Second Draft Of Givens & Druthers

Givens

Aisle Width

Preferred: 36”
Okay: 30”
Minimum: 24”

Benchwork Width

Preferred: 24”
Okay: 18”
Minimum: 6”

Deck Height From Floor

Minimum: 50”
Maximum: 70”

Minimum Radius

Mainline: 36”
Branch Line: 30”
Sidings: 24”

Gradients

Mainline: 1 in 60
Branch Line: 1 in 40

Turnout Frogs

Main Line: No. 8
Branch Line: No. 6
Sidings: No. 6

Multi-Track Spacing

Standard: 2”
Curves: 2¼”

Track Over Track Spacing

Railhead To Railhead: 3½”

Track Distance From Edge

Front Edge: 1¼”
Back Edge (Back-Drop): 2”

Train Length

Measured In S Trucks: 60 S Trucks (18 Feet)

General

Operate Using A Timetable.
Staging Sufficient To Operate An Entire 24-Hour Day.
Walk-Around, Point To Point Track Plan.
Long Main Line Run.
Realistic Operation Using Signal & Telegraph, Staff & Ticket.
Digital Command Control Wireless Throttles.
Reverse-Loop Staging For Main Staging Yards, Stub Yards For Elsewhere.
A Continuous Run For Testing Locomotives.
Minimum Deck Seperations Of 12”.
Layout To Be Able To Be Operated By One Person.

Druthers

Room Esthetics

Carpeted Floors
Air-Conditioning
Painted Walls
No Exposed Wires
Bright And Even Lighting (Shadow Box)
Curtain, Fascia & Valance

Design Philosophy

At Least 25 Feet Between Towns
Minimum Hidden Trackage
Minimum Number Of Turnback Blobs
No Duck-Unders, Nod-Unders Are Okay
Exceed 30” Minimum Radius Wherever Possible

Designing & Building Multi-Deck Model Railroads

The Above Is A Book By Tony Koester Of MR Fame. The Book Is An Interesting Read, I Recommend It To Those About To Take On The Challenge Of Building Their First Multi-Deck Railway. I Was Reading It The Other Night And In Chapter Two Tony Is Talking To A Friend About His RR Design And The Friend Makes A Suggestion About Having Drivers Complete A Shift From Loco Depot To Loco Depot. Tony Really Liked The Idea And So Do I, I Think It Would Give Operators A Great Sense Of Operating A Real Railway If They Sign On At A Depot And Have Roster Of Trains To Run, Rather Than Picking Up A Train In Staging And Running It To Staging. The Great Thing About The Gwabegar Line Is That On The Section From Wallerawang To Mudgee There Were A Lot Of Trains Which Sole Purpose Was To Go To A Particular Station Or Mine Etc. Terminate And Return To Sydney. A Feature I Would Love To Include On My Railway. For Those Looking At Building A Multi Deck Railway Or Any Railway For That Fact Another Great Source Is Joe Fugate's DVD's.

Layout At A Glance

The Layout As Proposed So Far. This Post Will Be Added To As More Is Known.

Layout At A Glance:

Scale: HO (1.87.1).
Size: Not Determined Yet.
Prototype: State Rail Authority Of NSW.
Era: 1979-1983.
Height: 1350mm-1625mm.

Track:

Mainline & Loops: Micro-Engineering Code 70 Flex-Track.
Sidings & Branches: Micro-Engineering Code 55 Flex-Track.
Turnouts: 1:6, Scratch-Built To Proto:87 Standards.
Minimum Radius: 900mm.
Maximum Gradient: 1 in 40.

Control System:

DCC Wireless Throttles.
Track Power Electrically Interlocked With Signals & Points. 
Points Contolled By Tortoise Slow-Motion Points Motors.

Scenery:

Hard-Shell Using Cardboard Strips Covered In PVA Soaked Paper Towels.
Trees Supplied By Track-Side Trees.

General Notes:

Typical Trains That Will Be Modelled Are Block Coal, Cement, Ore & Wheat As Well As Passenger And General Freight.

