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From: "Schuyler Larrabee" schuyler DOT larrabee AT verizon DOT net
Date: Wed, 29 Apr 2009 21:21:01 -0400
Subject: RE: (erielack) track plan advice?
"Nickless_Cumberland_Western_Yard_NSMRRC.jpg" - image/jpeg, 648x864 (24bit)



> -----Original Message-----
> From: Bradley Butcher
>
> I am using #8 turnouts.

Wow, really? In the yard? I'm impressed if you have the room to use No. 8 turnouts and still have
more than three feet of tangent track between them.

I think you might want to consider using No. 6 switches in the yards, and No. 8 on mainline
trackage. Yard tracks typically do have sharper curves than mainline track.

I will presume that you are aware that with Peco turnouts, the number does not mean that the angle
of the frog is actually any different; all that changes is the length of the closure rails and
points. Other brands will give you better configurations because they actually do have a different
frog angle.

As to straight ladders vs compound . . . this might indicate the limitations of my mind, but I find
a straight ladder much easier to switch than a compound. You have to pay a lot more attention to
where you have pulled back to in order to be sure you are heading into the next track you intend to
go to. I've attached a photo of the Club yard where I operate every month. I love to switch yards.
This image shows the ladders in our Cumberland yard, the eastbound part of Nickless Yard. These are
a pair of simple ladders serving four tracks each which come to a pair of leads. The left hand lead
is the arrival lead, and the right hand is the drill track. The far crossover is in the position
which allows the drill track access to all eight tracks, normally. The other crossover allows an
arriving train, if entering the yard, access to all eight tracks. It also allows locomotives to
head to the engine terminal off to the right. The three tracks to the right are our LCL tracks -
eventually there will be an LCL house there. These turnouts are approximately No. 6. They are all
handlaid, so the exact number isn't really known. The club's website is www.nsmrc.org

As much as I've taken dozens of photos of the layout, I find I have no photo of the other end of
this yard, which is a compound ladder for the eight tracks. That is the departure end of the
eastbound yard, so the compound end doesn't get switched very much, and I think any potential for
derailments is minimized by the direction of the traffic. I will specifically take a photo of that
end tomorrow night. (and perhaps a better photo of these leads, too.)

One other thing: if you are going to run steam, now or sometime in the future, I can tell you that
2-10-2s will work on No. 6, but not on No.5. The westbound yard to the left is built with No. 5s
(precisely) and it is very difficult and annoying to try to use 2-10-2s, 4-8-4s, 2-8-4s, any large
steam through that ladder.

> For the PS, probably in a lot of cases modelers want the fun of the prototype and eliminate a lot
of the headaches if they
> can hehe. Especially if you are running a 4/1 or 6/1 clock you don't want to spend a lot of time
with coupler alignment.

As a repeat operator of this yard, which involves breaking down and building trains all the time, I
can tell you that couplers are the biggest headache. Derailments are a PITA, and Brad, you're
right, that time wasted is the biggest hassle. I have a small pocket flashlight I use when there
are derailments, as the biggest problem is not being able to SEE the wheels in the shadows. The
guys call it my lantern! We are moving toward No. 58 couplers, so alignment and proper operation
are becoming even more critical. Oddly, it turns out that using Reboxx wheels (not an entirely
uninterested recommendation; I know the owners and the main sales guy very well) is very important,
so as to better make the cars centered on the track, which obviously improves the alignment of the
couplers. It's often the case that wheelsets slop laterally, allowing the car to be off-center from
the track, especially when being pushed as one does in switching. The other, and biggest, advantage
of Reboxx wheelsets is the free rolling, which means your locomotives seem to become more powerful,
based on the number of cars in the train. Metal wheels also lower the center of gravity and that
helps to reduce derailments.

BTW, Paul, your sketch isn't really a compound ladder. It's a useful illustration, but not a
compound ladder.

SGL




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Nickless_Cumberland_Western_Yard_NSMRRC.jpg

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