SWITCHING LAYOUT -FASTTRACK

Hi WRGMILW,

Just looking at your plan, I'm guessing that one of the tracks you "lost" in conversion was a runaround track.  Without that, any engine working the yard tracks would be unable to service the grain elevator.  Further, after the engine pulled loads/empties to the north end of the layout, it will only be able to pick-up or leave cars at the candy company without being trapped by the cars to be left.

Your four tracks in the southeast corner could be run as an Inglenook, but why bother building the rest if you can't access most of them with pick-ups and deliveries?

Chuck

Can you post a picture of the HO layout? I would like to see more folks in here try to reproduce it in O. You might be pleasantly surprised at the insight and ideas you will get.

HI THERE 

Here is the original ! 

OK, well I took a shot at it. We didn't set any "rules" so I invented a few.

1. Since the original was 4x8 and we were doing "O", I upped the limit to 5x9
2. We didn't set a track dimension, and I went a little crazy, the min was O-36, but I also have O-48, O-60 and I even used a O-72 Wye
3. I have no experience with turntables, so if there is a rule for a "whisker" (I did know that term) I make mine all at least 15 inches
4. We didn't say how many cars to fit at the stops, and In mine A, B & C can likely only hold 1 car

I'm sure we will get some updates, so let's see what happens!

Hi There Mike 

If you noticed my table is a 10'x6' 

I was using 036 turnouts , That is what I have .  I do not own a turntable , so I did not use one in my planning .    I also do not have 060 curves or a 072 wye turn out either .

I do like your plan !   But I would not use turntable to have room for buildings .  Thanks for sharing your idea !  

Sticking with Mike's5'X9' (of course could be expanded):   All curves are O-36

All turnouts are Fastrack O-60 except two O-72 wyes, and ONE O-36

Used Atlas turntable, and the whisker tracks Atlas, with three O-45 7.5degree pieces

I included all of the 1 3/8 fitters needed for FT O-60s, if you are willing to shave off, you can do better!

Hi WRGMILW, I was so fixated on the HO picture I forgot to look at your first O version! I also forget that AnyRail has the 1 foot marks. SCARM has the 5 inch marks leftover from Mixy's metric markings, so I didn't notice the 10x6. I need to go read some more about this switching layout and it's running rules. Why does it have a turntable anyway? Is this a two person puzzle so you need to dispatch a second engine? I am more familiar with the John Allen's Timesaver as I got help from the forum working with my scouts. It's documented here:

Cub Scout Timesaver project

Hi Ken, those darn 1 3/8 pieces trip me up in SCARM every time. I think they are also required for the O-72 Wye and I left them off there too, so it would need fixed as well. Thanks! I have a question just because I don't have any TT experience. Is it "normal" to have those small curves at the start of the whiskers? I'm guessing it is just a personal preference item.

Mike,

Distance between whisker tracks and curves on whisker tracks are purely functions of modeler space utilization.  If the modeler needs the roundhouse very close to the turntable (TT), he can build whisker tracks that actually cross each other before reaching the TT.  If the modeler chooses to have whisker tracks that just parallel the last wall of the roundhouse, he will have to curve those last few tracks off of the TT.  If the angle of the roundhouse doors doesn't match well with the distance between the TT and roundhouse, the tracks leading to the outside-most doors may have to be curved to get the tracks through the doors.

In real life, curves and crossings near roundhouse/TT complexes would have been avoided as much as possible.  For modeling purposes, the TT just makes the industrial area seem more real and adds some more switching movement fun.  I also believe the original poster dropped some of the features, when changing scales, to be able to utilize O scale structures.  Unfortunately, dropping the runaround track created the problems I mentioned to him above.

Chuck

Hi Chuck

You were right that I dropped the runaround track .  I wanted more room for the buildings .  The layout was designed  just to get into switching details .   & have some fun .  The layout was just a  temporary one . 

ATOZ Lewis's layout & ken's layout showed me some different ideas !   

THANKS to all Three of you for some different ideas .    I will try building the temp switching layout after Christmas . 

Bill

The "rules" are basically the issues when adapting track plans in different scales.

O scale or O gauge is 1:48 and HO scale is 1:87, thus everything is bigger in O.  So, by deleting things that don't fit, you found a snafu in your track plan.  If you absolutely wanted to faithfully follow the HO track plan, it would be 8x16.  But there would be lots of unused plywood in that size because there is plenty of space in the center.  Thus you "could" make the layout a "U" shape giving your train crew (Cubbies) a chance to follow their train from yard to customer.

Your 5x9 was a very good effort to modify the track plan.  Had you added a run around (passing) track you would have nailed it.  Keep in mind that you may need to move a locomotive and a freight car off the runaround to the main line on either end of the runaround track, thus the "tail" should be no less than the length of the locomotive and an additional minimum of one car length on the "dead end" tail track.

Had you extended the width and length on the bottom (yard side) and on the left (track connecting the yard to the industries on top) then you could put a switch between the "expansion switch" and the "yard switch" and a second switch between the "yard switch" and the "end of main line track" on the bottom of the layout.  Then connected those switches with a track and you are golden...yard, runaround, industries and a switch to expand in the future.

What helps me is to actually operate my track plan in my mind...I dig into a cut of cars in my yard (mentally) pulling out boxcar ATSF 101 and place that on the main or runaround.  Return to the yard and drop the cars "behind" PRR 357 and pull PRR 357 to couple onto ATSF 101.  Then put the other cars back on the yard track and then "pull" my train around to the industrial area, shoving back so that PRR 357 is spotted at the Candy Company.  Since ATSF 101 goes to Mary's Furniture, I shove my remaining car back to the runaround track and drop ATSF 101 on the track, then pull the locomotive forward so I can "run around" ATSF 101 and couple on behind the car so that I end up "shoving it" into Mary's Furniture spot.

Sometimes I find it helps me visualize my moves if I sketch the track and imagine it with the aid of an ink pen or my finger moving as the locomotive.

It has been a few years since I was a Cub leader.  I had a den of 12 Webelos.  Six ended up teens as Eagle Scouts.  One entered the Naval Academy, went on to become a surgeon and is still an Officer in the US Navy.  One became an FBI agent.  A couple went into education.  I lost track of a couple as they graduated and moved out of state.  Thanks for your investment in today's youth...