Rebuilding the Iantha Branch, again.

It has been a long month and a half, but I am finally close to having an operating railroad again. I finally have all of the major construction on the outbuilding completed. Last week I was able to begin the process of building bench work and laying down the vinyl floor as I went. Last night, I finally finished the floor, and the bench work that goes around the walls of the building. I played around with my existing modules to try and determine the best option possible for peninsulas. I decided to have a U shape coming off, but it will come from the other side of the room where it wont block the door. Today, right on time, a couple boxes came in the mail filled with additional track for my to begin the endeavor of creating this new layout. To start with I'll just have a yard and a loop of track all the way around to play with so I can get an idea for the scale of this operation. Hopefully in the next few weeks I'll start deciding how to configure the rest of the layout to best fit the space. Pictures will be added shortly.

 

Benchwork in progress by Iantha_Branch posted Jan 22, 2020 at 10:27 PM

Benchwork in progress by Iantha_Branch posted Jan 22, 2020 at 10:28 PM

Benchwork in progress by Iantha_Branch posted Jan 22, 2020 at 10:28 PM

Benchwork nearly complete by Iantha_Branch posted Jan 22, 2020 at 10:29 PM

Completed benchwork, with extra modules by Iantha_Branch posted Jan 22, 2020 at 10:30 PM

 

Ethan, you have come a long way in the last month and half!!! Looking forward to seeing your layout progress. Keep up with the great work.

Joe

 

Last night I was able to finish out the yard for the most part and complete a loop around the room to give me a starting point to work with for operations. The yard gives me 3 staging tracks, 4 classification tracks and 4 locomotive tracks. More to come next week

 

Got most of my rolling stock unpacked now. The yard is full until I put in some industries to spread out some of the cars.

 

I didn't realized how much time had passed since I had posted to this thread. I've been spent the last few months trying to enjoy the layout I had set up and try to get a feel for how operating in this big space was going to feel. I didn't have any prototype in mind when I put together the layout plan, and I've now found that operating sessions feel like they lack substance because it doesn't feel like there is a real purpose to what I'm doing. So I have spent a lot more time the last couple months trying to draw up something new that is based on a real prototype. It was a difficult process just figuring out what area to model. I've tried plans for a whole subdivision, but I could never quite get something I was happy with. So I started looking at making a "terminal" layout, or something based on a single location. Thanks to the work of Keith Robinson, I have access to a nice collection of PDF's of industry schematics here on the forums. Right now, I've got two plans that I can't decide between, so I would like some community input on them.
Plan 1 is representative of the Joplin, MO area. It mostly focuses on the Joplin & Galena Branch, and ignores the Tuckahoe Branch because there wasn't room for it. This plan allows for several switching jobs at a wide variety of industries, and interchange with 4 different railroads. I set the era for this layout in the late 70's to work with the bulk of my equipment, but it could be repurposed to fit different eras. I have an alternative plan that eliminates the trackage north of 7th st (the far right shelf of the layout) and incorporates the line running west out of Ruth yard to Baxter Springs, KS. If I were to go with this option, it would allow for modeling the joint local between the Frisco and the KCS.
Plan 2 is representative of Enid, OK. Enid is a large grain terminal. This plan includes 6 of the elevators in the town, and 2 other railroads that would have their own switch jobs on the layout. There is also an incline along the back of the layout that would lead up to a staging yard for Tulsa that would add an extra layer to operations. Like the Joplin plan, this layout would also be set in the late 70's, but could also be repurposed into other eras.

Any input would greatly be appreciated
Thanks

 

I like Joplin also, looks like there are 5 or 6 town areas. You might consider having a bridge where the door is so you can have a continuous loop. Just a couple of thoughts.

Joe

 

I also vote Joplin. I would make the benchwork on the right more narrow, and scrunch the middle together as a peninsula. I think you might enjoy wider aisles.

-Bob T.

 

I “definitely” enjoy “wider” aisles!

 

Thanks everyone. I will consider moving to a single peninsula. The aisles in real life are wider than how they look in the drawing. I have plenty of room to operate as it's currently set up.
Last night I ordered throttle panels and related cables to set up the layout so I can operate all the switching areas on the layout. With all the rain in the forecast, I should have time in the coming days to get started on rearranging and posting progress again.

 

Over the last couple of days, I got track rearranged for my new Joplin plan. I started putting out rolling stock this afternoon and attempting to determine how to set up operations for this layout. I did take some pictures this afternoon, which I will be posting here shortly. As of right now, the layout is pretty sparse to look at. I only have 1 building in place as of right now, and all I have for scenery is a painted foam base.

 

I've started a new album for this layout. I'll share a few of the good ones in this thread, there will be more in the album though.
Ruth Yard

Ruth Yard by Iantha_Branch posted May 24, 2020 at 7:59 PM

Downtown Joplin MP Interchange

The Interchange by Iantha_Branch posted May 24, 2020 at 8:05 PM

Side by Side by Iantha_Branch posted May 24, 2020 at 8:05 PM

 

It may not look as real, it I've had much better luck with it than anything else. I like the way it works.

 

I tried going the prototype route, but wasn't really happy with the way it ended up operating. It looked good on paper, but didn't flow very well. Maybe because the prototype is 2 different branch lines stitched together, which each having a lot of action going on. For the time being, I went back to a simple layout that makes it easier for me to relax at the end of the day. I don't have to worry about car routing, or complicated switch lists, I can just run for a little while when ever I feel like it. At some point, I may try another prototype design, but I've hit a wall in that department for the time being.

 

You have to be watchful with those EZ track switches. The frogs are a hair higher than the adjacent rail and can raise up powered wheels, lose rail contact, and cause a stall. They at least can make an unrealistic humping motion as trains roll over it. I ground mine down level with a dremel and things got better.

Also, the pivot of the point rails is very poorly secured and the point rails can go dead. Spraying some contact cleaner up in the joint under the rail can help, but the real fix is a short piece of single strand copper wire from stranded wire spanning the gap.

As much money as those switches cost, they ought to be better. But when painted, they look pretty good. The ties are scale sized which is nice.

 

Painted EZ track. When ballasted it will look really good. My sample actually needs another coat.