Layout ideas for busy city scape

[MrLinderman]

EDIT: Plan has evolved to now be situated in the shed after some modification so the size will drastically increase, will update with some anyrail plans as I progress 🙂

 

Current Plan:

 

OLD Plan: might still do this inside on the table I have in the spare room though.

 

So I've been tinkering with anyrail the last few weeks.

Have a very basic and somewhat plain idea going so far, all using unitrack and simple curves, but I'm working it make it a little more "exciting" 

Theme is obviously a busy city scape, below are some shots of the initial idea, will post as the plan progresses into something a bit more fluid.

 

Complete overview

Lower Tracks

Unitram

upper track

Edited February 13 by MrLinderman

[bill937ca]

Well, number one it is very big and very busy for a small table.  Lots to buy and lots to set up. It might be a good idea to do this in stages. Run some trains and see if the plans actually works in the flesh.

 

Sometimes the plan on paper ends up differing from reality. On the lower level the outer loop is touching the ends of the Unitram.  Will it be that forgiving when assembled?

 

You show the upper level directly over the lower level and right at the table edge. Where are you going to place the upper level support pillars?

 

You're plan brings trains right up to the edges of the table which could lead to nasty spills if there is a derailment.

Edited January 31 by bill937ca

[cteno4]

Looks like a good start for your city layout. I agree with bill get some track and start playing before locking a design in, things can look very different in real track and buildings than in 3d cad when you also add in running the trains.

 

As bill notes you will have to come up with some custom support structures for some of the elevated rail, but with some playing around I’m sure you can figure out something.

 

Running on the edge is not super dangerous unless you go wild on the throttles. You can always put a small piece of removable plex along those areas like 20mm high to prevent any derailments from potentially going over the edge. But in 20 years of our club setups and layouts we have had track near the edge and never had a train go over from it (but not to say it’s not a possibility). I assume you plan to make some sort of viaduct track with walls for the upper level track and that will stop any cars from going over. We have had some spectacular Shinkansen derailments with trains running Shinkansen speeds on club setups and cars never go over the edge of the viaduct wall.

 

Do take a look at the other unitram layouts on the forum and get a loop to play with. I’ve found the bigger streets and sidewalks tend to make a small city block of buildings in the middle look pretty small. City scapes have this problem as when you scale things down and only do a small portion they tend to not give the same as 1:1 feel. So usually if folks want that heavy city feel they will make the streets and sidewalks a bit narrower than prototype so as to visually pack things in more. The unitram curves also take up a lot of space and make those big Ttrak intersections. It’s one of those odd things with our minds eye when you scale things down. Also we are looking at the model at a not usual 1:1 angle and from hundreds of feet pulled back and up some. Usually with city scapes we are inside them with them surrounding us or looking at them from way far back. Just good to play with some to see how you like it for the feel you are going for.

 

Just playing with track, train, and buildings is super valuable, especially when starting out in the hobby. It really gives you a feel for what works best to your eye and how you like to run trains. It’s a complex interplay so requires a lot of back and forth to get it just right for you.

 

Great start here! Looking forward to seeing it come alive.

 

cheers,

 

jeff

[tossedman]

Kato has layout plans here. Near the bottom of the page are some Unitram plans, the rest are all Unitrack. 

 

Todd

[MrLinderman]

I snapped up an E235 Yamanote line starter kit from amiami today, will play with that see how i feel with scale on my table and go from there, I appreciate the feedback and will take it all onboard.

 

Also want to learn dcc-ex and work with that in mind as im a fan of ardunios and coding so could be fun to look into.

 

I think your right in actually playing with the track and layout atleast on a single level will get me a much better understanding of how the track flows and trains move on certain designs. 

 

Can't wait to start.

 

[MrLinderman]

Next step after trying out the Kato set I think is to try out the Tomix fine track, there is allot more versatility from the options in fine track and I kind of like the over and under station modules that you can get. I've been working on version 2 of the layout but its not coming out how I want so taking a little break from "planning" and will wait for my sets to play with haha.

 

Have decided though to make the below changes to my overall plan:

Reduce min radius to commuter train suitable, so 249mm for Kato or equiv for Tomix fine track

No highspeed trains or lines, make it a dedicated "commuter" theme, this should also allow me to focus on a style instead of trying to fit in multiple styles in one go

Reduce trams to either one small city circle or none, this should give me more space for main trains or more natural fluidity in the design.

