled 150% and printed at Kinkos on heavy paper.  Next is to assemble a paper trailer from Team Track Models - only $6 for the download, and as many trailers as your heart desires!  The trailers will probably be less expensive than printing the free trucks at Kinkos, because I print the trailers at home and paste them onto card stock and mat board.

I've seen many paper buildings but that the first vehicle for a layout. Looks good (and fits in well with your "budget" approach to model railroading).

That is the first paper truck I have seen as well!  IT looks great, Dan!

Would you happen to know if any employment records exist for the Hannibal-St. Joseph RR? My grandfather was living in St Joe in 1920 and his occupation was given as "fireman" and railroading ran in the family. He was not a fire-fighter.  I am looking for info. Thanks.  Mark

@Hannibal-St Joseph RR posted:

With some trepidation I start a thread showing the progress on my layout.  Trepidation because starting a thread means some level of accountability - but almost everywhere on this forum there are great encouragers and helpful tips so I don't want to miss out.  Also, there are some things I do that might help others.  I just don't want to realize halfway through that there was something big I wished I had/had not done.  But life without risk gets you no train layout!

The Hannibal-St Joseph Railroad was a real railroad, started in part by Mark Twain's dad (Samuel Clemens' dad) in 1851.  It was folded into the CB&Q, then Burlington-Northern and now BNSF.  I grew up north of Hannibal, in Canton, and we made the trek frequently across the state of Missouri along 36 Highway to my grandparents north of Kansas City.  Hwy 36 connects Hannibal and St Joseph, and roughly parallels the original Hannibal-St Joseph track.  As an adult we lived in St Joseph for a couple of years, so my attachment to Hannibal-St Joseph is lifelong.

My model diverts from history, and actually connects Keokuk, Iowa to St. Joseph, Missouri, by traveling south along the Mississippi River to Canton, then down to join the Hannibal-St Joseph trackage across the state.  So I will probably refer to my model as the Keokuk-St Joseph Railroad.  There was a Keokuk & Western Railroad in the early 1900's, and it did cross the Des Moines River heading south, but then turned west back into Iowa vs. further south to Canton.  Since I grew up in Canton, modeling Canton was a requirement and I know more about Keokuk industry than Hannibal anyway.

The layout design is basically an along-the-wall and peninsula single track, short line type of railroad.  Minimum curve is 34".  I have some 34" Marx switches, and most people say not to go beyond 36" depth without access hatches so 34" loops are where I ended up.  I wanted low profile track, so 31" O Scale was out, and my experience with 27" switches and track is they are just a little too tight.  Plus I am now a proud owner of a Lionel GP38 and its minimum turning diameter is 31".

So the layout is basically a loop-to-loop, 2-level layout (48" and 30") with a town at mid height (Marceline at 40"), and an industrial yard spur at one end.   Going from one end to the other is about 270 feet of track, in an L-shaped area about 23' x 18'.  Keokuk will start at 48", and on the 48" level the towns will progress from Keokuk south along the Mississippi and across the Des Moines river to Canton, then southwest to Monroe City, then continue west to Shelbina, and Macon.  From Macon, the transition begins to the lower level.

Note that 18" is a long way to go at 2.5% or less!  So midway down, we turn through Marceline (Walt Disney's home town) - and Marceline will be at 40", and in a stub wall-separated area of its own.  After Marceline we continue down to the 30" level, where we pass through Brookfield, Chillicothe, Hamilton, and then arrive at St Joseph.  Also, from St Joseph we can drop down through the stub wall underneath Marceline to the St Joseph Industrial Park, which is at 25" height.

The majority of the incline/decline is along the long part of the "L", 23 foot wall, and about a 12" shelf.  The 12" shelf area will have track at 48", declining track from 48", inclining track from 30", and 30" track.  So a long stretch of scenery along the wall is about all that will fit - which is nice between towns, and represents what you see along Hwy 36, which is primarily 200 miles of farms.

Note that I am using primarily scrap lumber, estate sale track and buildings, and I will have tubular track in the Industrial Park, FasTrack in Marceline, and the rest will be Gargraves.  I will have Marx switches, Lionel and K-Line tubular 42" switches, Fastrack switches, and Ross switches with Tortoise motors.  Eventually I will have a simple PLC to control some block signals, and hopefully run a fast clock with lighting.  Maybe the layout should be called "The Estate Sale and Scrap Lumber RR"!

