Planning for Operations - Making Your Layout More Interesting & Fun!

Model Railroader posted a freebie on the top ten considerations for operations on a layout. It was originally published in 2002, but provides an interesting basis for a discussion of operations. It was written by Tony Koester.

I've changes some things to be more current and applicable to outdoor model railroading.

10 ways to foster operation on your layout.

1. Staging - Very few model railroads depict an isolated part of the continent's rail network, so most of our layouts should provide for moving traffic between our railroad and one or more other railroads that connect end-to-end with it or cross it at grade. This can be something as simple as a spur that represents an interchange with another railroad, where cars or trains can be dropped off or picked up, or a set of a number of tracks at waist level where you can set up cars, around the corner from the layout, or in the garage.

2. Linear design - Most outdoor railroads that are designed for operation allow you to walk alongside the train. Try to avoid large inaccessable areas, where the engineer's control of the train can be compromised.

3. Walkaround control - Any layout design that doesn't accommodate walkaround control as a means for the engineer to follow alongside the train needs to be rethought. Normally this means wireless, but it could mean a long wire on your wired throttle. It's worked for me.

4. Car-forwarding system - You can't "operate" unless you can simulate the work of railroading, and that means forwarding cars to their proper destinations. The Doug Smith-inspired car-card-and-waybill system still reigns supreme as far as I can tell, but today there are lots of options - both simpler and more complex ("feature-rich").

5. Interchanges - Where railroads cross at grade, they usually construct interchange tracks so they can deliver cars to and receive cars from each other. An interchange track is often a quarter circle, more or less, in one quadrant of the level crossing. Since almost any type and quantity of car can be found on an interchange track, for us it's effectively a "universal industry" that offers more traffic variety than any other industry. Bonus: There are no industrial structures to build.

6. Large industries - It's tempting to model a variety of smaller industries, but in so doing we often build industries so small that they'd be lucky to fill one semi- trailer a week, let alone several boxcars or covered hoppers per day. It's often better to model one large industry that can generate a lot of rail traffic using a variety of rolling stock. Some examples would be a glass or tire plant, a brewery, or a paper mill. Think of Marty Cozad's grain elevators. You could also run a spur into a dead end tunnel if you have no room for a large or any building.

7. Switching - While running a heavy train up a long grade, cutting on helpers, running a long train is fun, there are intellectual challenges and rewards of yard and industrial switching. In the smaller scales most modelers seem to prefer a lot of switching, and several veteran operators have recently built layouts that focus on industrial switching and yard work. Building-in lots of yard and local work is therefore a priority for most operators.

8. Traffic control - Small layouts can get by without a dispatcher and/or train-order operators, but these are typically the most realistic and challenging jobs on the railroad - especially now that timetable-and-train-order operation is back in vogue.

9. Branch or short line - A connecting rural branch or short line offers a chance to use older, smaller motive power, or combine narrow gauge with standard gauge. The branch line can offer low-key operation for those who don't want to deal with the intensity of the main line.

10. Sound - Once a novelty, sound effects are now a must for many modelers. The realism Digital Command Control (DCC) sound imparts is phenomenal, and operators now use whistle or horn signals to support operations such as sending out a flag or alerting a train being met or passed that another section is following.

Tips & Information on Designing a Yard

Desirable and required things for a yard:

An arrival track (and departure track too) is required ... the road loco brings the inbound train in on that track either cutting off the whole train or just the cut of cars for this yard. The departure track is sometimes the same track.
A track to build a train on ... while switching, some space is needed to place the cars blocked in the correct order for an outbound train ...after the train is built, it can be moved to the departure track
A switcher pocket ... a short piece of track to stash the yard switcher out of the way to allow other trains to move through the yard, sometimes the switch lead doubles as a pocket
A switching lead is fundamental ... a separate track is required that permits the local switcher to work without fouling the mainline
A caboose track ... somewhere handy, a track is needed to place cabooses. Depending on your practice, the road loco may pick up the conductor and his caboose elsewhere and tack it to the train on the departure track or the yard crew fetches the caboose and tacks it onto the train just before departure

In operation, most trains are broken down on arrival as opposed to cherry picking the yard for departures. This implies that there should be as many tracks as there are outbound trains so that the switch crew preparing old 321 (afternoon wayfreight) would just pull all the cars on yard track 4 and block them on the train makeup track. Then they would be moved to the departure track to add a caboose ...

Description of main components of a yard:

A passenger spur off the mainline for terminating passenger service. (Also used as switcher pocket)
Mainline
Long passing siding and freight Arrival/Departure track.
Yard lead off end of passing siding. (Also used as switcher pocket)
Engine facility off yard lead or other end of passing siding.
Caboose track off engine facility. (also used as switcher pocket)
Long make-up/break-down spur off yard lead.
Shorter classification track for East/North bound cars
Shorter classification track for West/South bound cars
Short classification track for local and misc. cars.