[MrLinderman]

So after having a play with the Kato E235 starter I came to the realisation that the space I have is probably not going to satisfy me long term, Its fine for messing about and testing which I will be using it for, great for learning DCC and different combination of tracks and testing models, and I will probably do some sort of "temporary" setup with either Kato or Tomix on that table for some fun.

 

So I'm now looking at my main hobby space, the rear shed, its a 5m x 4m shed that I use to build my planes, only down side its just a stainless steel colourbond style shed, really well made one with overlapping walls on a concrete base and extended roof edges, but no insulation or "walls" so to speak, I was very Ill last year with my Crohn's and wasn't in there for a whole year, it kept pretty well considering its an outdoor shed, surface dust was obvious but not crazy, could clear with with a cloth or compressed air, and I can minimize it more by adding some fine mesh to the louvers in the roof.

 

The only "rusting" i noticed was on my really fine tooth Japanese wood saws, they are very thin saws, and I'll be now keeping them in a sealed box when not in use.

 

I guess my main concern is if I set aside lets say 4m x 1m of space on one wall edge for "trains", how well will the rails hold up in such an environment, dust i can deal with a compressor, hoover and cloths, I'm used to using Inox or other products to "maintain" metal products, but will the location of the shed and its style be a big negative for model railway products?

 

The shed so you know what I'm talking about:

[UnfinishedKit]

Most model railway rail is nickel silver and Kato is no exception. Nickel silver is pretty corrosion/tarnish resistant, which is not to say it won’t need cleaning to keep everything running smoothly. I think you’ll be fine building in the shed. 

[MrLinderman]

8 minutes ago, UnfinishedKit said:

Most model railway rail is nickel silver and Kato is no exception. Nickel silver is pretty corrosion/tarnish resistant, which is not to say it won’t need cleaning to keep everything running smoothly. I think you’ll be fine building in the shed. 

 

That's positive, I am actually considering as I need to do a MASSIVE clean up in there lol as I have too much stuff to make the effort of adding insulation to the walls and roof, I won't bother with adding actual wooden walls over it but thinking something like Suncell or another reflective vapour blocking product to produce a bit of an air gap between wall and items inside. 

 

 

[cteno4]

Nice space!

 

Yeah those Japanese saws are very pure steel that can rust well. Do some looking around I remeber a friend who is big into Japanese woodworking and takes many courses on it from masters and a lot of the class time is focused on the tools with sharpening and long term care and I remember that corrosion prevention was one of the things they did. 
 

Boxes as well should help, my nice set of very high quality steel have gotten a tiny bit of oxidation when I’ve left one out for a month or two compared to the rest in the box. Usually some steel wool and wd40 cleans them easily and helps protect them, but I’m sure that’s not the master way to do it!

 

Talk to an insulator which will work best on the metal walls, worth doing it right to get the best out of it for the trouble and expense it will be. 
 

For the dust a hepa air filter in the room is really great. Just recirculates the air and cleans it. Don’t need one of the ultra fancy ones, just a good workhorse one. Honeywell makes one decent ones at about $100. Change pre filters like every month or two (buck or so each just activated charcoal fiber mat for big dust) and hepa filters about every year (like $10-15). Other option is shop air filters, some now get close to hepa and can circulate a lot more air to help of you are doing things like wood sawing in the building. A plastic curtain as well can help protect the layout portion if you are doing dirtier stuff in the other part of the shed that’s making dust.

 

enjoy!

 

jeff

[brill27mcb]

It also helps to paint/seal the concrete floor, if that has not already been done.

 

Rich K.

[MrLinderman]

I'm thinking of doing it right so have decided that after I have a few more planes complete and stored in the trailer I will "redo" the shed completely

Pull everything out, seal the floor, get the walls and roof insulated correctly, add a roof mounted shop air filter

 

And I like your suggestion @cteno4 of the plastic cover, I may design the table layout so when not in use it has a pull down or roll down cover that can protect it all, kind of like a big BBQ cover, i can probably devise a way to mount it to the wall above the layout so its as easy as unstrapping it and gently placing it over the layout.

