Layout design assessment - 11
This track plan can hold just over 80 cars and move 8-9 trains of
about 7 cars each. The layout only has 17 turnouts, or about one
turnout for every 4 square feet of layout area. This layout is much
less dense than the previous CB&Q layout, which will make it a lot
cheaper to build a quite a bit less effort to maintain even though
both layouts fit in the same square footage of space.
While this layout has one passing siding, it’s quite ample at 16 cars.
Since staging is limited to 4-9 cars, trains will be shorter than this.
The Nobscot Valley RR (N)
Kevin Theroux posted this plan on the MRH website at:
mrhmag.com/track-plan-database?page=17#comment-15985
Room area ............... 56 sq ft
Layout area ............. 27 sq ft (48%)
Number of turnouts ...... 16
Total track ............. 93/372 ft/cars
Mainline track .......... 76 cars
Passing track ........... 60 cars
Storage track ........... 120 cars
Staging track ........... 0 cars
Service track ........... 8 cars
Connecting track ........ 108 cars
Passing sidings.......... 2
Passing length .......... 32/30/28
Staging tracks .......... 0
Staging length .......... 0/0/0
Maximum cars ............ 120 cars
Max-to-main ............. 158%
Cars moved .............. 68 cars
Trains .................. 2.3 (30 cars ea.)
Dispatching threshold ... 29 car trains
This layout can hold 120 cars and move 2 trains of about 30 cars
each. The design has 16 turnouts, or about one turnout for every
1.5 square feet of layout area (equivalent to 1 turnout per 3 square
feet in HO), which makes the density on this layout moderate as to
cost and maintenance effort. This plan’s turnout density is greater
than the Illinois Rail design, but less dense than the CB&Q design.
The typical train length of 30 cars and a dispatching threshold of 29
cars means the dispatcher may find it challenging to get two full-
length trains past each other without some planning.
A FINAL EXAMPLE: MY SISKIYOU LINE
Then of course, there’s my own HO Siskiyou Line layout. These stats
actually reveal some design tricks I used to get everything to fit.
Look closely and see if you can spot what I did.
MRH-Oct 2014
