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Layout expansion

1320 Views 6 Replies 3 Participants Last post by  MichaelE
4
I've been kicking this idea around for the past couple of months, and I had the space for it so I started the project today.

I added a 75"x 18" extension for a new Deutsche Bahn five track yard. I haven't decided whether to just use it for train staging and storage or whether I'll turn this into a small passenger station.

I don't like the idea of it being a dead-end yard so it may just remain as a staging yard for trains that are still not bought yet.

It will be scenic-ed but like I said, I haven't decided in which direction to take it yet.

The yard lead will come off the outer main on the other side of the layout and the inner track and mountain branch also have access with a couple of switching manuvers.

The outer track will be head-in and the inner track will be tail-in with a dead-end yard and no means to turn the trains around and I will not be fooling around with a reversing wye.







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I had given that some thought several weeks ago and rolled that around in my head endlessly, but I do not want to move the crossover that would be right where the leg of the wye would come off of the main.

That crossover and another (curved) on the inner track gets a passenger train from the outer track to a third track in front of the station.

I had also thought about a split yard with one leg coming off of the main where that pesky cross-over is, and the other half of the yard with the lead where it is planned to go now.
I thought about that but it will then either have the train running backwards on the correct track or forwards but on the wrong track if I keep the train on the same main line it was on when it entered the yard as the one it departs to.

That's not to say I can't or couldn't run the same train on a different track exiting the yard, but it makes things easier in my head when switching, controlling and matching locomotive speeds, etc. if they all stay on the same track that they were originally on.

I run my trains on a specific track for those reasons and that rarely changes. It just keeps operations straight in my head.

But yes, correct track and direction of travel is strictly observed in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. Probably most other countries as well since there is a lot of cross-border operation if voltage and cats are compatible.
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This is the problem crossover that can't be moved for a wye installation. The second photo is both the first crossover and the second curved turnout leading to the third station passing track.

There is another turnout seven feet down the line from the curved turnout that takes a train back to the main line.

The curved turnout is on the extreme right in the second photo that leads to the station siding track.



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Today I installed sub-roadbed for the new yard lead. In the first photo, the turnout for the yard lead will be just to the right of the pictured turnout on the outside main line.

The second photo shows the sub-roadbed to accommodate the 26" radius curve of the yard lead to get into the yard.

The turnouts pictured, except for one will not be used. The turnouts will all be Peco #6 and the yard lead turnout will be remotely controlled. The others will be manually controlled.







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