[cteno4]

Check out YouTube there are a number of videos on folks making various layout covers, some like covered wagons, others like dump truck cover arm, others from down from the ceiling.

 

Shop air cleaners go down to about 1 micro, hepa is 0.3 micron. But using a hepa filter in a shop with lots of particulate matter would probably just clog it fast. The shop air cleaners work pretty well. I have the big delta and it does quite well and helps, as @inobu mentions you can do the flashlight test and the cleaner clears the 2 car garage pretty fast. I usually keep it going as I do wood work and also use a big dust collection system to the tools. I was looking to get a small sized air cleaners to put just the low the rollaround work bench so as I do stuff there it sucks it right up. For sanding with hand sanders I put the piece (if small enough) on top of a 12”x24” dust collection box (has a bunch of holes in the top and connects with the dust collector. Does a very good job of dust collection. For the occulting belt sander I try to just wheel it outside if I have a lot as it just throws a ton of dust, the occultation makes it really cut fast!

 

lol I’ve been planning on doing the same with my shop, rent one of those drop off moving containers for a month to put everything in and finish out the insulation and rewiring and paint the floors.

 

jeff

[MrLinderman]

Latest plans, been working on this for a few weeks now on anyrail.

 

This plan was drawn up using Tomix fine track all round, using the space I intend to separate in the shed once sorted.

 

General Idea:

Double high speed mainline that loops and goes over two levels to allow for city and commuter trains to run underneath

3 station main hub center stage with an express lane for the above high speed loop

point to point inner city line that covers a decent run

large rail yard to store a variety of commuter and high speed trains

Space to add a tram line in the "city" area if i wish

 

Main Plan

 

Lower Track (height 0)

 

Upper track (works up to 50mm above lower track)

 

Rail Yard

 

Station Plan

 

Would love some feedback

[cteno4]

Thats a really nice start! Grade on the left does not look too bat at 2% or just over if you start the grade right out of the station there and just clear the station platform roofs then.

 

The high speed line platform requires you running thru that little sway over there that has S curves with points back to back. S curves with not straight sections in between the curves can cause some issues, especially with points there that tend to bump wheels around on the blade end, frogs and whole flange way. I would mock this up with some track and run some trains on it to see how it works. The point work around the station is a bit complex to keep it all set correctly and not have any Adams family moments, totally doable just have to keep it all straight. With dcc point controls and Jmri this could all be automated into set track routes to easily set it all with one click.

 

so will you be able to get behind the layout to work on the back areas and especially that back right upper corner? 1m is too deep to reach in to work on stuff if you cant get access to the rear. One option is to put the whole layout on wheels so you could pull it away from the wall if needed [if it is up against a wall in the back] to get access to the rear to work on things. Half a meter is about the comfortable distance to work with outstretched arms, past that things fall apart quickly. In places with limited access like in the elbow area you can also do center scenery pieces on chunks of plywood to drop in/lift out to work on.

 

excellent layout here!

 

jeff

[MrLinderman]

42 minutes ago, cteno4 said:

Thats a really nice start! Grade on the left does not look too bat at 2% or just over if you start the grade right out of the station there and just clear the station platform roofs then.

 

The high speed line platform requires you running thru that little sway over there that has S curves with points back to back. S curves with not straight sections in between the curves can cause some issues, especially with points there that tend to bump wheels around on the blade end, frogs and whole flange way. I would mock this up with some track and run some trains on it to see how it works. The point work around the station is a bit complex to keep it all set correctly and not have any Adams family moments, totally doable just have to keep it all straight. With dcc point controls and Jmri this could all be automated into set track routes to easily set it all with one click.

 

so will you be able to get behind the layout to work on the back areas and especially that back right upper corner? 1m is too deep to reach in to work on stuff if you cant get access to the rear. One option is to put the whole layout on wheels so you could pull it away from the wall if needed [if it is up against a wall in the back] to get access to the rear to work on things. Half a meter is about the comfortable distance to work with outstretched arms, past that things fall apart quickly. In places with limited access like in the elbow area you can also do center scenery pieces on chunks of plywood to drop in/lift out to work on.

 

excellent layout here!

 

jeff

 

Thanks Jeff,

 

Grades are all under 2.5% with most being closer to 2.2%, didn't really want to do any steeper as I'd like to run some longer trains eventually.

