Small shunting layout

[DD13]

Planning a shunting layout based on a small freight terminal. Any advice on what to model

? 

Edited March 15 by DD13

[Junech]

The first things to start with would be:

1. The space you got for your shunting layout.

2. The track you want to use (like Tomix, Kato,...).

3. The rolling stock you want to use. This is important because you will need at least the length of the locomotive and the longest freight car before the first switch to be able to shunt. It is also important so you can plan for the industries for the types of freight cars that you want to use.

[Cat]

Freight shunting will have more options the further back in time you go.  Showa period will give lots more options and types of cars than today, but even Heisei period will work better than today.
 
Port terminals will probably provide the most shunting.
https://jnsforum.com/community/topic/20188-nagoya-area-freight-operations/

For a smaller prototype places like the Port of Kashima used to have freight operations:
https://www.google.com/maps/place/Ōarai+Station/@35.9072281,140.6911687,8157m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m6!3m5!1s0x6022311863b4a98b:0xaca2339e5cbe081b!8m2!3d36.3150501!4d140.5629424!16s%2Fm%2F065z45d?entry=ttu&g_ep=EgoyMDI1MDMxMi4wIKXMDSoASAFQAw%3D%3D
 

Taki Terminals, in any period, those takis have to go somewhere.

https://jnsforum.com/community/topic/16402-oil-terminal-for-takis/

[DD13]

16 hours ago, Junech said:

The first things to start with would be:

1. The space you got for your shunting layout.

2. The track you want to use (like Tomix, Kato,...).

3. The rolling stock you want to use. This is important because you will need at least the length of the locomotive and the longest freight car before the first switch to be able to shunt. It is also important so you can plan for the industries for the types of freight cars that you want to use.

My idea is building a shelf layout, 2 meters long and 30cm deep.

I will use Kato track, easier to get in my area. 

Having some flat cars and tank cars, so they will use on the layout. 

[Junech]

That sounds good so far. It would be good to consider cars of different types that you want to add later as well.

 

The next step is to decide whether to pursue a more prototypical approach or concentrate on the puzzle aspect of a shunting layout.

 

Another thing to look into would be, if you want to expand it in the future and where possible expansions would go, and what they could look like like. I think a good example are the two threads of MetheSwede:

https://jnsforum.com/community/topic/20716-new-micro-layout-that-also-fits-into-an-ikea-billy-bookcase/

https://jnsforum.com/community/topic/19987-building-a-26-x-75-cm-n-scale-layout-for-ikea-billy/

 

After those 3 points, the planning of an actual plan could start.

[DD13]

On 3/16/2025 at 12:12 PM, Junech said:

That sounds good so far. It would be good to consider cars of different types that you want to add later as well.

 

The next step is to decide whether to pursue a more prototypical approach or concentrate on the puzzle aspect of a shunting layout.

 

Another thing to look into would be, if you want to expand it in the future and where possible expansions would go, and what they could look like like. I think a good example are the two threads of MetheSwede:

https://jnsforum.com/community/topic/20716-new-micro-layout-that-also-fits-into-an-ikea-billy-bookcase/

https://jnsforum.com/community/topic/19987-building-a-26-x-75-cm-n-scale-layout-for-ikea-billy/

 

After those 3 points, the planning of an actual plan could start.

Want to have fun shunting some freight cars, so I will go for the puzzle aspect. Sure, my idea is to expand in the future. 

What do you think about a small operation in a industrial park, 2 or 3 sidings, small industries?. Maybe a logistics warehouse and a truck company... 

[MeTheSwede]

49 minutes ago, DD13 said:

Want to have fun shunting some freight cars, so I will go for the puzzle aspect. Sure, my idea is to expand in the future. 

What do you think about a small operation in a industrial park, 2 or 3 sidings, small industries?. Maybe a logistics warehouse and a truck company... 

