Branch line/ISL

[Chuck]

Personally, I liked the plans with the small yard because it will provide more "action" other than switching out industries. I am not an expert, but the type of yard one would find in an area like this is an industrial yard where the local just needs a few tracks to sort the train to make deliveries easier/more efficient. There wouldn't be a lead, cars would not be stored there unless used for "off-spot," and probably no engine servicing facilities, unless there was a switcher stationed here that took the train from the local and did all the switching. My understanding is the local would come into an industrial area, use the flat yard to sort cars and hold them while doing switching. The local would also use it to build their train for return. This is found on many prototypes that have an industrial area like this, so it would not be out of character to have a small yard. There is a wealth of information in the Layout Design SIG and you can also just use google to find more information on industrial yards.

I like your idea of an interchange track -- I have three on my switching layout to get cars on and off the layout. It is a "universal" industry that accepts all cars and you could use them to bring "foreign" road engines onto your layout, and you can move cars on and off the layout realistically (I use cassettes with my interchanges). It provides another source of freight cars other than an incoming train. The interchange doesn't have to handle dozens of cars -- it could even be a single car dropped there by a neighboring RR that does not have trackage rights on your railroad, but has freight cars that need to go to those industries.

Staging -- if you can fit it, it is a good idea. I saw an article years ago in Model Railroader (I think) about surround staging. Put staging along a wall and use a view block such as a back drop or even industrial buildings to hide it. It could be just a single track to hold your incoming train. The rule of thumb is to have as many staging tracks as you can fit. You could put staging along the left wall (short) and have it come out at the curve along the upper wall, or put it behind the industries along the bottom wall and have it appear along the left wall (short side). Your train length for this type of layout would be short anyway as not all industries are switched every op session so you wouldn't need super long staging tracks. Below is one of my staging yards for my Detroit Connecting -- it is 11" wide and is comprised of five tracks. There are three staging, one through, and one interchange/off-stage industries (salt mine). There will be a removable backdrop in front of it to hide it. It is much more fun if a train actually comes from somewhere and can return - more realistic than just hand sorting cars. Again, there are a lot of articles about staging; a little search will turn up loads of information.



On a final note, who cares if you call your layout an ISL and it doesn't conform to what some people think an ISL looks like. If you want a small yard, put one in. Do what makes you happy -- it is YOUR railroad and you are the one spending money and time to build it. Just my two cents.....

Chuck