Shadowlands and Tellynott

[Mark Dalrymple]

Here is the mocked up helix.


Cheers, Mark.

[jerryrbeach]

Mark,

I'm glad you did some testing and lessened the grade.  Your helix, like everything you do, looks very well designed and executed.  FWIW, I ordered a 24 pack of long shank couplers recently.  I was assembling a resin kit and knew just from how close the coupler knuckle was to the end sill it would not make it around my curves.  I'm sure I'll find similar problems with other cars as I complete them, hence buying extra couplers with the longer shank.   

[deemery]

I'm glad you discovered the issues before you built the helix!

dave

[GPdemayo]

Looking good Mark.....

[ACL1504]

Mark, Cheers,

Greg it, but I'll add "Tommy likes it!" 

Tommy

[Mark Dalrymple]

Mark,

I'm glad you did some testing and lessened the grade.  Your helix, like everything you do, looks very well designed and executed.  FWIW, I ordered a 24 pack of long shank couplers recently.  I was assembling a resin kit and knew just from how close the coupler knuckle was to the end sill it would not make it around my curves.  I'm sure I'll find similar problems with other cars as I complete them, hence buying extra couplers with the longer shank.   

Thanks, Jerry.

Good to know.

Cheers, Mark.

[Mark Dalrymple]

I'm glad you discovered the issues before you built the helix!

dave

Thanks, Dave.

Yep.  Better to do what I can now...

Cheers, Mark.

[Mark Dalrymple]

Looking good Mark.....

Thanks, Greg.

Lots of progress - although a lot of it has been many, many iterations of designs for my yards/ staging.

Cheers, Mark.

[Mark Dalrymple]

Mark, Cheers,

Greg it, but I'll add "Tommy likes it!" 

Tommy

Thanks Tommy.

Chipping away at things...

Cheers, Mark.

[Mark Dalrymple]

Hi guys.

Here is my latest version for the storage/ fiddle yard under Tellynott.  A number of changes here after trying to balance my layout between industry spots and yard space.  This is iteration number 15???  There were many.  I spent most of yesterday trying different designs.  This one gives me a small yard - within reach (!!!) for making up trains at Jamestown/ Neil's Crossing.  The curved turnout at the end of the peninsula was the catalyst.  I had it around the other way, but noticed the code 100 right hand one I was using was quite flat and so my curved track wasn't staying on the baseboard.  I laid a left hand one on top and the difference was noticeable.  So I thought I'd put the wrong one in to mark the curve on the baseboard.  Suddenly, the idea in the plan came to me...  The curved turnout allows enough room for a yard lead and I can fit three decent sized sorting tracks in.  The fourth gives me a run around and caboose track.  I've altered the return cutoff to give room for this design.  I've turned the back track of the four tracks in the front into a staging track and added two more staging tracks in the hidden trackwork under Skippers mine in Shadowlands.  Each track holds 16 wagons - which is a pretty good train length.  The other thing I have done is eliminate the triangle.  The triangle is all laid ATM, but I really can't see when I would use it. 

So in a journey from Tellynott to Shadowlands a train will come in from the north, travel through Neil's Crossing and then leave heading south.  At the end of its journey it will again enter from the North and then terminate at Jamestown.  Trains heading from Jamestown to Tellynott will do things in reverse.  A train coming from Tellynott with wagons to interchange with the South Island main trunk line will terminate at Neil's Crossing and then return to Tellynott.  The only reason the triangle would be used is if trains want to bypass Neil's Crossing.  Like I say - the trackwork is in so we will see what happens.  (Remember - Neil's Crossing and Jamestown share the same space/ trackage on the layout.)


Balance wise, the layout currently has these figures:

Tellynott industry spots = 52
Ellery and Malcolm industry spots = 16
Hope and Wilmot industry spots = 24
Jamestown industry spots = 29
Total industry spots = 121

Tellynott yard = 45 wagons
North Hope yard = 50 wagons
Jamestown yard = 50 wagons
Total yard spots =  145

Staging = 48 wagons (three trains, each 16 wagons in length)

Note:  All spots are counted as 3" (75mm) which is the length of the majority of my rolling stock.
The towns mentioned service the nearby industries - so Jamestown, for example, services Skippers mine, Truth flotation mill, the ore wharf, the lime works and the pulp mill.  This is just a convenient way of counting.

PS - my track has passed through customs, so should arrive in the next day or two.  I also finally managed to track down 4 pieces of code 70 Micro Engineering flex track wooden sleeper bridge track, and that, too, is on its way from Australia.

More soon, cheers, Mark.