 

Once you have decided fo focus on puzzle making and that realism is not important, I think you should have all your focus on setting up a working puzzle first. Unless copying an existing tried and tested track plan (like the 5-3-3 (car places) Ingelnook) I think this is best and easiest done by trial and error, connecting track and shunting on multiple track plan iterations until you find a puzzle track plan you are happy with. Note that for shunting puzzles to be challenging, the lenght of every section of track can be important. It's the crampedness that causes the challenge.

 

Once the track is finished, I would add warehouses, loading platforms or general industrial looking buildings in a way that looks reasonably logical.

 

By the way, 30x200cm sounds very spacious for a shunting layout. You can watch a video of me shunting on my 31x20cm layout over here:

 

 

 

[Junech]

Yes with shunting being the main goal the focus should be on a working puzzle. With a space of 200cm in length, you can do a bigger puzzle, two puzzles, or a puzzle with an additional staging area /yard.

 

You can plan that with a paper prototype as well. draw the plan on it and get smaller paper cutouts as railcars and locomotives.

[DD13]

Thanks. I am playing with track configurations on a table. Maybe I will go this way and not the shelf type layout. The table is 140x70cm.

Edited March 22 by DD13

[Junech]

I played around just a little bit and chose an established design I found online for the shunting station. If you keep the trains short and the size of each shunting station small you can get a shunting loop like this:

 

The big shunting stations would be bottom-left and up-right, with two smaller stations to use as a switchback. The layers would be blue on top and green on bottom, with grey in between.

[DD13]

20 minutes ago, Junech said:

I played around just a little bit and chose an established design I found online for the shunting station. If you keep the trains short and the size of each shunting station small you can get a shunting loop like this:

 

The big shunting stations would be bottom-left and up-right, with two smaller stations to use as a switchback. The layers would be blue on top and green on bottom, with grey in between.

Do you know the Inglenook design? 

[Junech]

Yes, I know the classic design. These stations were inspired by this other design:

https://southern-railway.com/2016/09/17/announcing-canute-road-quay-a-new-little-timesaving-or-timewasting-project/

 

The basic idea of my design was to have a continuous run of up to 3 trains (with their own drivers) at once. Three trains would require DCC I think, but 2 trains should be perfectly doable in DC operation. That way not only you but a friend could play at the same time.

 

The continuous run originates from the assumption that for each railcar you will have a receiver and distributor in one of the stations. So the general operation would be like this:
 

• starting with a train in one of the big stations
  • taking the first initial railcars to form a train
  • while building that train you will need to think about the best order to have an easy shunting at the other stations
• you go to the next station
  • same as before: check if a railcar needs to be put there or picked up
  • find a good place for it in your train
• repeat until you don't have any more time to spend

For the whole thing you can advance it by adding unloading times for example "Railcar needs to let 2 freight trains pass till unloaded".

 

While two trains are cargo trains the third one could be a passenger train which could run in the opposite direction form the freight trains. That way the operators would need to keep that one in mind while shunting.

 

[DD13]

21 hours ago, Junech said:

I played around just a little bit and chose an established design I found online for the shunting station. If you keep the trains short and the size of each shunting station small you can get a shunting loop like this:

 

The big shunting stations would be bottom-left and up-right, with two smaller stations to use as a switchback. The layers would be blue on top and green on bottom, with grey in between.

What size is this design? 

[Junech]

I planned it with the size you first mentioned: 2 m x 0.3 m

[DD13]

By the way, what do you think on building a one turnout layout?. A spur with multiple car spots. 

[Junech]

It wouldn't be mine and you could scale down the size of the shunting layout or have a lot more landscape. But it isn't important if I would personally like it or not. I think you can just test it and see if you are enjoying the shunting puzzle.

 

Another approach could be to think a bit further into the future and think about what future extensions will look like and plan the shunting layout as one section of the future larger layout.

[MeTheSwede]

I would argue the sweet spot for number of turnouts on a shunting layout is probably somewhere above 1 and below 19. 🙂

 

 

Not a shunting layout, but this small industrial layout might provide some inspiration:

 

 

[DD13]

Forgot to say the layout will be built with modules using Kato Unitrack. Fast and easy to assembly.