 

Yer the station got more and more complex the more lines i added haha, the final intention is to run DCC-EX and ExRail Automation for Routes, switches, lights (long term goal) but I think short term setting routes with dedicated point switching would be the way to go. 

 

Thanks for the heads up on those s curve points, will do some testing before settling on the layout of the station for sure.

 

Honestly didn't think about how to get to the back corner so thanks for letting me know, I am a tall guy so used to working with benches that are 900 wide wide with no issue, but I think for this as its closer to 1.2m from corner to elbow I will make the entire "table" on lockable casters so I can move it away from the wall to work on the rear edge

[cteno4]

Great, he’s under 2.5% grades is good, especially for longer trains.

 

Yes with DCC you can automate all that switching well! Always best to test track designs physically where you can as certain things like S curves can bite you. Adding even a short big of straight between curves on a S curve can really help, but it does end up separating tracks more. Longer train cars and certain couplers used in some Japanese trains can be more problematic on S curves and also require wider clearances around the S curve.

 

Being able to reach something vs work on it for any period of time is really different. Scenery especially requires a lot of fine work for longer periods of time and is really next to impossible at 1m range. I’m tall too at 193cm and long arms and it gets hard to do any detailed work for any time past a half a meter reaching in. It’s hard to see tiny stuff you are working on also at 1m away. My back is very good but I have noticed a little back strain when working for extended periods of times like that reaching far out. Locking wheels on the whole thing greatly helps if you can pull it out from the back wall and potentially the side wall there where the L corner is. Lift out sections of scenery is also a way to deal with the dead zones where it may be hard to access things in place for detailed work. Hatches are possible but a real PITA to deal with. Some use these lean over ladders to hang over the layout but they are bulky and also just awkward to work from (you are sort of at a 45 degree angle over the layout while you work with your arms out at odd angles than you are usually use to working at). Also the taller the layout the more this is an issue with and using step stools just makes things harder (best solution I’ve see folks do for that are some larger platforms that can be put in front of the layout while working on it but you must mind the drop!)
 

I’ve been there and done that a lot on a friends layouts and super large exhibit models I’ve worked on and why I always scream on this issue that can really be a total paint yourself into a corner thing until you have had to deal with it.

 

One last thing to mention is the potential of moving… there is the Murphy’s law of layouts in that if you build a large built in layoutcan’t be moved, you will have to move 90% the way done! On a layout like this it can be solved by creating the bench work in smaller sections, each with their own legs and wheels and they all just bolt together. Then track could be separated and wiring cut (good buss wiring plans as well as extra wire at section junctions can make this pretty easy) and sections unbolted for moving. Legs can also be made to unbolt for a move. Just something to think about. I’ve helped tear up a few immovable layouts due to friends moves in the past and it’s a sad, sad thing…

 

You have a really nice start of things!

 

cheers

 

jeff

[Junech]

Could you explain your thoughts on how the station would be operated? I can't really think of a way of operation that would make that station plan... The more I looked at it the more possible changes I found.

 

Just labeled the tracks real quick so we talk about the same once:

 

So for my comments on the plan:

 

I don't see a reason for the connections between tracks 2 and 3 done by the 3-way switches. Both of them connect to points in the "middle" of the platform which makes them into shunting-only switches for most instances. Even more so for high-speed lines. Further more the process of shunting from track 2 into the yard at track 5c would be done in the order of 2-2a-4-5c to block both high-speed lines for the smallest time frame possible. So both connections won't even be needed. If you want trains from the light blue line to stop at the platform of track 2 the connections would be needed further outside the station. The same goes for stopping at platform 4.

 

Another thing would be that the platform for the high-speed trains is noticeably shorter than the local train lines. Just from a personal perspective that should be the other way around.

 

For more, I will wait for your operation concept to go further into the station layout.

[MrLinderman]

3 hours ago, Junech said:

Could you explain your thoughts on how the station would be operated? I can't really think of a way of operation that would make that station plan... The more I looked at it the more possible changes I found.

