# Passenger Operations in a Spare Bedroom - A Different Approach



## Dreadnought (Apr 19, 2016)

I'm currently trying to fit a plan with a lot of potential for passenger operations into a spare bedroom of at least 11x13 feet. If I have more space, I will extend the layout, but this is the smallest amount of space that it can fit into, I believe.

Since my new design is attempting to accomplish completely different things, I decided to start a new thread.

After thinking for a while, I decided that it would be better to try and get more mainline running out of my layout rather than focusing on terminal switching. Therefore, I completely redesigned the layout. The end result is below.









The grids are 12" and I've assumed that the door either opens outwards or has been removed to allow more space for the layout. The section in the top left is removable to allow easy access.

There is still a 'big' station and a coach yard on the left side of the plan, though they have been made much, much smaller in comparison to the previous plan. The fancy turning facilities have also been done away with, with only a turntable for turning observation cars and locomotives being left. There is also a commissary track and two express tracks. The station has also become stub-ended, though, looking at it now, I can see that it could probably be dual-ended if I just extended the tracks.

There is much more space to get out on the main and run now. I have tried to make aisle widths generous (at least in comparison to the last design) and they are at least 2 feet everywhere.

Getting out on the main, the first thing to notice is the small branchline going from the lift-out section through the middle peninsula to another lift-out section near the big station. This will have slightly tighter radii but will allow there to be local trains and places for coaches and sleepers to be picked up and dropped off at.

There is also a junction town that sees trains not only from the branchline and mainline, but also foreign trains coming out of staging that will be under the area at the right.

The area at the right is not finished, but it will either be a medium-sized terminal or a pair of smaller stations. We shall see.


What do you guys think of this plan? It tries to accomplish a lot less than the other one does, at least with regards to fancy facilities. The radii are a bit more generous on this plan. I've tried to make the mainline at least 30" to allow smooth operation of all passenger cars. This layout will also have different levels with comparison to the last one, since there are numerous places where bridges cross over different lines. However, the differences should be relatively minor.

This iteration is focused a lot more on mainline operations and less on terminal operations. Terminal operations, of course, are still present, but to a lesser degree. Only one wall is taken up with the large terminal, rather than the two or three walls taken up in the previous plan.


Thanks for any replies,

Dreadnought


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## CTValleyRR (Jul 26, 2014)

Well, I like it much better than the last one. This certainly seems to be more of a concession to your available space than your previous attempt to shove 10 pounds of crap into a 5 pound sack.

I personally would still have concerns about the width of the aisles, but that's a personal thing, so I'll defer to you.

I'm also concerned that your plan seems to involve a lift out at the widest, most densely tracked area. Why not reverse the plan, and have the narrow part with few tracks crossing the doorway?


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## Dreadnought (Apr 19, 2016)

That's an idea, I'll consider that. I don't like the idea of having turnouts on a lift-out. 

As for the aisles, I'l just have to do some experimentation with some of the people whom I plan to invite when I get the layout operating. While fitting through narrow spaces is not a problem for me, it may be one for others - something I currently experience quite often with my current operating group..


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## DonR (Oct 18, 2012)

I, too, like this design much better than the
previous. 

Since you have a basically single track mainline you
may want to consider having passing sidings on the right
and bottom tracks. That way you can have trains running
clockwise and counterclockwise, a major feature of
DCC systems.

Don


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## Dreadnought (Apr 19, 2016)

Thanks for the positive comments guy. Here's my (somewhat) finished design. The one I posted above was still unfinished as it was quite late when I posted it.








Please excuse my poor handwriting. The town names are mainly for me so I can start coming up with a basic operating schedule for the railroad. It's also to place the town in a certain location though none of the towns will be modeled very accurately due to limited space. 

Anyway, I've basically just filled out the track plan to take advantage of all available space. You will notice that the Chapel Hill area has a small freight yard for handling the minimal freight operations on this layout. There are a few industry tracks to switch around, but passenger operations are still the main focus. I've also added some passing tracks, though kept them limited to keep the dispatcher's job interesting.

I still hope to be able to handle long trains though I will have to see what length is practical on this layout. It would be great to have more space, as I would use it to make everything larger and allow longer trains, but this size will still work well.

Dreadnought


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