Layout survey

[caboose101]

OK, consider for a moment the small-time railroad.  My Maryland Central operates, as George Hilton has described the Ma & Pa, in “genteel poverty.”  It is, in imaginary antimatter, to the south side of Baltimore, what the Ma & Pa was in real life on the north side.

I have no idea how old the layout is.  I started it with number two son, perhaps 12 to 15 years ago.  It’s not finished yet.  I still see a hundred or more projects.  They are only accomplished as the spirit moves me.  A couple years ago, I finally finished a scratch-built structure I began in the early ‘60s.  Some things just take time.

My Maryland Central is modeled on a piece of 4’ x 5’ ft plywood.  The mainline is a circle of track â€" as disguised as one can make it in that space â€" barely 2/10 of a mile around.  Physically, besides the loop, it consists of one siding, a three-stub yard, a switchback and an interchange track. 
Operationally, the spreadsheet-generated, random card order system can make running local freights about as challenging as life ought to be for one person.

On the other hand, there is an unparalleled advantage to a circle of track â€" no pun intended.  After a hard day in the mines, you can kick back with a cup of tea and watch an old 4-6-0 kettle turn laps with a combine and a coach at a scale 10 mph.  There are some classic bluegrass train songs playing in the background, and the cat is asleep on a nearby bench.  It doesn’t get any better than that.

Bob

[Atlantic Central]

Bob,

And that is the great thing about this hobby, it can be as much or as little as you want and still be very interesting and rewarding.

Now a few thoughts on train length;

Prototype train lengths vary quite a bit with era, type of railroad, locale, product being carried, grades, local laws, etc.

Maybe one of the most attractive things about the transition era is that in addition to having both steam and diesel, it was an era of moderate length trains for the most part. These train lengths are long enough to be challenging and interesting to model without overwelming our selectively compressed layouts.

Typical commodity freight trains where usually about 2200 feet long, or about 1/2 mile. With most freight cars of that era being 40' to 50', that means 40 to 50 cars. Some railroads and some states actually had regulation/laws that limited freight trains to numbers like 70 cars max.

50 cars is a BIG train on a model railroad, even a big model railroad, but not EVERY train would be the maximum and 25 to 30 cars looks really big on a big layout and gives that prototype feel and is believeable based on what we know about the prototype.

That 2200 feet figure, that was a typical passing siding length in that era, obvoiusly a controling factor.

Railroads did run longer trains for some things, coal drags, etc, but, hoppers where generally shorter, and are very light when empty, so from a tonnage standpoint it made sense to try to take as many empties back to the coal fields at one time as was possible. 100 hoppers at 34' = 3400', still not even 3/4 of a mile.

It should also be noted that longer trains, 70 to 100 cars, would move at considerably slower speeds for safety and breaking reasons. And, conversly, faster trains would be shorter for the same reasons. So that reefer special may only be 30 cars so it can race along and stop and start more quickly.

One more note, most of these specific numbers apply more to the east and central portions of the counrty, out west, the wide open spaces did allow longer trains, longer sidings, etc. But only to a point. Airizona was actually one of the states that limited trains to 70 cars. So while western trains would be somewhat longer on average, the same general situaton does apply.

One last word on freight train length, these lengths would have been typical from just after the turn of the century into the late 50's and early 60's. After that full dieselation and better communication quickly advanced train lenghts.

Passenger trains in the hey day of rail passenger travel could be seen in every length from a one car local to 18 or more cars. In the east many name trains held their length to the 9 to 15 car range for speed considerations, even after diesels took over.

As modelers we have a lot more flexability here unless we are set on modeling the 1938 20th Century Limited car for car. One car pulled by an E8 is as prototypical as 12 cars being pulled by 2 E8's

What would typical passenger locos handle? Here's a short list.

A PRR K4 was good for about 18 heavyweights on generally level track, a few less as the grades picked up.

Two PA1's or E8's will handle allmost anything you put behind them, 18-20 or more cars, heavyweight or lightweight, would be no problem except on the worst grades.

A USRA light Pacific would be good for about 12-14 cars on the flat. The B&O used their USRA light clones in the mountains pulling locals that where typically 3-5 heavyweights.

