• The first N scale page
• The first HO scale page
• The very first HO plan I have saved (Jan 4, 2001).

• August 6th, put together this plan with sectional track on my benchwork. Re-arranged till I liked it, then drew it up. This should be the last one for a while, no time left to plan. :)

  

• June 10th; Inside out version! Thanks to a suggestion on the Layout Design SIG I tried moving staging to the pit, and I like this better than the previous plan (see below for older plan and layout description).

• Links:
  • Visit the research page with track and train photos of our local area that I am using to get ideas.
  • Layout Design SIG
  • 3rd Planit track planning software
    

• June 8th; Increased mainline radius to 26 1/2, reworked Tri-county area to put sidings back on correct side. Added yard lead and engine storage tracks to staging so operator doesn't have to fiddle.

• June 4th; Corrected industry names, moved Stockton crossover to gain more runaround room, increased visible radius to 26 3/4 inches (matches curved turnout min radius), re-arranged industries to reduce crowding. Compare to old plan.

• Links:
  • Visit the research page with track and train photos of our local area that I am using to get ideas.
  • Layout Design SIG
  • 3rd Planit track planning software
    

My latest plan is based loosely on CSX and their operations out of Springdale Ohio, known as the Springdale job.

I have come full circle in the last 3 months and now I'm working on this plan in HO based on the same theme, local operations, that I had done in N scale. I always preferred HO to N, but I switched to N scale when I was frustrated with what I could fit into my space. After reading all the great ideas received over the months, and the article in MRP 2001 about surround staging, I was compelled to try out a plan in HO to see what I could come up with.

You can compare this plan with the N scale one below it, and also look at research photos for the industries I want to model. The operational aspect, including the sidings in Tri-county, are modeled after the prototype.

All sidings face the 'correct' way except for Continental Can. I wanted a lot of track work for Amko and Continental Can and I could not fit both in the correct direction so I decided to reverse the direction for CC. Both companies are heavy users of styrene delivered in covered hoppers (those generic gray cars). These cars end up being parked all over the place until the Peddler has time to take them away. They are pushed into unused sidings, pushed into other companies sidings that have room, I mean all over the place. I figure with the extra trackwork I can keep more of these cars around than fit in the sidings and force the jobs to move them out of the way.

Tri-county minerals does not exist in real life. Actually it exists, but across town on Norfolk Southern's (Conrail) line. The plant is so compact and neat I had to model it. Cars used are the smaller hoppers, so siding space can be small (as in the prototype). You can see some pictures of this plant on the research page. Look for the yellow bulldozer and small green roofed shed containing a machine that brings the 'minerals' up from a dump below the cars.

I have gone back to a duckunder, but operations are restricted to either inside or outside. I picture a staging operator on the outside of the layout, responsible for the diamond and making sure the incoming trains are on the right track. Typically I will have a grain train and mixed freight staged to make run throughs. The third staging track will be incoming freight for the Springdale jobs. The fourth track will be extra, or somewhere for the Peddler to run to/from.

Minimum mainline radius is 24", there are a couple of industry leads with a 22" radius. I tried for 26 1/2", but I just couldn't fit everything in. All curves use standard easements (as calculated by 3rd Planit), except for curves that end in the diverging route of a turnout. All space saving turnout arrangements are done with #6's, the split to double track (near the diamond) are also #6's, everything else is #4.

I will model in the modern era, but I will not be running any long equipment. CSX uses older 2 axle equipment for the jobs anyway.

The cement and mineral storage facilities both use smaller cars than shown on the plan (see photos on the research page). I simply used the stock car objects available in 3rdPlanit when drawing the plan.

Here are Terraserver links I have used while researching. I have visited all of these locations on the ground.

• Cementdale (Springdale) - You can see the Ford car exchange yard in the picture, this is the one part I will not be modeling because I don't have room for those oversize car carriers. The siding on the lower part of the photo is the distribution center. You can see one of the Springdale jobs parked on this siding.

• Tri-county yard - a little further south are the two siding tracks used to store cars for the Springdale jobs.

• Fairfield cement and Cloverleaf cold storage.

• May 28th, Here is a brand new plan based on CSX operations near where I live.

• Visit the research page with track and train photos of our local area that I am using to get ideas.

My latest plan is based on CSX and their operations out of Springdale Ohio, known as the Springdale job. I know this is a complete switch from what I had been working on before, so let me explain my reasoning.

Being new I was having a hard time figuring out prototypical operations when it came to evaluating good/bad in a design. To try and fix this I have been going out and observing CSX operations near my home, and the more I observed the more I liked what I saw. My observations included a simple cement transfer near my home, a packaging company that uses a lot of hoppers that end up being parked everywhere, and a small yard (a couple of old sidings) that is used to store empties from the Springdale job.

The real kicker, though, was the Tropicana distribution center and dedicated twice a week juice train.

I asked an operational question on the CincyRails email list and got some answers from CSX employees that work the Springdale job. Business has picked up to the point that two Springdale job shifts (Y127 & Y227) and a train called the Peddler (Y121) are required to service all the industries. The two jobs are responsible for movements between the cement plan in Fairfield down to the yard in tri-county. The peddlers primary responsibility is to take empty juice cars down to Queensgate, and it will occasionally transfers cars from the tri-county yard downtown to the Queensgate yard in Cincinnati. All of this is complicated by the high priority juice train that arrives twice a week. The Springdale job and the Peddler park their loco's in the 84 lumber siding and the packaging siding, on either side of the main in Springdale.

I guess the main reason I am switching to modeling a prototype is that I can copy what they do, and not worry about making a bad planning decision. Now I am working on selective compression and trying not to change the flavor of the railroad. I am not looking to reproduce the prototype exactly, but I do want to reproduce the same operational challenges that the Springdale jobs have.

• May 26th, finishing design of a new plan based on the V&O Muddlety Creek (appeared in MRP 1996). The plan is posted below, but the text is still based on my older plans.
  Compare to old plan.

• March 25th; re-designed Dresser, added paper and cement industries, and added trees to show hidden tracks. Compare to old plan.
• Feb 19th; removed complicated multi-level staging and replaced with double ended staging. Compare to old plan.
• Feb 18th; added a yard lead (beginner mistake), changed branch to serve town industries, added another staging lead. Compare to old plan.
• Feb 17th; removed continuous coal branch, put large coal mine on main, added town and industry track, improved staging routes (photo at bottom of page). Compare to old plan.
• Feb 15th; simplified routes, removed main crossing itself, and added staging. Compare to old plan.