The Model Railroad
Beginning at the western edge of the Scranton City Yard, the layout
models the Main Line as far east as East Stroudsburg. The Bloomsburg
Branch is also modelled, but with a lower degree of prototype fidelity
due to space limitations. T
he majority of freight traffic classification for the region was performed
at Taylor Yard on the Bloom.
Through freights made their setouts and pickups in the City
Yard, and transfer runs moved the traffic between yards. Crews
of trains orginating in Scranton picked up their motive power and caboose
at the City Yard service area, and ran light to Taylor where they picked
up their train. They then ran back to Scranton where they entered
the Main Line. Taylor was therefore an important location to include
in the model. It was also important to Include the Reading Railroad
interchange at Rupert, on the Bloom, because it was the source of a large
portion of the Scranton traffic. The actual interchange operation
at Rupert was also an interesting operation. Finally, there was a small
amount of traffic orginating on the eastern end of the Bloom, providing
valuable local switching opportunities.
Beside the obvious goal
of creating an accurate model of the Erie Lackawanna Scranton Division in
1975, my intent in designing and building this model railroad is to replicate
operation of the Division and to challenge the operators to operate their
trains realistically while folllowing prototype practices. To this
end I have exaggerated the grade out of Scranton and weighted the rolling
stock heavier than is typical. Trains that required helpers on
the prototype will need helpers on the model, and engineers will need
to consider train dynamics. Command Control will allow a separate crews
to run the helper sets, increasing the operating challenges.
Prototype track layouts
will be used wherever space allows, and the sequence and (as much as
possible) the spacing of prototype locations has been preserved -- although
highly compressed. The main area of compromise was between Mt. Pocono
and East Stroudsburg. In order to increase the local industry switching
available on the model, we decided to include East Stroudsburg just before
the entrance to East End staging. Unfortunately, that location is
around the corner from Mt. Pocono, while the prototype requires about 18
miles -- much of it downgrade -- to cover that distance. The added
operating interest of the local switching at East Stroudsburg is expected
to outweigh the loss of prototype fidelity.
The branch was
thus included as a lower level, although the modelled section from Taylor
to Rupert is drastically compressed.
Before starting the
track plan, several specifications were established for physical characteristics
of the railroad. The base elevation -- at Scranton City Yard --
was set at 50" from the floor. Although Rupert is lower, and the
upper deck is considerably higher, this was the starting point. The
minimum mainline radius is 30" and the minimum turnout is #6 (although
#4 may be used in an industrial setting). Grades will vary across the railroad,
but outside the helper district, the maximum will be 1.5%.
Experimentation showed
a "standard" train length of 15 feet, including the motive power and
caboose, to be ideal. At 15 feet the train will be long enough
to extend around a bend or through a scenic element (stand of trees,
cut, etc) so that it appears to go out of sight. Assuming most cars are
50 feet long, we expect the trains to be about 20 cars. Of course, actual
train lengths will vary depending upon traffic levels.
Spacing of the towns
has been determined in part using the 15-foot trainlength. Other
factors considered were the actual distance between the towns and what
work a train might be expected to perform in the town.
Staging will be comprised
of both conventional staging yards and a "Mole" who will actively stage/restage
the railroad during operations. At each end of the Main Line will be a double-ended
staging yard, beyond which will be a four-track fiddle yard inside a reversing
loop. This arrangement will allow a large percentage of the trains to be pre-staged
if necessary. This dual-function staging staging will make the Mole position
flexible or even allow operation without the Mole. If no Mole is available,
removal of completed trains and pre-staging of upcoming trains can be done once
or twice during the session without disrupting the operating session. If
a Mole is available, ongoing restaging will make long operating sessions possible.
Op 'til you drop!
Both staging yards are 11
double-ended tracks feeding into a 4-track reversing loop in the Mole area.
Small, 4-track yards will be provided in the throat of each Mole loop to allow
storage of locomotives on the track, to minimize handling of the detailed engines.
Additional staging
is provided west of Rupert, representing the remainder of the Bloomsburg
Branch and the Reading Railroad.
The Track Plan
The model is located
in a basement approximately 28 feet by 34 feet, with the usual basement
appliances to work around. Although the ceiling is fairly high, the
central beam and heating duct prevented me from fitting a mushroom into
the space, so we settled on a double-deck layout. The track plan is a relatively
simple walk-around plan with one central peninsula and staging at either
end of the visible portion of the railroad.
This plan allows the inclusion of much of the Bloomsburg Branch and the
Main Line from Scranton to Mount Pocono, with East Stroudsburg added at
the end. There is about a 45 foot run between Scranton City Yard and
Taylor Yard, allowing a significant run between yards. Through trains
will drop and pick up cars at City Yard, while classification and most switching
will be done at Taylor, as the prototype did. Transfer runs between
the two yards will be a prominent feature of the operations. It's
a good thing Overland just imported the EL transfer caboose!
The modelled Main Line
is about 225 feet long, and the Bloom is about 160 feet long. The
Main Line grade begins in Scranton yard and continues to Lehigh Summit,
reaching a maximum of 3.5% but remaining about 2% for most of that distance.
The profile of the prototype has been imitated, though the grades have
been exaggerated for operational interets. As on the prototype, though,
there is a stretch of level ground at Nay Aug to challenge the train crews!
The combination of heavy cars and steep grades will challenge the crews
and the trains will really need the helpers to get up the hills.
The plans below show the general
mainline layout of the mainline and branch. In some areas local spurs are
detailed but the local track arrangements will depend on space available once
the mainline is built. Since the plans for a double-deck layout
can be confusing, I've included separate figures showing the Lower and Upper
Levels, with the Bloomsburg branch and staging yards shown in different colors.
Town name colors indicate mainline, branch, or staging. In the Upper Level
figure, some Lower Level features (like Taylor Yard and the outlineof the
branch under East Stroudsburg) are shown to help illustrate their relative
positions.
Model Locations
Follow the links
below to pictures of individual towns or areas of the layout.
"Station Name" links are to information about the prototype location
being modelled.
Unfortunately,
I have not yet fleshed out many of these pages. Please excuse the
many blank pages and try back again later if you go to an unfinished page.
Thanks!
IN the Table, the modelled portion
of the railroad has white text and borders, and the links are to location
details and "Model" links you to the page for the modelled town.
Control
A walk-around layout
almost demands a form of Command Control, where each locomotive carries
a receiver and can be controlled independently from other locomotives on
the railroad. Having operated on many layouts with a form of Command
Control, I believe the most realistic control system for this layout
is a system of wireless command control. In the past, only the Rail-Lynx
system offered wireless control, and we have committed to using it wherever
possible. This system uses infra-red signals to communicate directly between
the handheld controller and the locomotive, similar to the ubiquitous TV
remote. And, unlike most TV remotes, the Rail-Lynx handheld controlleris
very easy to operate and take very little effort to understand! Plus, without
wires and plugs to worry about, a model operator has much more freedom to
operate his or her train in a realistic manner, and can walk along next
tot he locomotive -- where the engineer belongs -- rather than rushing about
trying to find the next plug-in.
Recently, however, several
Digital Command Control systems have begun offering full-featured radio-linked
systems. Since the track plan calls for significant areas of hidden track
with restricted access where the infra-red control could be difficult to
implement, we are layering Rail-Lynx on top of the NCE DCC system using
radio and tethered throttles. This provides the best of both worlds: simpler
installation and wiring yet good, simple control.