The Santa Fe and Northern Pacific prefered sets of 4 passenger equiped F7's for their 15-20 car consists through the mountains.

The B&O and the C&O prefered 4-8-2's to take their longer trains through their mountain regions, 12-15 cars on average.

And a PRR E6 Atlantic could easily handle what a USRA light Pacific was needed for on other roads, or about 12-14 cars on the flat.


So when planning a layout, you should think about you space, the kind of railroading you want to model, how long you would like your trains to be, etc.

If you do have an interest in big time railroading, one big advantage to double track is it helps disguise the shortness of our model mianlines and makes longer trains more practical to run.

Maybe more latter, but this covers most of what was on my mind. Questions and comments are welcome.

Sheldon 

[caboose101]

“The longest train I ever saw
Went down that Georgia Line
The engine passed at six o'clock
The cab went by at nine.”
-   a verse to “In the Pines”

I have seen some pretty impressive model train lengths on modular displays in recent years.  It kind of reminds me of those old Volkswagen cramming escapades we used to see years ago.  It’s fun to watch, but realistically, I think most modelers are limited.  A scale mile of HO track is just under 61 feet.  This probably qualifies as a mid-size home layout.

The question is, how long a train do you run on it?  There is another dimension to scale here, I’m not thinking about O, HO or N, but rather how much of the train you model.  Let’s call it train scale as opposed to model scale.  To a great extent, they are inversely proportional.  On my 20-sq ft layout, a coal drag consists of five hoppers; locals seldom reach this length; and passengers are generally just a combine and a coach.

The point here is that, just as it is not necessary to think of a layout being limited by a mere scale mile or two of track, you don’t have to think about your train being just a few cars long.  In the way freight example, I like to focus on the most efficient pick up a delivery of a carload â€" picking it up at an interchange point, bringing it back to the yards when necessary, getting it made up in the next available train out, and switching it in the fewest moves.  In short, it becomes a game, much like John Allen’s Timesaver.  While the size of the train may be limited by the size of your layout, you never really think about it that way.

Regards,

Bob

[Atlantic Central]

Bob,

Again I agree and small layouts require small trains. But you may be surprised at the number of modelers with basement sized empires with miles of track. My layout fills a 22x40 foot room, will have about 8 scale miles of double track mainline and is only average in size among our local group and other area modelers I know.

And I do selectively compress my trains. 18' is my basic train length unit. Or about 1500' vs the 2200' I discussed above. About 30 40' cars on average. And as I explained, big class one railroads, then and now, avoided switching sidings right from the mainline, especailly in urban areas. My locals are 15 cars or so and spend little time on the main, and most time in the industrial area.

There are all sorts of approaches to all sorts of modeling. My comments have been about effective ways to capture the immensity of the prototype. Some people are not interested in this, thats fine. Some prefer the human scale of small little lines like the Ma & Pa, that's fine too. The Ma & Pa once ran right behind the house I now live in. Its an interesting line with a great history. But it is not what I am interested in modeling. So for those interested in big time railroading, I have shared my ideas and knowledge.

Sheldon

[caboose101]

Sheldon,

I'd have given up my birthright to the kingdoms of Castile and Aragon to have lived along the Ma & Pa during its day.  Sounds like it was already gone by the time you got there.  When Bachmann came out with No. 27, I knew I had to have one - then, 4, 5, and 6 - my allowance for the next five years, but I live along the line vicariously with these models.

Regards,

Bob

[Atlantic Central]

Bob,

Yes it was gone, but I live in a 106 year old Queen Anne that watched it all. From the conversion to standard guage to the last run. I live right in the old village of Forest Hill. The station still stands a half a block away and is a model train store. Just a short drive up the road to Rocks State Park you can see the remains of the bridge over the creek, and right here in the village, you can still see the cut where the track headed north out of the village.

And, as a child in Anne Arundel County, I did personally watch the last few trains of the Batltimore and Annapolis make their way up and down that little line. And I even road their last attempt at passenger service, 2 RDC's leased from the B&O.


Sheldon