I have started construction at Marceline to use up my menagerie of scrap lumber and switches in the least visible area, which limits initial outlay of cash, and because the track through the wall and around the sump pump is the most difficult to figure out.  Also I am allowed my fun as long as I include a Disney play area - which means Marceline needs to be in place soon!  Marceline will feature "Disney Home at Marceline", a Disney amusement park located in Marceline in my imagination, complete with Disney castle playset and monorail.  (Marceline does have the Disney Hometown Museum in real life!)

Hope you enjoy the development, and here goes!

Dan Wiltshire

Hi Mark - that is a neat history in the family!  I don’t know about an employment record, but I am making plans to attend the Burlington Route Historical Society convention October 7-10 in St Louis.  If there are records, that is the group that will have them.  (Since CB&Q bought H-StJ RR). I bet if you contacted them at BurlingtonRoute.org they would be very glad to engage with you.  Happy hunting!

@Hannibal-St Joseph RR posted:

Hi Mark - that is a neat history in the family!  I don’t know about an employment record, but I am making plans to attend the Burlington Route Historical Society convention October 7-10 in St Louis.  If there are records, that is the group that will have them.  (Since CB&Q bought H-StJ RR). I bet if you contacted them at BurlingtonRoute.org they would be very glad to engage with you.  Happy hunting!

Thanks for the tip. I will follow up. Mark

Oct 11 Road Crossings, Stone Wall and Power Drawers
It has been a while!  I enjoyed the BRHS convention in St Louis last weekend, and especially enjoyed meeting @CB+Q Bill at the event.  It has been a beautiful summer and I am intimidated by scenery, so my progress has been slow.  I enjoy the carpentry and wiring and laying track - but a lichen tree to me is like garlic to Dracula.  Hopefully by plowing ahead and making the requisite mistakes I will get over it and some day enjoy the scenery process.  But if not at least make a more natural background to the trains, which I think really does enhance the fun ultimately.

Below shows roads made from Durham's Water Putty mixed with flat black paint - the color is not consistent which I'll mute later; crossings inside the track from black foam board painted grey and cut to fit, and preparation for trees along the back walls.  I plan to put trees and lichen filler in front of the brown painted areas.

Next photo shows the paper stone wall on the incline leading to the double track tunnel / up to St Joseph.  Keep in mind all of this will be limited view angle - Marceline above will result in 14" overhead clearance.  I need to get scenery done in the deep pockets of the Industrial Park so I can put up Marceline and get the Disney loop operational before Christmas!  I can go back later and add scenery to the easier-to-reach areas of the Industrial Park.

Next photos show a homemade Power Drawer for transformer and power controls.  I cut 3/16" wide x 1/2" deep slots in 1x2" boards using a table saw, then trapped a piece of hardboard in the slots.  Glue and 18ga brad nails secure the frame joints.  There will be a Power Drawer for the Industrial Park (shown), Marceline, and then larger Power Drawers - one each for the upper and lower levels in the main layout area.  The thought is they won't need to be touched that often if running 14V and remote controls - but if I want to run conventional then I will isolate a portion of the layout and be able to pull the appropriate drawer out and vary the voltage to the track using the local transformer.  Each Power Drawer will be supplied by its own power strip plugged into a dewinwils remote control outlet.  (Thank you @gunrunnerjohn)  Also shown is a dimmer switch next to the transformer - to dim the LED light strip that will be mounted underneath Marceline to shine on the Industrial Park.

Hope to have more updates soon!  Progress will be interrupted on Oct 25 for the building of "Gobblin' Gulch RR at Lava Falls" - this year's log-dump-car-candy-delivering-temporary-model-rr in the garage.  Then interrupted again because I'm putting together an around-the-tree Lionel display for my 84-yr old father-in-law, whose trains were sold by his father without his permission or knowledge.  Until next time!

Keep up the great work. Can not wait to see more on it.

RAY

Member of the BRHS and the GGLMRR Club

Got a lot done, making good progress. Looks like you didn't really take the summer off.

H&StJ Dan:

Great progress !!!  Thanks for sharing your layout & techniques

I certainly enjoyed meeting you in St Louis, too.  There a only a few OGR forumites in BRHS and fewer still that regularly attend the BRHS meets.  