Basic design rules

Your model is going to be a compressed form of a real yard, so some compromises need to be effected. A real railroad yard might have 2 or 3 double ended yards back to back, an arrival yard, a classification yard, and a departure yard. Sometimes this is duplicated on each side of the main line! You will most probably have to combine these into a single yard.

First, some basic rules:

Avoid a layout that causes you to block or "foul" the main line. This usually means having "switching leads" or "yard leads" to keep the train off the main line. This means the lead track is dedicated to this purpose. The fewer turnouts on the main leading to the yard the better, ideally only 2.
Try to have dedicated arrival and departure tracks. This way an arriving or departing train can be somewhere where it doesn't foul the main line, or switching leads, and are separate from where the real switching action is taking place. They are sort of holding tracks separate from classification tracks.
For us old timers, have a caboose track. These are often off the yard lead, the main ladder, or the arrival or departure tracks. Make sure it is a facing point turnout.
There should be at least one runaround track, where the loco can "run around" the train. This is also important where you do not have facing point switches for industries in the yard, i.e. the loco must pick up the car on the "wrong" end. The minimum length of a runaround is the longest car you have, but longer is better.
Classification tracks are for storing cars that are to be repaired in place (RIP track), MOW rolling stock, house cars, etc. These can be located away from the main yard area. This is also where locos can "lay over" between runs, and be serviced with water, coal, etc.

The size of the yard determines how many cars can be in it. An easy way to determine how full the yard can be and still function is to figure out how many cars can sit on the track without fouling the turnouts, and divide by half. This is when the yard is FULL!.

Notes for designing my yard

Use a compound ladder, makes longer body tracks in same space, as long as you have more than 4 body tracks, but really pays off at about 6 body tracks.
Have a runaround track
Have a caboose track
I want a wye for turning trains ( I just like them, and no room for a turntable
There may not be enough room for pyramid or diamond layout
The hardest thing will be a yard lead, because it needs to be as long as the longest body tracks.
I'd like a wye on the mainline for turning trains, but it eats up space, any other way to turn an entire train? Otherwise a wye to turn engines can be smaller.... use the space for a yard with a diamond or pyramid?
A small sub yard at the end of the yard for locos looks nice, i.e an engine terminal or repair yard..
What about having team tracks?
The track spacing can be 13 feet, which is 5.4" in 1:29, 7.7" in 1:20.3, take this into consideration.

Yard accessories

tower
the yard should be lit with floodlights, all yards well lit.
fueling and servicing facilities in engine terminal
various buildings to support yard personnel, bunkhouse
buildings, ramps, etc. around team tracks

Planning & Design of my layout - How I got from ideas & desires to running trains!

(remember: links to sub-pages at the bottom of this page)

click to jump to the bottom

Overview:

I have documented my decision process on how I sorted out the answers to the questions that I have seen people agonize over endlessly.

I have found that by setting wants and then putting them in priority, along with REALISTIC expectations of effort and cost, the decisions are really not all that difficult.

Too many people, in my experience, just keep shifting the priorities of things so they never seem to be able to come to a decision. I hope outlining how I did it saves some people some grief and leads to a better decision.

Basic Planning / Decisions:

I gave a lot of thought on what I wanted. Operationally, I wanted two major things:

Two independent loops for unattended "display" operation of 2 trains.
The ability to run multiple trains with friends in a limited "operational" way, i.e. a real railroad.

This made some kind of remote control mandatory.

I also wanted to:

MU (multiple units) and doubleheading
no limitation in run time
have all the lights and sound I wanted in every loco, smoke too.
ability to fit in all locos, even the smallest
remotely control switch machines and not run a lot of wires

This made it a decision of battery power vs. track power, and battery power cannot accomplish all these things. I also did not want the maintenance of batteries, charging, and the replacement as they wear out.

I settled on track power and DCC.

I also had the priority of reliability, so I made a small loop of 3 types of track, Aristo-Craft, USA Trains, and LGB. All of it oxidixed significantly overnight, and if left for 2 days, required "scrubbing" with an abrasive track cleaner.

So I made a test loop in the front yard of stainless steel, where it would get hit with water on a daily basis:

10 foot diameter H&R stainless steel. Dead reliable, no corrosion.

Being a new house, it was easy to bury conduit completely around the back yard for feeders for power. I coupled this preparation with the decision to use stainless steel track for low maintenance.

These were the major decisions that had to be made to move forward:

track power
DCC remote control
stainless steel track

Track Construction:

First, I made a test loop of brass track, that was oval, with the R1 curves from Aristo-Craft, USA Trains, and LGB, all 3 brands.I thought since the weather is very mild here in San Diego this would be no issue. But I am 1 mile from the Pacific Ocean, and while it does not fell like it, my weather station says it gets to 98% humidity overnight. So what ran fine one day would need oxide removal (abrasive track cleaner) the nexe day.

