"staging area"?

With a layout your size, the best thing to do is make cupboards with drawers under your layout table so that you can just pull out a drawer with the cars in it and put them on the track.  Member Scott Smith does this well.  Maybe he'll chime in.

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Dennis

Jay,

We used the liquor box version also. Also did the "grab off the shelf" version.

The most desirable is to find a way to design an attached staging area. The benefits are many. Layout access, no handling, impressive appearance. With 3 1/2" track centers, you can fit a lot of cars on a staging area. It can be as a simple as a wide shelf along a wall with a switch leading to the layout, how many tracks depends on how wide the shelf. 

The most difficult part is, is this something you can do? How long are your available walls? How wide can you make a shelf? 12", 24", 30", 36"? What type of track are you using? Can you incorporate something like Ross's 8 track yard switch? 4 track yard switch?

Under the layout is a popular area for an active staging area but your current 10' does not make that option feasible.

Oh, by the way, how many cars are we talking about?

I think a "rotisserie" style staging yard would be cool.

You could load it like a cylinder (or drum) of a pistol, make 6 tracks inside the cylinder that hang down and swing freely when the cylinder is rotated (thus keeping the cars upright) and when rotated, the track (could be at the top, bottom, or anywhere in between in relation to the layout) would align with the track on the layout.  Back the engine up (or load the cylinder with engine attached to the train) and off you go

Well I guess that's the "problem".  I count over 200 pieces of rolling stock and about 60 passenger cars. Pasengers cars are in the liquor boxes. Some of the rolling stock is distplayed, some is on the layout, but most are in their boxes stacked in a closet in the train room.  Motive power numbers about 105, not counting "dummy" units, but they're all displayed on shelves. Under the layout right now are the boxes from the displayed engines.  Just writing this, I can see that I have way too much for such a small space.  I run tublular track.  Right now there are two loops on the board and one elevated circle.  Also two trolley lines; one on the board and one running from the elevated loop to a "yard" at the other end of the board.  And by the way, right now and for the last 2 years there is only track on the board with no scenery.

A mess I guess, huh?

If you could show us your track plan, we might come up with some more ideas for on-layout staging, possibly with an upper or lower level.

I converted some of my existing under-layout magazine shelves to storage and display shelves for O-gauge items.

Bob: You have any diagrams of this idea?

Ace:  There is an outer loop running the perimeter of the 8 x 10.  There is an inner loop that has 7 swithches, 4 or which are for the "double" reversing loops and the other 3 accomodate 4 "yard lines" that each can hold about 4 cars each. Confusing, I know.

I was able to incorporate 2 lower levels of staging on the 9.5 X 8 L-shaped layout I am building.  You can get down about 5 inches in about 12 linear feet while maintaining a reasonable grade. There was not really enough room for a functional staging yard, but I was able to squeeze in two reversing loops--that way, two entire trains can be stored out of sight and pulled up onto the layout when needed. Since there is no backing required in this plan, I will be able to avoid possible problems by locking out the reverse units before putting the trains into staging.

We're kind of handicapped here because we don't know how much space you have for this "staging area".  For example, in my case, my layout is in the basement and my staging or storage area is in the next room with a hole in the wall for the track to go through. Is your layout room a bedroom and confined for example?  Got space under or around it?

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Dennis

Dennis: The room is about 16 x 13 and the 8 x 10 layout is flush against one wall, leaving access to 3 sides.  I'm really confined to that room.  If I try to go through the wall, I'll be in the family room and my wife will not appreciate that!

I wanted to have as many trains ready to run as possible but was limited by the original footprint of my layout also. I decided to take over a shelf that displayed Tonka trucks in the other half of my basement. I built a lift bridge to connect the layout with the existing shelf. The shelf is only 10 inches wide but about 18 feet long. This gave me room for three tracks to stage long trains without affecting my original layout. The cutting I had to do to some Ross turnouts should be illegal but they still work and allow three tracks to fit on a narrow shelf.

The link to one of my videos below shows the finished project. Scoot ahead to 3:35 on the timeline.

