01-06-2009, 10:37 PM
Hi Again:
One of the questions we get asked is why didn't we put in a wye to join up with the main modules. Two reasons, one there wasn't really enough room, and two, we wanted to keep it simple and not have to worry about installing an auto reverser. We used Peco #6 turnouts and flex track. The only exception to the flex track is the connector track to the main layout.
We are going to be adding buildings to the "Time Saver" sidings; a Cornerstone Water Street Freight Terminal, a Cornerstone Red Wing Milling Co, a JL Innovative Hubermill Warehouse, a Northeastern Scale Box & Crate Factory, and a Laser Kit (AMB) A.C. Brown Mfg. Since we are only using box cars on the "Time Saver", all of these can realistically receive a box car.
The "Inglenook" area will have a yard office, yard tower, a couple of service buildings, a railroad rooming house, and a small country store. We have numbered the cars we use on the "Inglenook" layout from 1-8. We can place the cars randomly on two of the sidings; one with 5 cars and one with 3 cars. We then have 8 poker chips numbered 1-8 in a Chevas Regal blue cloth bag. Pull out five chips and the order they come out is the order the train is made up. We usually then pull the train out, take it around the N-Trak layout, and then back it into the siding area, leaving 5 cars on the long siding and three on one of the other two short sidings, really makes no difference which of the shorter sidings is used. In doing this, the cars are randomly placed, i.e. not in a specific order. The next engineer can then draw out five poker chips and have a completely new and different train to arrange. This keeps up the interest and no one gets into a rut of solving the same puzzle over and over. Of course, if we want to have a contest, we would then have a set arrangement of the cars on the sidings and also a fixed train set-up.
We can also do the same thing with the "Time Saver". Each siding has an industry, each car is labled, and we randomly draw where the cars are to be relocated.
And since we are using DCC, two can work at the same time.
dwight77
One of the questions we get asked is why didn't we put in a wye to join up with the main modules. Two reasons, one there wasn't really enough room, and two, we wanted to keep it simple and not have to worry about installing an auto reverser. We used Peco #6 turnouts and flex track. The only exception to the flex track is the connector track to the main layout.
We are going to be adding buildings to the "Time Saver" sidings; a Cornerstone Water Street Freight Terminal, a Cornerstone Red Wing Milling Co, a JL Innovative Hubermill Warehouse, a Northeastern Scale Box & Crate Factory, and a Laser Kit (AMB) A.C. Brown Mfg. Since we are only using box cars on the "Time Saver", all of these can realistically receive a box car.
The "Inglenook" area will have a yard office, yard tower, a couple of service buildings, a railroad rooming house, and a small country store. We have numbered the cars we use on the "Inglenook" layout from 1-8. We can place the cars randomly on two of the sidings; one with 5 cars and one with 3 cars. We then have 8 poker chips numbered 1-8 in a Chevas Regal blue cloth bag. Pull out five chips and the order they come out is the order the train is made up. We usually then pull the train out, take it around the N-Trak layout, and then back it into the siding area, leaving 5 cars on the long siding and three on one of the other two short sidings, really makes no difference which of the shorter sidings is used. In doing this, the cars are randomly placed, i.e. not in a specific order. The next engineer can then draw out five poker chips and have a completely new and different train to arrange. This keeps up the interest and no one gets into a rut of solving the same puzzle over and over. Of course, if we want to have a contest, we would then have a set arrangement of the cars on the sidings and also a fixed train set-up.
We can also do the same thing with the "Time Saver". Each siding has an industry, each car is labled, and we randomly draw where the cars are to be relocated.
And since we are using DCC, two can work at the same time.
dwight77