another concept plan

[steinjr]

As for staging, I think I understand it better now. I'm going with these big yards because I got a pretty good collection. I'm going with these larger engine facilities because I have a pretty decent collection of steam power.

Mmmm, that makes sense - but big steam and cars might look even better when they are moving through the landscape

Think about it this way - if your hidden staging has a "mainline" through it (for continuous run) and two long double ended sidings, and you have a station town (could be right where you come up from staging) that also has a mainline and two double ended sidings, and then a double ended siding in a third place, you could be watching about five or six trains pass through your mountain landscape in a long parade which it would take a long time before anything repeated.

Imagine this scenario - let us assume clockwise is eastwards, counterclockwise is westwards.

Turn 1:
- Hidden staging holds two longish trains - e.g. one eastbound passenger and one westbound freight train
- In town, a westbound passenger train is waiting on the main for the eastbound passenger train to arrive from the west
- In town, an eastbound freight is holding on a siding, to let the higher priority eastbound passenger train go ahead of him
- In the mountain siding a westbound freight train is waiting to let the westbound passenger train go ahead of him

You are seeing three of your trains (two freight and one passenger), a couple of more engines can be at the roundhouse.

One train is moving - the eastbound passenger train that came out of staging and is moving through the mountain landscape, passing the mountain siding with the westbound freight train and heading for the town near staging on the other end of the layout.

Turn 2:
- In town Eastbound passenger train arrives from staging, pulls in at depot, passengers starts disembarking
- In town Westbound passenger train departs, eastbound freight is still holding
- At the mountain siding, the westbound freight is still holding
You are seeing four of your trains (two freight and two passenger)

Turn 3:
- Westbound passenger train passes mountain siding and moves into staging

Turn 4 (any of a number of things, e.g.)
- Eastbound freight moves out from staging and into mountain siding, freeing up one track in staging.
- Westbound freight moves from mountain siding to staging
- Eastbound passenger train departs towards the east, or is turned at the station

And so on and so forth.

Nothing to prevent you from having the bridges and tunnels passing above and below each other in the part of the layout that is not the town/station area. I was way rude when I called that a toy store window display layout. It will add run length, and be more interesting to watch than a totally prototypical line up along the valley - too prototypical mainlines are often boring to watch ;-)

When you feel for continuous run, you just set the turnouts to take one train around and around and let her rip.

If you add maybe one or two single ended sidings at the town, you can let a through bound freight drop of a cut of cars or pick up a cut of cars, so you get a little switching done.

Lots of ways to play this - it all depends on what you want the most - to display your engines and cars, or to do a lot of switching.

Smile,
Stein