Good luck!

TJ

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uDoSE3nzI00

TJ: That's some layout. Unreal.

 TJ shows an great example of using a shelf as staging area. You are only limited by width and length.

TJ,

Impressive layout- your use of scenery backdrops and mainlines at different grades is excellent. I like the shelf storage too- simple makes getting new trains on the layout easy.

I'd love to see a plan view of your layout any links?

Geno

LOL, only in my head , but I do recall seeing something similar and will look for a link.

I thought about this design before for my G scale outside in a shed for storage. I felt I could have a chain at each end to keep the track level and even. A motor would drive the chain to stops, like the turntables have. You would hold a button until the track you wanted ligns up with the benchwork. Of course, the tracks must always be upright as they go up and over, like you mention, so it gets a little complicated. 

 With all the cash I spent on stuff, I had to put this on the backburner. I would think this would be a huge seller in G scale. It would be huge period.

This shows an ingenious vertical transfer table arrangement which moves entire (short) trains from display shelves to the layout:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B_8Hm7wakkY

For Jaymark's layout, I suspect the layout could be re-engineered to include additional storage and layover tracks, possibly on a separate level. But it would help to see the current track plan.

One easy way to get more car capacity on a layout without excessive complexity of trackwork is to build (for example) a four-track mainline circuit with the tracks concealed for a trainlength at the back of the layout. You can run different trains alternately or together without a lot of switching, using the hidden track for layover to create an illusion of variety. I used that scheme on an N-scale layout.

To add car storage capacity on a layout, I prefer a few long double-ended tracks that can hold complete trains ready to go, instead of stub-end yards which are tedious to switch. I went that route with my HO railroad, creating a visible 7-track "division point" yard where trains stop to change crews.

Thanks Geno, I appreciate it. Here is my tack diagram as it appeared in an issue of OGR magazine a few years back. The lift bridge is in the upper center of the diagram and the shelf staging area extends to the far right.
TJ

TJ,

I did think your layout was in a space that is larger in the 20 x 20 family room I have available for my layout. Unfortunately I don't have the option to build a permanent layout, but a modular-style layout with removable benchwork would get the green light from the "planning commission" at home (our family room also hosts my wife's choir practice on occasion).

My layout will most likely have removable benchwork 18-24" deep and follow the walls, but I think I will follow your lead and have a return loop go out of the room and come back to give longer trains room to stretch their legs and avoid the "dog chasing it's tail". I plan to put my staging yard under the upper level and have it run the full length of the benchwork to accommodate  the long cars I run.

Geno

Planning commissions can be a problem and usually involve negotitating an equal and opposite reaction of some sort. Maybe you can turn off your sound systems while the choir is practicing!

It sounds like you have a good plan for a fun layout.

Jaymark, I hope you are able to glean some ideas presented here and find a solution to your storage problems.

TJ

I drew a quick sketch of what I had in mind:

Looks/works kinda like a ferris wheel, except elongated.  It could be as long as you have enough room for  or whatever length your train would be.  If you made the top track level with your layout track then almost the entire contraption would be mounted below track level.

The above example won't work unless I relocate the other 5 hanging tracks.  The shafts (pivot points) for each track have to be on the same diameter...back to the drawing board!

TJ, that's not a layout.  That's an empire!  Well done.

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Dennis

One of the advantages of building a below grade staging yard is that you add extra real estate to your layout, and not only you can store assembled trains there, but you can add structures, lighting and a backdrop to create a new scene. Larger layouts have both a down and up grade to access the yard, but smaller layouts are limited by space- in this case I would put the graded line at the rear to make the yard more accessible. Be sure to limit the grade to 2%, less if using tinplate engines w/ no traction tires.

Geno

If I understand this situation correctly, you could put all the hanging tracks at the same diameter, for example, you could use the diameter for the cradle at the 12 o'clock position. You just need to allow more room for the device, because the cradles at the 2, 4, 8 and 10 o'clock positions hang out to the side compared to your drawing, and the cradle at the 6 o'clock position hangs further down compared to your drawing.