# Industry planning?



## novice

So, I've been reading lots of stuff for a cpl months now, working on this and that for my layout (don't have the trains set up any more or the tracks laid) and I've seen quite a few "no plans" comments regarding industry layouts.

So, I was hoping to get some input on industry planning and layout.

Do you just buy structures you like, place them and hodge podge a layout or do you actually plan layouts and routes based on industry?

I've been playing a game "Railroads" which is industry heavy and has given me some decent ideas, so...

My thoughts in general (I realize some of these require a certain size layout):


Farm - has a stop for cattle loading, next stop slaughter house (city/rural building?)
Coal/Ore/mining - stop and load car, next stop processing plant (city/building?)
Passengers - obviously stations both rural and city etc. next stop next town?
Mfg - stop at mfg plant (bldg) pick up mfg goods deliver to distribution site? Example - Truck/car mfg deliver to lot?

Others?

Thanks as always in advance.


----------



## Gansett

I plan on basing my layout on the Providence & Worcester RR. I looked on their website to see what goods they carried. I'll base my industries on that.

Although I keep hearing, it's yours to do what you want and have fun.


----------



## cabledawg

My layout has been a real hodgepodge of stuff. THe initial setup was just a town setting with a train running around the outside and through a tunnel. THe expansion sorta gave the train a place to go, but it still isnt what I would call an industry. It's supposed to be a lumber mill, but since we have alot of hopper cars and the second spur has no buildings around it, that section has become a generic manufacturing plant. And somewhere in there we've added a few passenger cars, but with one terminal.

So on my layout, the kids just run trains around and switch cars over in the "industry" yard, and passengers can board a train with no destination. The only advantage to this chaos is that we can buy any loco, freight/passenger car, or building and make it fit somewhere. With no particular theme in mind and an "anything goes" mindset, our options are limited only by the funding.


But you know what, the kids love it. And that's all that matters. :thumbsup:


----------



## gunrunnerjohn

Dawg, you have forgotten the basic tenet of model railroading. 

*It's your railroad, you can do anything you like with it*.


----------



## raleets

Novice,
Like others above have stated "it's your railroad", so there are NO rules :laugh:
If you don't believe it, just take a look at my layout sometime :laugh: :laugh: because I probably broke every rule in the book!
Bob


----------



## novice

Thanks everyone - and of course - it's mine I can do what I want.

I was just wondering how/if anyone considered industries in their layout and how they handled them

My buildings are also mostly hodge podge as well, but as nothing is up and running anymore I started to consider a more "logical" approach to the setups and my purchases of specific buildings/industry structures.

Examples:

I have multiple stations so I was going to put one in separate areas and build small communities around each. Not large, just a few buildings- specially since O needs so much area which I really don't have.

I now have a HO loco maintenance building (if I ever get it finished) so I can have a small repair yard.

I've trying to get both an HO and O round house and turntables so I can have a bit of staging yard.

And of course I still have to figure out "Blocks" to separate the trains and run them independently - I may just decide to create unconnected tracks and have the industries on each of them separate.


----------



## Jammer Six

I was looking at an ore-forge-processing plant here in Seattle the other day.

They have (approximately) 22 different "stops" for cars. Their yard holds close to 80 cars, in different conditions. (Full of steaming, red hot trash, full of steaming, red hot ingots, full of coke, etc.) They have 5 or 6 different types of cars, and a rough count shows 45-50 turnouts *in the plant*, and a 7 track holding yard. I saw more than 100 cars being shuffled by six small switchers.

You could fill a bedroom with their plant, and the hallway with their yard in N scale, without moving a single passenger. Operations would take four or five people to simulate what they do.

It was amazing.


----------



## haphall

Just musing here...
So, imagine you like beer and think a brewery might be fun to add. You'll have grain, hops, water (maybe), bottles and kegs all coming in. Depending on size, they might all unload at different docks or at least different doors. Then the beer's made and has to get shipped out. The brewery might have their own cars or lease from other lines. You would also have several trucks for more local deliveries. So, one industry requires about half a dozen cars (minimum) and possibly several tracks. Doesn't matter which industry you choose. You'll have similar considerations.
Just my 2c worth.
Hap


----------



## sstlaure

My next layout is planned for "operations" i.e. raw materials picked-up at one point and delivered to an industry elsewhere. I'm even beginning to plan on a full automotive plant. Shipments of boxcars (parts), coil cars (steel), flat cars (truck frames) and auto loaders (finished goods) go in/out of those things and operations make things much more interesting. I much prefer realistic operations to watching the trains go round-round. I buy the industry buildings I want in the layout, build them (or at least the basic outsides of them) and plan the spot on the layout where it will go. That way I don't have turn-outs/junctions right where I need to put a building.


----------



## novice

Great ideas guys - 

Agreed - some industries would incur quite a few "extras" if you were to go for realism.

When I look at model railroads, my admiration comes not from how "real" the flow is, but how well the scenery looks, automated stops/structures etc.

In fact, I would go so far as to say model railroading to me is "fantasy-realism" - Since I don't really know whether a layout looks like the real thing or not, it's more a joy to watch the trains go round, admire the craftsmanship and techniques and watch any automation that occurs - which to me is one of the most fun aspects of the whole layout. Wish I had more automation, but I'm getting there 

Also, IMO you don't necessarily need an entire set of sub-industries to support 1 (example the beer industry from Hap) but rather 1 or two - Train picks up produce from the farm, delivers some to market, some to the distillery, picks up beer and drops kegs off at a loading dock. All that can occur withing a few feet - real? No way. Cool looking? To me it is


----------



## TrainmanTim

novice,

I'm like you, I don't really care about being absolutely realistic and have everything down to exact scale. I feel if it looks nice then it's OK, especially if you don't have room. As far as doing an industry layout, I say pick one that really interests you, find out what some of the major companies are in that industry, and research where they get their materials, what stops are made, etc. If you pick an industry you like, then the research part will be fun. Once you get an idea, then I think the rest of the layout will fall into place.


----------



## jzrouterman

I lie somewhere in the middle. I don't need everything to be completely prototypical, but then I don't want it to look toylike either. I think that I have broken every rule of model railroading several times in my life. A lot of what I choose for industry has come more as an after thought after the track has already been layed. So, I'll pull it back up and change it. Other times I've had a particular industry that after a while I get tired of. I'll get an idea about building something else, so I begin rebuilding an area.

I've done this so much so that I've gotten to the point that I hardly ever ballast anymore because of it. I mean, what's the point? It's just more work to do when I go to change something. My wife calls it the NEVER ENDING TRAIN TABLE. Anyways, rebuilding is part of the fun of it all. I agree with the others here as the number one rule should be that it's YOUR layout, do what makes YOU happy. 

John


----------

