As an exception, the offstage portion of a single track that runs
into staging to be used as car storage/interchange is not “main-
line” but instead is “staging” (see below).
From this stat, we get a sense of how much “mainline” running
is available on the layout.
PASSING TRACK (cars):
Measure the length of each passing sid-
ing in feet and add them together. Do not count track where
the main would be fouled if cars were on the siding. That short
chunk of track from the turnout points to the clearance point
is connecting track (see below), not passing track. Convert this
figure to the cars equivalent.
This stat helps us determine mainline traffic levels (more on
this later).
“Using 40-foot cars in the stats
allows us to directly compare
track plans across scales.”
STORAGE TRACK (cars):
Storage track is the amount of track
in industrial spurs and yard storage (but don’t include staging,
that’s a separate category below). Measure and total up the
length of track in this category, and convert it to the cars equiv-
alent. Like passing track, don’t count track in this total where
the connecting track would be fouled. Remember one track
running through any yard was counted in the mainline total
and is not to be included in this total.
STAGING TRACK (cars):
Measure the total amount of track
used to stage trains and compute the cars equivalent. Again,