 

Just labeled the tracks real quick so we talk about the same once:

 

So for my comments on the plan:

 

I don't see a reason for the connections between tracks 2 and 3 done by the 3-way switches. Both of them connect to points in the "middle" of the platform which makes them into shunting-only switches for most instances. Even more so for high-speed lines. Further more the process of shunting from track 2 into the yard at track 5c would be done in the order of 2-2a-4-5c to block both high-speed lines for the smallest time frame possible. So both connections won't even be needed. If you want trains from the light blue line to stop at the platform of track 2 the connections would be needed further outside the station. The same goes for stopping at platform 4.

 

Another thing would be that the platform for the high-speed trains is noticeably shorter than the local train lines. Just from a personal perspective that should be the other way around.

 

For more, I will wait for your operation concept to go further into the station layout.

 

BIG Thanks Junech,

 

As you can probably tell this is all new to me, this is my first real layout, so really do appreciate your insight and allot of it makes sense as you explain it.

 

Love the idea of numbering the lines that helps allot with determining the "transit" from one line to another.

 

So lets look at this in terms of standard movements.

• Trains will operate primarily on "left side" running unless shunting to the yard or using the single track so:
• Light blue runs left to right on image
• Dark blue runs right to left on image
• Green is a single point to point but capped each side so top half entering from left and bottom half entering from right
• "blue" lines will be called "high speed" 
• "green" lines will be called "standard"

 

I would like to try and design this station to cater for:

• Light blue line can run un-impeded at "speed" (loop)
• Light blue line can choose to "station" if desired without impeding Dark blue or Green line
• Dark blue line can run un-impeded (loops through a station) obviously stops if desired
• Commuter trains run back and forth, and can switch to run on "high speed" lines if desired
• "High speed" trains will not be used on "standard" line (Shinkansen's etc.)
• All trains need access to the "yard"

 

So lets think about this - Intended running (subject to change):

• Light Blue - constant running: 3a - 3 - 3b
• Light Blue - Stationed: 3a - 2 "leftside" - 3b
  • so for this one your right the 3 way makes it too short and no need to go to station 4, so need to look at removing those and reworking to allow for light blue to get access to all of station 2 and then rejoin 3b, need to also ensure that line 2a can make station 1 while this is going on
• Light Blue - To yard: 3a - ? - 5c
  • I guess with the changes this could either switch earlier and take line 5 direct into 5c or swap the 3 way for a 2 way switch and go from 3a - 4 - 5c
• Dark Blue - constant running: 5b - 5 (or 4??) - 4a
  • Should this be reworked so it uses a straight shot through station "4" so there is no "switching" needed for constant running
• Dark Blue - stationed: 5b - 5 - 4a
  • I think having station "5" as the dedicated blue line "stop" would make sense so other trains can transit to and from yard or commuter to high speed when 5 is occupied?
• Dark Blue - To yard: 5b - 5 - Reverse - 5c
• Green "top" - Stationed: 2a - 1 or 2 - Reverse motion to 2a or decouple and engine transits via 2b-alternate line-2a-recouple
• Green "bottom" - Stationed: 6b - 6 or 7 - Reverse motion to 6b or decouple and engine transits via 6a-alternate line-6b-recouple
• Green "top" - To yard: 2a - 3a - 4 - 5c
• Green "bottom" - To yard: 6b - 6 - Reverse into 5c
• Green - to light blue: 2a - 3a
• Green - to dark blue: 6b - 5

 

I think part of the issue is I took this station design from a mix from (Tomix design snippets online) and added on additional stations and lines, so might need to rework some pieces, although it looks smaller station "4/5" is actually the same length as the other two for "square" areas, only the curved portion is missing, I can even replace the left end that is squared off with a curved piece, the part that is "shorter" is the right hand side due to that crossover point, it could be an area to rework so we can remove those 3 ways or move connections to further back.

 

I will do some pencil drawings of the movements and see where I can improve this, but please do give me some feedback and ideas as it all helps.

