please critique this switching plan

First thing that jumps out at me is the lack of a runaround for the switcher.  Also, from experience, small switchers and small angle crossovers dont play nicely. The rollers arent far enough apart and you end up with a stall spot where none of the rollers are getting power.

Yep...nowhere to run around anything, but you have both facing and trailing point switches in there. If you want a locomotive to be able to switch ALL the industries here, you have to build a runaround into this somewhere. Without the run-around, some industries can only be switched by a westbound train, while others can only be switched by an eastbound train. There are many places like that in the real world, but I don't think that's what you're trying to do here.

 

I'm also not sure what you mean by "... the secondary line off of the mainline..." Which line is the main?

 

And it is spelled "fouling" not "fowling."

Besides the fatal lack of a runaround, it strikes me that there are too many industries crammed in there.  If an arriving train is to switch cars out of the industries, there has to be a place to store some of them while cars from the train are being delivered.  I'm not sure your plan has this. 

 

Another problem is the "industry flats" track at the top.  It is a switchback, which is complicated (not necessarily a bad thing) and the tail tracks getting to it are short.  The tail tracks are on each end of the 2nd track from the top of the drawing and it looks like they will hold the locomotive and one car.  Switching a row of industries with such a short tail track seems like it will get tedious.  There is a line between fun to switch and a tedious pain in the pitoot to switch and your plan might have crossed it.

 

When designing a switching area, I like to make a scale drawing of it (which you have), then cut some pieces of paper or thin cardboard (I like index cards) to the size of your freight cars and locomotive.  Label or color them to tell them apart (loco, tank car 1, boxcar 2, boxcar 3, etc.).  Place some cars in the industries and "arrive" with your loco and some other cars.  Using your fingers to slide the loco and cars around, "switch" the industries and see whether it is too simple, kind of complicated or too tedious.  Make some changes and try it again until you get the kind of operation you like.

 

I forgot to mention the curves are all 0-54.
$oo

Thanks for the critique am thinking of eliminating some of the shorter spurs will work on a run around for the plan.

Rich, not sure what to correctly call where the line leaves the mainline to this area.
$oo

well let me know if this is what a run around is for a switcher to move cars and still get around. I made an error on first as I set it at 2'6" in width thought I had a big area to work with so this switching plan reflects correct size.

the switching is done all from the right side as your looking at itas that has the 7'-8' area to not foul the mainline.

the curve leads to a 22" straight then into another 054 curve and then to both the roundhouse area and to the mainline.

 

tell me what you think.

 

$oo

 

Have you now moved the main track to the back (top) of this diagram? That's what it looks like. If so, this is a much more workable layout. You have a passing siding on the main, a runaround and several industries to serve.

 

Are the tracks to the left sub-ended or does the main go on through?

hello rich, the tracks to the left are all stub ended at the moment. if I were to use the left lower track as the main  I think I'd have troubles as  the middle area with all the curves might prove trouble some?

I would think the upper track would be a better choice  for the main line but had originally thought of using false warehouse fronts from "ogr" with box cars spotted but maybe you have something here as I could still put them there and the train could pass by them hmmm food for thought just a matter of reworking the trackage there to connect at top instead of the bottom. thanks rich you helped me see another way to do this!

 

originally I was going to put a ross 4 way switch at both ends and have a yard area so thats why I tried to run the branch line from the mainline along the bottom on the first plan so it would connect at opposing mainline connections.

 

thanks $oo

cyan line is the secondary line off of the mainline.

 

Most people call that color "magenta".