Addendum:

As You Can See My Design Preferences Have Changed, After Reading A Few Books With Eye-Catching Photos I Decided To Move The Era Forward Almost 20 Years To The Late 1970's, Early 1980's. I Have Also Decided To Build This Layout And The Rollingstock To Proto:87 Track & Wheel Standards

Givens & Druthers

This Is The First Draft Of My Givens & Druthers.

Givens:

• Minimum Radius: 750mm.
• Maximum Gradient: 1 in 40.
• Minimum Turnout Radius: No.6.
• Minimum Height From Floor: 1225mm.

Fleet Numbers Are Limited To The Following:

• 20 Locomotives.
• 200 Pieces Of Freight Rollingstock & Departmental Vehicles.
• 10 Piece Of Passenger Rollingstock Including Railmotors.

Druthers:

• An Accurate Representation Of The Gwabegar Line Between 1967-1973.
• Accomodation For Prototypical Length Trains In Crossing Loops And Staging.
• Shadowbox Design To Showcase The Scenery And Trains.
• Interlocked Signals & Points.
• Prototypical Safeworking Procedures.
• Track & Rollingstock Built Using Proto:87 Standards.
• Timetable To Be As Close To Prototype As Possible.
• Double Deck To Maximise Space.
• No Climb-Unders, Nod-Unders Are Fine.
• Use Available Space Efficently.
• Room Must Be Fully Finished Before Layout Can Commence (Painted Walls, Carpet & Lighting).
• Room Must Be Climate Controlled To Reduce The Effects Of Expansion & Contraction.
• At Least One Branch.
• 4-5 Stations On The 'Mainline'.
• Staging Will Be In The Form Of 5 Track Reverse Loops.
• Must Be Of Linear Design.
  
  
  
  
  
  

Introduction

This Blog Will Account The Building Of My Model Railway. I'll Start By Setting Out My Aims/Goals & Constraints.

Aims/Goals:

• Construct A Railway That Faithfully Portrays The Operations Of The Mudgee Line.
• Construct Rollingstock To As High A Standard As Possible.
• Construct The Layout To As High An Electrical, Operational & Scenery Standard As Possible.
• Operate The Layout As Prototypically As Practical.

Constraints:

• Budget, I Have A Mortgage And Thus I Can't Spend As Much Money On Models As I Previously Have.
• Time, I Work In Sydney So I Travel An Hour & A Half To/From Work And Work Long Hours.
• With The Above Hanging Over My Head I Am Limiting My Model Fleet & Size Of Layout So I Can Finish It In A Timely Manner & Keep To My Aims/Goals.

Below Is A List Of Locations On The Mudgee Line. This List Will Have To Be Culled To 4-5 Mainline Stations & 2-3 Branchline Stations.

• Irondale - Site of Colliery Can't Remember Name
• Piper's Flat
• Ivanhoe Colliery
• Portland
• Commonwealth Portland Cement Works
• Renown Colliery
• Cullen Bullen
• Invincible Colliery
• Tyldesley Colliery
• Ben Bullen
• Capertee
• Torbane
• Excelsior
• Weenga
• Carlos Gap
• Vulcan - Vulcan Portland Cement Works
• Brogans Creek
• Walton's Cutting
• Haystack
• Clandulla
• Charbon
• Kandos
• Kandos Cement Works
• Rylstone
• Morton Main
• Lue
• Havilah
• Wall's Siding
• Mount Knowles
• Mount Frome
• Wilsonlime
• Mudgee
• Munna
• Warrobil
• Gulgong - Jct Sandy Hollow To Maryvale Line
• Puggoon
• Tallawang
• Birrawa
• Craboon - Jct Coolah Branch (Branch To Be Modelled Hopefully)
• Dunedoo
• Liamena
• Towealgra
• Wongoni
• Merrygoen - Jct Troy Junction To Merrygoen Line
• Toogarlan
• Neilrex
• Piambra
• Binnaway - Jct Werris Creek To Binnaway Line
• Murrawal
• Deringulla
• Ulamambri
• Coonabarabran
• Yearinan
• Bugaldie
• Wittenbra
• Baradine
• Kenebri
• Merebene
• Gwabegar