Edited February 13 by MrLinderman

[MrLinderman]

I got bored at work so kind of mapped out the basic principle in paint

 

[MrLinderman]

Did a bit of work on the station with now a better understanding of the "movements" of the planned layout

 

Pushed station further into the board to give more room on the left side for switching

due to space this does use double slips, so will have to see how they work in testing

 

Layout Update

station platforms labelled as 1 - 6 in top to bottom order, this should cater to:

 

Light Blue (left to right) - High Speed & Commuter

• Can use express line (no interference) 
• Stop at either platform 2 (primary) or platform 3 (secondary)
• Rejoin its own line
• Can change "direction of travel" by utilizing platform 3 - Join opposite line
• Transition to yard via platform 4 (worry here is the double s curve)

Dark Blue (right to left) - High Speed & Commuter

• Can go direct through no switching if desired (no interference) 
• Stop at either platform 3 (default) or platform 4 (secondary)
• Rejoin its own line
• Can change "direction of travel" by utilizing platform 3 - Join opposite line
• Transition to yard via platform 4 - reverse action

Green Line (point to point) - Commuter Only

• Stop at platforms 1,2,5,6 
• Transition to yard (bottom line) via platform 5,6 - reverse action
• Transition to yard (top line) via platform 4 (worry here is the double s curve)
• Transition to high speed lines via platform 4 and platform 2

 

Overall Design look now

• Changes made to station position for switching
• adjusted "areas" for scenery, shrunk industrial / yard zone
• adjusted commuter line to match up with zones

 

 

Added some "trains" to get an idea on scale, A+B set Kato Shinkansen and a 6 car commuter, i think it will work well, maybe go one car less on the high speed trains though.

Edited February 13 by MrLinderman

[MrLinderman]

Added a siding on the point to point at the back, just felt a bit bland back there and it would be a cool challange to automate a point to point on ex-rail that needs to use a siding 🙂

[Junech]

There is totally no problem with being new to this. We all once were.

 

I read a book a long time ago from my local club that introduced prototypical station planning regarding model railroading. Since it was a German book I don't know if there are similar books in English. But I will try to get the most important parts down and how my club and I plan a station and further extend a layout.

 

1.) Decide on a category and maximum speed of the lines you are planning.

 

You already did the first part. Two high-speed lines (light/dark blue) and the commuter lines. commuter line could be more specific if it is a main or branch line. There are some differences between them, infrastructure (track, signals, ...) which decides on the maximum speed.
To make this really simple we can think of high-speed starting at 200km/h, main lines reaching between 80km/h to 150km/h, and branch lines at 80km/h and below. The exact speeds will just be needed for signaling later since we will simplify the speeds for the trackwork anyway.

 

For my following points, I will go with 200km/h for the high speed and 80 for commuter lines.

(I colored in the arrows to show the direction of the tracks)

 

2.) The station's main tracks.

 

For each line that would run through the station, there will be a main track. The main track is the track a train can go without needing to reduce the maximum speed and is the main/default route even if the train stops at the station.

 

This will for the main tracks look like this:

 

3.) Passing or overtaking trains.

 

All non-main tracks would be considered as sidings for the line. Sidings are those tracks that are normally not used. The main time it is used is when a train needs to pass or overtake a different train. The train that is overtaken or passed will be waiting on the siding.

 

To decide on this we will need to think if those situations will happen for both line categories.

The only real overtaking/passing would be possible on the high-speed lines. For the commuter lines the situation is a bit different. There the question is if there would be 2 commuter trains on each of the upper and lower platforms at the same time.

 

(platforms in black)

 

4.) Trains arriving simultaneously

 

If we now want to reduce the number of tracks and some trains to use the same platforms we need to think about which trains will arrive at the same time to exchange their passengers. Since you have 3 different lines, one high-speed line with 2 directions, and 2 commuter lines as dead ends you would have a passenger train arriving from each line and direction to exchange their passengers. That makes a total of 4 trains arriving simultaneously without considering additional passings/overtakes.

 

To remove/condense the most tracks possible I will assume that there won't be any passing/overtaking during that "meet-up". So passing/overtaking will only take place when not all 4 trains are at the station.

 

The new plan would look like this

 

The reason for the platforms in their new locations is, that there will be a faster interchange for passengers between high-speed and commuter lines (which is the way most people will go). The platforms on the outside are only needed if you will have 2 commuter trains arrive.

 

5.) Commuter to high-speed lines and back.

 

To get a connection for both commuter lines to the high-speed line you need to add a connection between both high-speed directions. Additionally, they need to go both ways which will lead to the following plan. If you want to use just switches it will take more space and an interchange in both directions.