Ray, Gerald E & Bill G were also at the BRHS Meet in St Louis.  They both say Hi !!!

Dec 22 Scenery in St Joseph Industrial Park

I learned a few things when building the temporary Halloween layout and then the temporary Christmas layout for my father-in-law:

I now have experience with a foam base as the primary base - enabling a nice river cut.  I also now have experience painting the back side of plexiglas, to create a sense of water depth.  A useful advancement in my backdrop skill may be something different you might be interested in trying - that’s what I’ll focus on.

Shown is the progression from painted plaster cast, to ground foam, to homemade photo backdrop.

Here is how I did it:  search online for ‘landscape’ photos, and be sure there’s no license.  Copy the selected photo into Excel.  Size and crop to your liking.  KEY: Flip the photo right-left, and save that separately.  Then print, and lay the photos out end to end.  Trim and paste to cardboard or paper board etc.  One of those cutting wheels and a straight edge as shown are really helpful.

The same end-to-end splicing works on Model Builder buildings by Evans Design that you design and print at home:

Basically that’s the advancement as of today in the St Joe Industrial Park!  One more shot of Johnson Controls Battery - the siding is multiple copies of Clever Models ‘O Scale Modern Steel Engine House Blue’ - the engine house sides.  The door and dock doors are printed from the Model Builder suite.  The staircase and barrels are 3D printed from the files available here on the Forum.  The semi trailer is a paper model from Team Track Models.  Pallets are Rail-Scale-Models.

As you can see, the upper level (Marceline in this area) is about to go in.  There’s plenty of scenery to add below, but our 9yr old great nephew will be here Tuesday so I’m trying to get a loop operational in Marceline in addition to the switching that’s ready here in the industrial park.  Merry Christmas!

Dan, You have done an excellent job with the paper models and your own photo-backdrop!!  Your 3 dimensional scenery is starting to look great as well!  I used the same metal brackets for my Ceiling Central RR as you are using for your Marceline upper level.

I hope you get enough working to give your great-nephew some enjoyment next week!  Right now, I'm liking Marceline as a handy shelf for tools and supplies.  I put in shelves underneath my layout for that purpose.  Who knows; if we ever have grandchildren, I may end up having a Thomas train or some other running on the low shelves for the children. 

Thanks Mark!

Miggy, you won't find a RTR Gegley's pickle car modeled, but l used a common Lionel vat car to bash into a Von Allmen's vat car for my home town.  Find a photo of a Gegley's car and do that( and post proto photo and model on here).  Mention of McKeen car, pickles, and that location also got my attention.  Hannibal, on 36, was on our 1950's route to the Rockies, so I find the area interesting. There (is) was an unusual grain elevator in Silex, that l missed seeing when l bought gas in Auburn, Mo., Like to see photo of that, but later discovered somebody offered an HO kit of it l copied in O. One of the RR's mentioned above may have served it.   Like to see photo of McKeen mentioned above, too.  I use several slightly bashed, and scratchbuilt vinegar and vat cars to serve the Menards vinegar (slightly bashed to pickle) plant l

April 5 - Linear Diagram of Track Plan

Had a friend visit and ask if I had drawn the track plan - which I have, and have posted earlier on this thread - But I hadn’t stretched the plan out to roughly match the geographic representation of St Joseph on the West and Keokuk on the East.

I’ve been operating two friends’ completed layouts, and have refined some of the track plans for my layout based on those experiences.  Specifically, when you’re new to a layout, it’s nice to get started with a through freight or passenger train with minimal stops.

The newest portion of the plan that I’m excited about is the staging and wye in the St Joe Industrial Park.  There was a single staging track, and I’ve expanded that to a set of 3 hidden staging tracks, plus a wye to turn trains.  At the opposite end of the layout are 2 hidden staging tracks past Keokuk.  So up to 5 unique trains (5-6’ in length) can cross the state from St Joe to Keokuk  and vice versa, as if coming from beyond the layout, and incoming trains can turn and back in to one of the staging spurs.

I also added 2 storage sidings at Marceline, so Disney steam trains can stay local to Marceline and receive service.

Staging return moves shown below.

Wow, Dan!  You have really planned that out well.