Another Viaduct Question

[gerryo]

I will be including a Viaduct Station on my layout, and I know that you connect 2 track plates side by side to make 2 passing sidings.

 

But, can you connect 3 track plates side by side, with enough piers under them, to include 2 storage tracks as well?

 

This could also make access to the storage tracks easier as access could then be at the station area, instead of on the opposite side of the layout as I was planning on mine. 

 

Any opinions?

 

gerryo

[cteno4]

Gerryo,

 

Yes that should work fine. The plates can connec to others on all sides with S joiners. One of our club members has a station that is 4 wide.

 

Jeff

[katoftw]

Would also add to be aware of the lengths to increase the station for every set of points/turnouts added.

[gerryo]

I think I would make the storage tracks as sidings.  This would make them even more convenient but, again, would add to the length of the station.

 

Thanx guys.

gerryo

[cteno4]

Yeah adding passing tracks takes up length fast. I once did a dream layout that was in a big Z shape and the diagonal was a huge Shinkansen station with 4 lines running thru the middle and then 2 passing tracks with platforms on them on each side. Long enough to have 16 car shinkansens on all passing tracks. Ended up 12 feet long! It was a fun idea with basically a large double track loop with all 4 tracks in center running thru the station.

 

Jeff

[mrp]

...in a big Z shape...

 

Reminded me of this one.

 

 

 

If you want to see some *big* layouts, try a Google Images search for レンタルレイアウト

 

It’s a bit sobering in some of those how much space a full length station takes up.

 

[cteno4]

Actually was twice as wide with 8 tracks total. The idea was to get away from the big oval and have the huge station in the middle and then two double track balloons at either end.

 

Yeah our past two club layouts have had full 4 track 16 car Shinkansen stations and they take up almost 3m of length!

 

Cheers

 

Jeff

[kvp]

The second layout above looks awesome!

 

For monolithic home layouts a full sized station could be too large. Once we are past the 4 to 6 20 meter cars length, imho it's best to start going modular. This also means that you can have long, but thin sections, with less scenery and more trains. By making roughly 1 meter modules, it's possible to get a 4 or 8 track 3-4 meter long stations with a depth of only 50 cm. That's 1.5-2 square meters for a really huge station. Then you need two ballon loops or if you are making a terminal station, only a single loop at one end. You can add storage sidings next to the mainline or the station and you have a modular layout that is either 3x0.5+3x0.5+1.5x1 (or x2) meters large or 3x1+1.5x1 (or x2) meters. And this means full length trains and huge stations. Halving the number of tracks and/or the length of the trains gets you down to half and quarter of the sizes above (in the second case that means 6, 3 or 1.5 square meters for a folded dogbone layout with double track main and a 8/4 track 16/8 car station and the same capacity storage yard). If you like operations and run trains that don't have to be turned, then it's possible to make a point to point layout (like a commuter layout) in much less space. It will be long, but narrow, like any real rail line.

 

ps: Some people (mainly in the USA) double or triple this up and make the ballons into spiral ramps, so you can have 2 or 3 shelfs above each other with 2 ballons and 1-2 ramps.

[kvp]

An example of what can be done in a not too large space: (roughly 3 square meters)

 

 

 

[katoftw]

That is a nice layout. Would be good for a show layout. Could keep the cutout front section whole and put a small bus or tram layout in the front.

[gerryo]

Hi.

This is a new question.

 

Is it possible to raise the Kato V13 Viaduct so that it will clear the top of the Kato Overhead Station? 

 

Along with the changes I had to make to my plan was that the viaduct has to either be raised over the entire city scene or over the  Overhead Station. This could be done on one side of the layout only but would have to be gradual. 

 

Ideas?

gerryo

[cteno4]

Gerryo,

 

You will need to come down on the other side though as well. Want to keep the grades to 2% max if you can. Getting up high like this is possible but it takes a lot of track length to get up and down to like a 5"+ elevation -- 21' at 2% grade. Many of the big Japanese shop layouts get pretty high by having big spiral loops that go around the layout like 3 times, but then you end up with high tracks in the foreground as well that can block views, but these layouts are more about running trains for long distances than for the scenic viewing usually. Other tricks are using mountains to hide the grades and loop backs to get the lengths to do taller stacking like spiffs layout, but I don't think this fits the scene you want to be the majority of the layout from earlier plans posted.

 

Jeff

[katoftw]

For each 45 degree corner or S248mm section, you can raise the track.  I think that is 4%.

 

If you are wanting to go higher than the peirs that Kato supply, then you either need to make your own, or raise the kato versions by using blocks and hiding them how you see fit within your scenery.

[gerryo]

Thanx for the opinions guys.

 

The total height of the Overhead Station is abt. 3.5 inches. The height of the Kato Piers is 2 inches. If I get the Incline Set from Kato which rise to an additional 2 inches would it be possible to glue them on top of the relevant standard piers, and end up with higher piers as necessary? The incline could start back down after one length of flat track.

 

Experimenting is fun (if it works).

 

gerryo

[katoftw]

Do you need to go over the station building or just the platform roofs?  Or if you remove or cut the roofs to fit around a viaduct, then no extra height is required.

 

Going up 3.5 inches will require 9 S248 and/or 45 degree sections bigger than R315.  Then the same again to come back down.

 

Unless of course you will keep the viaducts at a single height, as that point you make your own peirs to the height you want.

Edited February 23, 2015 by katoftw

[cteno4]

Gerryo,

 

I would just experiment with some cut blocks of wood to prop up the viaducts. See how it works for you as well as looks. You might think about just making your own risers out of wood rather than trying to fuse kato risers to wood.

 

2% is a nice grade, 3% starts to become a strain on trains and past that it can definitely take its toll as well as slow down and speed up a lot on the grades unless you use the throttle.

 

Cheers

 

Jeff

[katoftw]

If aiming for 2%, then double the specs I gave.

[gerryo]

I am not going up 3.5 inches.  The viaduct piers are already 2 inches so I am only going up 1.5 to 2 inches. The incline set of double track piers go up from 0 inches to 2 inches and back down again.  From Kato's illustrations I understand that they are the same as the regular 2 inch piers. So it would seem that some good glue and some reinforcing would do the trick.

 

I'm going to try it with a set and see what needs to be done.

 

gerryo