 

 

6.) The yard

 

Getting the yard working will be the most complicated thing with multiple options depending on how you want it to look. If you are ok with additional inclines there are more versions but leaving it on a flat plane leaves just one really good option looking like this:

 

7.) Reducing used space if needed or wanted

 

You can reduce the station length by replacing the 2 switches with a double-slip switch and get it to this:

[Junech]

I just see now that I forgot to mention why the speed was thought of at the beginning...

If you want to have multiple main tracks of one line at a station you need a switch big enough to allow a maximum speed to be continued over the switch. The main factor you can influence (if you don't want to build a switch yourself) is the size of the switch. The way we go is that you start using different switches in the layout. We go with different maximum speeds + an additional switch size.

 

For just one speed limit you have 2 different switches. One that would allow the maximum speed and one for reduced speed with the bigger one for the maximum speed.

For two different speed limits, you would need up to 3 switch-types. One for the maximum speed of the high-speed rail, one for the maximum of the commuter line, and one for reduced speed.

 

But as said that just comes into play if trains would need to run over a switch with the maximal allowed speed.

[MrLinderman]

8 hours ago, Junech said:

There is totally no problem with being new to this. We all once were.

 

I read a book a long time ago from my local club that introduced prototypical station planning regarding model railroading. Since it was a German book I don't know if there are similar books in English. But I will try to get the most important parts down and how my club and I plan a station and further extend a layout.

 

1.) Decide on a category and maximum speed of the lines you are planning.

 

You already did the first part. Two high-speed lines (light/dark blue) and the commuter lines. commuter line could be more specific if it is a main or branch line. There are some differences between them, infrastructure (track, signals, ...) which decides on the maximum speed.
To make this really simple we can think of high-speed starting at 200km/h, main lines reaching between 80km/h to 150km/h, and branch lines at 80km/h and below. The exact speeds will just be needed for signaling later since we will simplify the speeds for the trackwork anyway.

 

For my following points, I will go with 200km/h for the high speed and 80 for commuter lines.

(I colored in the arrows to show the direction of the tracks)

 

2.) The station's main tracks.

 

For each line that would run through the station, there will be a main track. The main track is the track a train can go without needing to reduce the maximum speed and is the main/default route even if the train stops at the station.

 

This will for the main tracks look like this:

 

3.) Passing or overtaking trains.

 

All non-main tracks would be considered as sidings for the line. Sidings are those tracks that are normally not used. The main time it is used is when a train needs to pass or overtake a different train. The train that is overtaken or passed will be waiting on the siding.

 

To decide on this we will need to think if those situations will happen for both line categories.

The only real overtaking/passing would be possible on the high-speed lines. For the commuter lines the situation is a bit different. There the question is if there would be 2 commuter trains on each of the upper and lower platforms at the same time.

 

(platforms in black)

 

4.) Trains arriving simultaneously

 

If we now want to reduce the number of tracks and some trains to use the same platforms we need to think about which trains will arrive at the same time to exchange their passengers. Since you have 3 different lines, one high-speed line with 2 directions, and 2 commuter lines as dead ends you would have a passenger train arriving from each line and direction to exchange their passengers. That makes a total of 4 trains arriving simultaneously without considering additional passings/overtakes.

 

To remove/condense the most tracks possible I will assume that there won't be any passing/overtaking during that "meet-up". So passing/overtaking will only take place when not all 4 trains are at the station.

 

The new plan would look like this

 

The reason for the platforms in their new locations is, that there will be a faster interchange for passengers between high-speed and commuter lines (which is the way most people will go). The platforms on the outside are only needed if you will have 2 commuter trains arrive.

 

5.) Commuter to high-speed lines and back.

 

To get a connection for both commuter lines to the high-speed line you need to add a connection between both high-speed directions. Additionally, they need to go both ways which will lead to the following plan. If you want to use just switches it will take more space and an interchange in both directions.

 

 

6.) The yard

 

Getting the yard working will be the most complicated thing with multiple options depending on how you want it to look. If you are ok with additional inclines there are more versions but leaving it on a flat plane leaves just one really good option looking like this:

 

7.) Reducing used space if needed or wanted

 

You can reduce the station length by replacing the 2 switches with a double-slip switch and get it to this:

 

Thank you, this is awesome info. I'll have a go at reworking the station to be a little more prototypical.

 

Even though the plan isn't to be super accurate it's always nice to try and minic real life situations