I am finally at the point on this layout where I can start showing some real progress on what will be my steam servicing area and turntable/roundhouse setup. The eventual goal here is to have a mostly believable scenic area that will represent the 1920's to 1950's era. While most of my steam roster consists of PRR, the prototypes for the structures here are based on based on other railroads and materials handling suppliers.
The space is roughly 3'X17.5', with the TT/Roundhouse section bulked out to 4'. This allowed me put everything into a straight line but after laying out the trackage, I really could have used another foot or so. After playing around with various schemes, this is what I came up with:
From front to back the tracks are as follows - ash hoist receiving/TT access, inbound track, coal delivery track/TT access, outbound track, and 'bonus' track (spur). I had some different ideas that changed over time. The biggest factor in setting up the tracks was the decision to reuse/remodel my GTW-based Ogle 350 ton coaling tower. This structure has coal and sand delivery on the front and back sides, with only coal delivery beneath. More info on it here: https://ogrforum.com/t...aven-coaling-tower-1
Coal, water, and sand can be received on the inbound/outbound tracks. Ashpans can be dumped on the inbound track. The ash hoist receiving track and the coal delivery track were tagged into the TT just because I could do it. I have mixed feelings on this setup. Like I said earlier, another foot or two would have been nice to have here.
The coaling tower and ash hoist are in their final spots. The water tower may move around but I think the water columns are in their correct locations on the inbound and outbound tracks. The water tower and columns are from the popular Walthers kit. I added some simple details to the columns to dress them up a bit. These are from the old layout.
The ash hoist is from Crescent Locomotive Works. I believe it is based on a Fairbanks-Morse structure. I believe these are built to order. I thought about making my own ash hoist but this one is really nice and saves a ton of time. I gave it a quick repaint/weathering job:
For some reason, I was missing the add-on concrete cap for the one side of the pit. No big deal, I wacked one together in a few minutes. One really neat thing about this hoist is the fact that the mechanism works. The bucket will actually go all the way into the pit following the curved rails.
I donated my old Bowser 30" TT to a pal and replaced it with a Millhouse 28" PRR model. It's been built and running for a while, I just haven't had a chance to post about it. I chose the 28" model because I think it looks the closest to the real deal. I can fit my PRR duplexes on it no problem.
I built a TMCC box to run it. It is the old R2LC/DCDR setup from something, I think a K-Line USRA Mikado. It gets connected to track power on one side, and the TT motor is connected to the other side:
One of the goals of this yard was to use all Atlas #5s since my Decapods and Duplexes do not like to traverse the curved diverging rails of their O72 switches. I wanted all these switches to have manual throws but did not want to use Atlas' table top machines. Here's a pictorial on how I used Caboose Industries throws:
I cut an Atlas tie into three pieces:
I cut the strap over the throwbar, then drilled a 1/16" hole on top of the it, about 3/32" from the edge:
I then CA'ed the ties in place:
I then used a couple of 1/2" long #2 wood screws to fasten the throw. The tie slots happen to work out well:
I am keeping the background scenery simple for now. Just some mid-height bluffs with a concrete retaining wall along a short stretch. This will get covered with trees and rocks, along with some utility poles poking out here and there. I am making these bluffs out of 2" extruded foam. This section tapers down in depth from about 6.5" at the left end to about 4". The max height will be about 14" as it curves around the eventual roundhouse. I built this in three sections yesterday and the day before in the shop:
I don't believe foam saves any labor compared to screen over wood forms, but it allows for better shapes IMO and is easier to modify. I had some visions of clusters of building flats in this area and I could add some in later on by chopping into the foam much easier. On these sections, I cut the horizontal profile out a big piece of foam. I like to rip the foam into 2" by 2" or 2" by 4" strips for easier handling and shaping. Building these sections in my shop saved me a lot of pain as opposed to building these forms right on the layout.
Mike CT 