After this experience, and reading all the naysayers forum posts about DCC outside would not work (hah!), I selected Aristocraft stainless steel sectional track, with SplitJaw stainless rail clamps.

For roadbed, I figured coarse pea gravel would be fine, I have good drainage everywhere in my planters. Initially, I used pieces of 1/2" hardibacker for turnouts to keep them level, especially crossovers and the switchyard. I later found that it was unneeded under switches, in fact the ballast would work between the switches and the hardibacker and raise the turnouts up. My track ran several months on top of bark chips as ballast! This actually helped set levels/heights, and then I'd scoop out a section of bark chips and pour in ballast.

I chose the Aristo stainless because it was half the price of the H&R stainless, which were my only choices at the time. The Aristo track has it's own issues, but they can be overcome. The supplied rail joiners are crap, poor electrically, and even not so good in just aligning the rails, so I went Split Jaw stainless rail clamps.

I also settled on pneumatic switch machines, so they are waterproof and also require virtually no maintenance.

10 Years later, everything is still solid and no real maintenance to speak of.

Plants / integration to the garden

I have a section on plants, and I decided to keep it minimal and in pots in the ground which will control growth and make it easy to trim them. See my section on plants.

The stainless track and pneumatic switch motors allows me to use overhead sprinklers wherever I want, but I later changed to drip mainly for the plants and weed control.

Further refinement of the layout philosophy and goals

To figure out a track plan, I gurther refined my goals. I wanted the following items:

Unattended operation of at least 2 trains in a display mode, in opposite directions (more interesting)
Ability to "convert" the 2 loops above into a single "twice around" layout for a "bigger" layout.
Enough spurs to allow some kind of operating session with freight trains picking up and dropping off.
Passing sidings for more interest.
A yard where trains could be made up and broken down.
Integration into the existing landscape so the layout does not overpower the back yard.
Reliable operation, wireless remote control, MU capability, low maintenance.

Track Plan

Below is the current layout plan, East (the back fence), is up, North to the left. (No the track ends are actually connected, this drawing is dimensionally accurate, from RR-Track, and does not reflect the "give" in rail joints)

The "box" in the center of the drawing is the house.

You can see the inner loop, the small kidney-shaped loop on the right. The switchyard is on the right, or South side.

The outer loop goes along the back fence, North to the property line, and then West to the gate, then it doubles back along the house and comes back along the Eastern end of the house to reconnect.

In the future, some temporary track will connect the switchyard to track in front of the house, and then back near the where the normal loopback occurs.

You can also see a spur on the North side, this will enter the garage for storage.The current total track length is just over 700 feet. With the track across the front and the storage in the garage the total will be in excess of 1,100 feet.

Outer mainline length is 400 feet including the 2 passing sidings, or a bit over 300 feet for one circuit of the mainline.

History

I have loved trains, real and model since I was a kid and when we heard the Santa Fe coming, my grandmother would throw me in the car, and we would race at breakneck speeds to see it come. She would put pennies in my ears to combat the sound of the horn!

I had a Lionel 027 set as a kid, Santa Fe F unit. For the first few years, it only came out at Christmas as an oval under the tree. Later, my dad, being one of those famous do-it-yourself types, added on a room, and put a 4x8 sheet of plywood in the wall, hinged so that it would swing out of the wall at waist height. Heaven!.

We moved in the middle of junior high to a much larger house, and I built a 5 x 9 foot layout from scratch, wood frame construction, with the cookie cutter approach to use a sheet of plywood for the sub-roadbed. I used Tru-Scale wooden road/bed ties, and hand-spiked all of my rail. I also built my switches from "kits" where the frog and points were assembled. That was a challenge.

No more progress until out of college. At some point I got married, and bought a house. I bought N scale trains, but had no space for a layout. I had a simple loop of track, but that was all. I joined a club, and got my first exposure to train club cliques and politics! Didn't get to run much! Pretty frustrating, since most people in the club were retired, so time meant nothing to them, my precious hours at the club we spent listening to arguments.

I had been thinking of an outdoor layout since there never seems to be enough space inside. I bought some Z scale, but still no layout. I went to the National Garden Railways Convention, and since it was in San Diego, went on all the tours of people's garden railways... I was hooked!

We bought a new house in 1998, and I was determined to have a layout, so planned it from the beginning. What I did is make the general space, and ran conduit all around the periphery of the yard. I also assumed that the track wanted to be the greatest radius possible, so made sure no landscaping was put within 18 inches of the walls. It paid off, but it took some work to keep reminding the landscaper not to plant a 20' palm tree smack dab in the right of way!

Other things I want to do:

Make up a vertical transfer table so that the tracks come into the garage so that entire trains can be made up and be ready to go. Also want a spur to go into a little refrigerator so that cold beer can be picked up and dropped off to guests! Another idea is a lift bridge that raises to the level of the kitchen window to load food and drinks for delivery!

Sub-Pages

Click the links below to go "deeper" into more details on layout planning

Planning for operations

Designing a yard

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