Greg,
How much width does the 5 tracks off the sector plate take? In other words what is the centerline to centerline spacing?
I have the same unit
(https://www.largescalecentral.com/public/album_photo/e3/4e/02/24a97_a083.JPG?c=bffa)
(https://www.largescalecentral.com/public/album_photo/e7/4e/02/24a9b_b010.JPG?c=4268)
Yep, same basic unit… although if you look closely, mine is motorized and controlled by DCC, and it is also nickel plated… don’t ask the original price, they were never cheap.
But look at the construction, not that difficult to make one. See the sliding rails so that the moving end rails are fixed, makes it more like a turntable at that end.
Greg
Yes the construction is simple and be easy to replicate, but I’m just wondering if it really saves space. Length vs. width
This discussion might end up being all academic until I get the plywood on the cabinets and can start laying track out. Sometimes it’s a lot easier to just build and tweak as you build vs. over designing…
one switch vs. a ladder of switches always saves space or gives you more storage track, no question at all.
The lengths of useable track is misleading in this picture:
Those short stub tracks at the head end of the yard are probably not usable at all, due to clearances at the switch… with the 5 way, you have clearance between tracks (read usable) a very short distance from the switch.
Greg,
Do you know what your centerline to centerline spacing is for the 5 way ‘switch’ is? Is it 6" or 8" or 12"?
uhh… no, it is way closer… you have to fan the tracks out a bit to get clearance… how much you do is your design.
you can see this in the picture… it’s not much more than the gauge of the track… track to track spacing in a yard is your discretion… I use Kadees, so I can lift individual cars straight up, so you can space tracks pretty close, the closest would not allow you to get your fingers in to put the trucks on the track right, but remove a car.
my advice is if you are considering making a sector switch, and maybe going even more tracks, you mock up 3 tracks in parallel, put cars on them and see what minimum spacing you are comfortable with.
this will boil down to your priorities, i.e. if maximum capacity is the highest priority, squeeze them together so close there is only enough room for your fingers to grab the car/loco.
If your priority is to be able to “fiddle” on the tracks then the mockup can be used to determine the minimum spacing to be able to reach in and re-rail a loco/car.
Greg
by the way, more trouble free, and better for longer cars, no S curves.
A stub switch is a possibility… Humm… (https://www.largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-undecided.gif)
After all of the discussion I started building over winter break. Just got done hanging shelves last night above the staging yard. But here’s some pictures from earlier in the build.
Nice. I am about to embark on some indoor work that, for my first time, will not be on flat bench top. I’m curious about your ladder. Do you rip those side strips yourself, or are they a dimension that can be purchased. I may stick with PVC, even indoors, since I get lots of scrap from work that I rip to 1.5"x.75" on the panel saw at work.
Craig Townsend said: In other words what is the centerline to centerline spacing?
Staying on topic …if it was not mentioned which it seems it was not by the experts …6.5 on center spacing is a very good reference and rather wide for a yard if one models to true 1:29th scale. I personally used 6.5 on center spacing for my main but I only go roundy round and do not model to scale.
Rooster,
I think I ended up 6" centerline to centerline. Tight clearance when all the yard tracks are full, but it works.
Jon,
I ripped the ladder from a couple of 2x4’s I had on hand. I think when I got outdoors from here, I will switch to using a fence board which is a 1x6? I don’t think the ladder needs to be that tall, plus cedar 2x8 or 2x10 are super expensive compared to a fence board. I’m probably going to experiment a bit more before I settle on one method. One thing I did discover is a need for a feather board. It would make life a lot easier, and get more consistent strips. The table top is flat because I have storage underneath for my table saw, and some cabinets. I will try and get a better overall picture this evening.
If I had a free source, I would take it!
I ended up with 4 tracks, set on 6" spacing. It’s tight clearance when all the tracks are full, but it’s workable. The yard uses a combination of #6 and #4 turnouts to provide maximum space with as few S curves as possible. I also took some time and built some overhead storage. This leaves the yard at about 60%-70% full. Ideally, I’d like to get that down to about 50% for ops. I still have plenty of room for adding additional shelves as I slowly acquire train cars. I need some good wheel stops for the ends of the track. Any good sources?
I also had this crazy idea to ballast the yard… 150 pounds of rock later, and it’s only about half done. Oops!
On the garage door end, I built a sliding drawing that allows 3 of the 4 tracks to used. Track #1, is built over the drawer slides so that I can use the full length.
Sorry for the cruddy photos. My photo doesn’t like the low light in the garage. I will try and take better pictures in the daylight. Video to follow showing the transfer table when I can get it to upload.
Edit to add Video
Sure hope you have that top shelf screwed to the brackets.
I’d put brackets out at the ends or at least butt the shelf to the outcropping on the left and use a wood strip screwed to the out crop to support that end, and remove the right side bracket if you don’t have a piece of shelf to span that far.(https://www.largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-cool.gif)
Craig,
I like the Hayes wheel stops made by Tomar Industries.
https://tomarindustries.com/803.jpg
https://tomarindustries.com/gs.htm
Here is another option. I have a few of these outdoors. When weathered they look pretty good.
You can never have too much shelf storage. Maybe make that lower shelf full length with a lift out in front of the electric panel.
Thanks for the suggestions. I figure the shelving will get modified over time as this was a quick build using the scraps I had left over. All the shelving is screwed into the brackets. The shelve is 3/4 plywood with grooves cut for wheels.
Craig, can you derail a car in the middle of the yard? Asking for Devon. (https://largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-tongue-out.gif)
