Terminal joiner question +

[g-pa1]

I have a number of terminal joiners ready to put into my layout (eventually) and the thought came to me that I could stagger each terminal joiner. In other words put a terminal joiner on one end of an atlas snap track and on the opposite side put a regular joiner and thus stagger the terminal joiners individually around the track say every 2 feet or so. In other words one terminal joiner on the inside of a piece of track and two feet further up the track another terminal joiner on the outside of the track rather than being across from each other. Is this a good idea or do the terminal joiners have to be on opposite sides of the specific track section? Also how much distance should I allow to run two separate tracks next to each other. In other words a double track setup with two tracks running parallel to each other at one point. I am looking for the length of bridge span I would need to go over this distance.

[flaretired]

Okay call me stupid what is a freight yard called where there is no consumer pick up? The freight yard in Taff FL. is used only for breaking up trains and reassembled for other destinations or cutting out cars for local delivery. The tracks there are so close together it looks like you can hardly walk between them. Chuck 🙂

[dl85vette]

Classification yard or a transfer yard? just my guesses as I know nothing technical about the prototype aside form snapping pictures. dave

[ginzokid]

Classification Yard is correct. This yard is used to sort cars into different tracks by destination. The cars are sorted into groups known as "blocks". Even the largest railroad yards do not have enough tracks to sort for each station and industry location, so blocks are formed to be further refined at a distant yard down the line. The basic classification scheme for a yard handling traffic in both directions is to put west-bound cars on one track and east-bound cars on another. The next step might be to seprate west and east bound local cars from through cars. Now we are up to four classifications I'll stop there because you can see that there can be more refinement as long as there are tracks available. As for our model railroads; many large layouts, especially club layouts, feature "hidden staging". What this really is guys is a classification yard. My guess is that most of the pictures Dave posts are of a huge classification yard in "The Peg". Now you can look at them in another light.

[trains-n-scale]

Chuck, "The only stupid question is the one that was never asked!!!" Neville Wilson Southwest FL

[ginzokid]

Neville and Chuck, Are you guys anywhere near each other? B-)

[flaretired]

I would guess that since Neville is SW he is probably somewhere down near Naples. About a 2 1/2 hour drive for me if that is where he is. He could also be in the Tampa Bay area, home of the Buc's, which is just a little north. My brother lives in Venice which in between Naples and Tampa. Daytona is East Central. Chuck 🙂

[trains-n-scale]

Actually, I am about 48-miles northeast of Naples. Lehigh Acres is approximately 17 miles from Ft. Myers, which is 43 miles north of Naples and 125 miles south of Tampa. As the crow flies, Daytona is approximately 215-miles away. Neville Wilson Southwest FL

[dl85vette]

Gee, didn't think that answer was so easy. Kinda thought it was class. yard but thought maybe there was another type out there. Pete is correct with the yards here in 'Peg. My favorite loitering area is HUUUUGE. couple km long I think. I measured it with the truck one day down Logan St but I forget the distance. Pt 1: There is a hump (tower) on the north side. I can't get anywhere near where there ~could be a south end. Perhaps not. It might serve double duty. I wish I had the room to add another yard or have a larger yard, as Weston yard is a design element in its own. You have LOTS of tracks for storing cars (regardless of rivet counters and the prototype freaks that have little cue cards for car movements and follow prototype practice and believe cars shouldn't sit in a yard, keep moving as per their staging yard) They're wrong. I've seen a string of cars sit for several days before they are gone. Near the hump (not a dominant hump as far as incline) there is a bldg that can offload coil cars as I've seen them pull a car out. (unless it is a carshop) by that bldg is a ramp for un/loading autoracks. There is a rip track where a strig of hoppers has sat all fall/winter. there is a track for unloading cyl hoppers to trucks. At the west end of yard far away is a couple tracks for loading containers. On the south side of tracks (where I take most of my pics) there is rail servicing equipment, buggies, tie layers,ballast spreaders,etc) dave

[dl85vette]

Pt 2: Forgot... on the south side of Weston Yard (by McPhilips Steet) in between the hump and intermodal area, is an engine facility. You can see it from the McPhilips casino but lousy for photographing as the chainlink fence has green plastic wrap over it. CN's Transcona Yard (not to be confused with Symington yard with the steep hump yard that I've shown pics of) has the huge car shop where they (re)build cars. [article in paper a while back of a guy who works at the carshop who takes pics of cars with grafitti before they are repainted) On the other side of carshop is a track that holds flatcars loaded with wheel sets and gondolas with sheets of steel. At the Southwest end is their diesel facility. SO I wish I could redo my yard or layout. I could have a rip track for cars that wobble,tracking problems,etc, that I could park there until I get around to fixing the trucks. ANother track by a carshop where I could park cars that are awaiting dave's paintjob,grafitti, weathering, etc.. A track for unloading autracks, coil cars,etc.. track for my husky stack cars. plus a diesel facility. Those that know how to use Google earth, check out winnipeg. I still have WIn98 so no idea how much you can zoom with the program. If ya can zoom in good,then you will see the layout of the yards. Cp's Weston yard is more or less in the north center of city. (to the right of the airport) dave

[beastranger]

dave With the Google Earth you can see individual cars and colors but not quite good enough to see lettering. You can also add the street names in so I can see just where you are talking about. Gee maybe if they update the satelite image we'll be able to see you trainspotting. Punk

[dl85vette]

Holy crap that is big time zoom Doug. Follow Logan Street all the way. Where it intersects Keewatin, the intermodal facility should be there. At the other end of Logan, running beside is Higgns St (this runs right beside the tracks) they intersect with Main St. On the other side (north) is Sutherland St. that should be enuf info for ya to see erverything I do. Can you download the image you are looking at? It'd be neat to have a jpg of an aerial view of the yard. CN's transcona yard is betwen Pandora St and Dugald Rd/St. on the east side of city. Symington yard is south of that. dave

[beastranger]

That's the only problem with it is that it won't let you transfer images with the free download. I really don't want to spring for the $400 version. It zooms in close enough so I see my car at work! Punk