03-24-2014, 12:37 PM
I would look at the general area surrounding Vernon as a prototype, including as far up as the Amtrak 8th St Yard, the Violet Alley area and City Fibers, LAJ A Yard, the trackage on the UP Harbor Sub leading from the Weeds area down along Downey Road, and the stub of the BNSF Harbor Sub. This is conceptual, there isn't a whole lot you can do to try to duplicate the trackage.
My overall approach wouldn't be too different from what you have now -- there aren't too many magic options for the track plan, but it seems to me that you can do a lot with structures and concept. I would make a couple of peripheral changes to your track plan:
The biggest change I would make would be to add at least two crossings, because there are lots of crossings in the area. I'm not sure exactly how the table works at the door to your office, but I would try to work a crossing into an arrangement like the one on the left of the drawing. This would be in effect the crossing at Charter St and Downey Rd of the LAJ and UP San Pedro Sub. If you flip my drawing, it will be even closer to the prototype arrangement. Note that both LAJ (post 2005 with BNSF equipment) and UP are in close proximity or on the same trackage here and westward along Vernon Ave. Here's a photo of the area from gound level:
As long as we're on crossings, at the top of the plan I would look to add at least one street trackage crossing like the many in the area:
The more street trackage you have, the more it can do double duty with trucks, and the more interesting trackage you can put in a street, so much the better.
Now we can turn to the question of the stub tracks past the near-90 degree crossing on the left. I would make one of the stubs running into the wall a version of the City Fibers spur off J Yard (the last remnant of Violet Alley).
I would put a City Fibers type shed entry right on the short wall, either the left or the right.
I've maxed out on the photos I can upload in one post, will continue in another.
My overall approach wouldn't be too different from what you have now -- there aren't too many magic options for the track plan, but it seems to me that you can do a lot with structures and concept. I would make a couple of peripheral changes to your track plan:
The biggest change I would make would be to add at least two crossings, because there are lots of crossings in the area. I'm not sure exactly how the table works at the door to your office, but I would try to work a crossing into an arrangement like the one on the left of the drawing. This would be in effect the crossing at Charter St and Downey Rd of the LAJ and UP San Pedro Sub. If you flip my drawing, it will be even closer to the prototype arrangement. Note that both LAJ (post 2005 with BNSF equipment) and UP are in close proximity or on the same trackage here and westward along Vernon Ave. Here's a photo of the area from gound level:
As long as we're on crossings, at the top of the plan I would look to add at least one street trackage crossing like the many in the area:
The more street trackage you have, the more it can do double duty with trucks, and the more interesting trackage you can put in a street, so much the better.
Now we can turn to the question of the stub tracks past the near-90 degree crossing on the left. I would make one of the stubs running into the wall a version of the City Fibers spur off J Yard (the last remnant of Violet Alley).
I would put a City Fibers type shed entry right on the short wall, either the left or the right.
I've maxed out on the photos I can upload in one post, will continue in another.