Dilemma HO layout plan

[Canadian Atlantic Railway]

Why not remove some of the sidings but keep the businesses as non rail served.Then eliminate the sidings against the long wall and use the back sides of some industries there that are not railserved.You could put storage ,RIP ,or maintenance tracks there and maybe a team track.

I was thinking about that.

Hi Stephen,

Your track plan remembers me how I started too. Your friend did pack the place a lot!

From what I can understand, your industries can be grouped in two types: those with dedicated trackage and other that are worked like a team track. Starting from that, I think it gives us a rough idea of how "to zone" the land available.

Eastern Canada railroading is often very diminutive in size and you really feel the railroads are sliming down operation and optimizing them at best. With that in mind here's how I would try to tackle things.

First, a connection to a main line were you can stage your incoming traffic. From it could be a few track branching out and used as team track to different customers. That's your usual old depot turning into a transloading facility. That place could handle non specialized stuff like gravel, pulp wood, even grain and pipes (whatever building supplies you want in fact). It could also handle a few oddball reefers, flats, etc.

Second, another side of the layout would be used as a small industrial park. No need to fill up the place with lots of industries. Try to get the ones that generate interesting operation. The plastic business would be a good candidate, the propane dealer, the grain elevator (not a western prototype for sure) and the logistic warehouse too. I'm not sure your layout could handle so many industries without looking like a Christmas village, but select the significant ones. In your era, many goods are trucked from a nearby station to a local industry. That's why the transloading area is efficient to streamline the layotu while keeping the traffic.

Your benchwork have two wings. One could the the mainline/old depot/transloading area/team track and the other one the industrial park. It would give you the feeling your train is really doing local work and travelling the town. The joining section could be left bare from any rail activities and depict something that catch your fancy. I call it a railfanning spot, something you like to watch your train run over in between operations. It can be a bridge, a crossing, an urban canyon, an overpass...

Should the transloading area be on the short part or vice versa, I can't tell, that will be decided by you and the size of your industries. But at a first glance, I think I would try to fit the interchange/team tracks on the longer part and nest the industrial park in the small one. The grain elevator, which are older business, would fit better on the mainline part of the layout and give some focal point of view on this part of the layout.

Since your benchwork is built and you have track on hands, I would suggest you to mock up things in real life. Track plans are nice, but if you put pieces of track over the raw benchwork, I think you'll start to see things. Parts of your structures, carboard tubes, nything can be used to mock up industries. I'm not in your shoes and doesn't want to impose my own views on you. But think about what you like from that era and local railroading, think about was is usual, normal and try to strive for this. A good idea is to think of your layout as a real railway, not a puzzle. If it was your company, how would you do the work? How would you serve the customers? Also, you'll see many things that looks simplistic on paper can be quite a challenge when done in real.

Basically, if you start with your original track plan and keep about 1/3 of the trackage, you wouldn't be to far from something that makes sense. I think it already have a strong core, just too much hair!!! Only one runaround, probably on the main line would be enough to keep things working on.

Good luck! You'll see, at the point you reached, things will start to clear up in your mind.

Best regards,

Matt

Excellent points Matt

I agree with what Matt is saying. If you have the bench work built obvious
Y it is what fits in your space. Also had a thought why not just freelance that way there is no pressure to follow a format. Not quite sure about your choices for industries for operations. Have you given thought to these industries of how they would provide service to each other ?

There is no prototype here for what I want so it will be freelanced in whatever form I go with.

I listed industries that I like and have freight cars for. For a less is more approach only some would be modeled.