Yard idea

Looks like you have lots of switching options for operation and an oval to run trains.

Ray

Ken,

I'm going to make a suggestion which involves the track leading to your yard and your yard design.  Please look at the SCARM file and photo attached.  First off, you now have an extra siding to nowhere between your oval and your yard entrance.  By removing that, you increase the amount of space for other uses in the center of your oval.

Second, I modified your yard layout to be slightly more prototypical.  Your engine house will be in the same spot, but entered through a "wye" switch.  The two tracks just north of the engine house can be for engine servicing, or RIP (repair-in-place), or anything else you choose.

Third, and my suggested track arrangement doesn't cover this, have you considered direction of travel for trains entering and leaving yard?  If you always want engine to leave "nose" first, re-entry to the yard area will have to be a back-up maneuver.  But, if you want your engine to pull "nose" first into the yard, it will than have to leave with a train in another back-up maneuver.  If you could lower the oval further away from your yard, you could create a "wye" entry arrangement in the upper right corner of your layout with one leg of the wye heading to your yard while the other two legs complete your 90 degree curve.

Hope these suggestions help some.

Chuck