looking for track plan
Jeff Hamann
plan - probably a (very) small switching yard that can fit into an
apartment. I want to get experience with laying track and experimenting
with different switch machines etc before i start building a larger
layout.
Anyone have any suggestions? I have heard of a plan called "time saver"
or something like that that was done by John Allen. It's supposed to be a
small switching yard that can be operated like a puzzle to get so many
cars delivered to various tracks in a minimum number of "moves". Does
anyone know anything about this plan? Particularly where i can find it?
Any help is greatly appreciated.
Thanks.
Jeff Hamann
jrha...@inlink.com
Bernard Kempinski
jrha...@inlink.com (Jeff Hamann) wrote:
The Timesaver plan is published in Kalmbach's book on 101 track plans.
Also, Lee Van de Lise's Crown Mountain On3 layout, features in step by
step series in Model Railroader a few years ago, had a diagram of that
layout. Furthermore, I think that Robert Schleighter's book on layout
design includes a module based on the timesaver and then includes several
other modules to tie it into a larger layout.
BCK
NV NTRAK
--
Bernard Kempinski
Institute for Defense Analyses
Alexandria, VA 22311
Robert Heller
In a message on Mon, 29 Jan 1996 18:09:01 -0600, wrote :
JH> As i am recently getting back into the hobby, i am looking for a track
JH> plan - probably a (very) small switching yard that can fit into an
JH> apartment. I want to get experience with laying track and experimenting
JH> with different switch machines etc before i start building a larger
JH> layout.
JH>
JH> Anyone have any suggestions? I have heard of a plan called "time saver"
JH> or something like that that was done by John Allen. It's supposed to be a
JH> small switching yard that can be operated like a puzzle to get so many
JH> cars delivered to various tracks in a minimum number of "moves". Does
JH> anyone know anything about this plan? Particularly where i can find it?
JH>
JH> Any help is greatly appreciated.
JH> Thanks.
JH> Jeff Hamann
JH> jrha...@inlink.com
JH>
In one of Atlas's little booklets, #13: "Six HO Railroads You Can Build", 2nd
Edition, by John H. Armstrong & Thaddeus Stepek, there is a layout
called "Southside Connecting" (Railroad C). It is 16 inches by 10 feet
and is meant as a shelf. Some aspects of the layout are contrived to
make things hard (read: interesting), to prevent boredom. The plans
call for Atlas's Custom Line sectional track, but replacing this with
hand-layed track should not be a problem.
--
\/
Robert Heller ||InterNet: Hel...@CS.UMass.EDU
http://vis-www.cs.umass.edu/~heller ||FidoNet: 1:321/153
http://netmar.com/mall/shops/heller /\
J.M. Fulmer
>As i am recently getting back into the hobby, i am looking for a track
>
>Anyone have any suggestions? I have heard of a plan called "time saver"
>
>Jeff Hamann
>jrha...@inlink.com
I would recommend Scot Osterweil's Highland Terminal. It is a small
switching yard planned to be 1x6. I am in the process of building a layout for
the first time in a while, also. I live in an apartment so the plan is perfect.
I actually made it 2x6 which gives me more room for landscaping, etc.
The Highland Terminal can be found online. I found it through the Model
Railroading Info site but can be reached directly at Rich Weyand's Model Railroad
Resource page:
http://www.mcs.net/~weyand/www/tractronics/switching_layout/switching_layout.html
Email me for more details. I changed several aspects of the layout to fit my
needs.
-Mike
------------------------------------------------------------------------
J.M. Fulmer Graduate Researcher
Dept. of Oceanography
Florida State University http://ocean.fsu.edu/oce/mfulmer/index.html
Tallahassee, Florida 32306-3048 Tele: (904) 644-2599
email: mfu...@ocean.fsu.edu Fax: (904) 644-2581
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mark A. Holmstrup
>jrha...@inlink.com (Jeff Hamann) wrote:
>>As i am recently getting back into the hobby, i am looking for a track
>
>I would recommend Scot Osterweil's Highland Terminal. It is a
>small>switching yard planned to be 1x6.
>-Mike
>
>-----------------------------------------------------------------------
I second Mike's recommendation. Mine is 1x7 and was made using old
brass track (from my last involvement with the hobby at least ten
years ago) that I just couldn't bear to throw away. Since I used
sectional track instead of flex track, I had to stretch out the layout
a bit to get everything to fit.
The layout is quite a challenge to operate--for me at least--and is a
good quick project that you can complete in a relatively short time.
BTW: Scot says the layout was designed for a scale 40' switcher; I use a
Kato NW-2--it's really _smooth_.
Have fun.
Regards,
Mark Holmstrup
Garth G. Groff
siding (just two cars), plus a single spur coming off the
siding one one side, and a switchback spur coming off the
other. It was less than five feet long. (Actually there
were two identical timesavers joined by a crossover and
part of the challenge was to exchange cars between two
operators.
The "Timesaver" concept has been copied, modified and even
included as a switching "puzzle" in many larger trackplans.
One of the best incorporations was part of John Olson's
Jerome & Southwestern which ran many years ago in MODEL
RAILROADER and was later issued as a separate book. The
timesaver was the port section. MODEL RAILROADER will sell
you photocopies of the article, and might even be able to
provide you the original "Timesaver" article from the early
1970s. "Timesaver" was also cloned in RAILROAD MODEL
CRAFTSMAN years back under the article "Iota, End of a Very
Short Line" (Sorry, no references here at work).
I have had a "Timesaver" clone as my only layout for about
10 years (apartment living). Mine is 1X6 feet. I eliminated
the switchback in favor of two regular spurs coming off the
passing track at the front, and one at the back. My run-around
can hold three 40' cars. Two spurs can hold three cars, and one
only two. Tail tracks are long enough for a locomotive and a
50 foot car to clear the Kadee magnets, about 15 inches. The
layout is fully sceniced, mostly with flats along the back.
For a while I had it equipped with overhead wire for electric
locomotives, but got tired of snagging the wire everytime I
had to rerail an errant car.
~S
--
Garth (Haridas) Groff
"Not yet famous author"
gg...@poe.acc.virginia.EDU Chant "Govinda Bohlo Hare"
Andy Sperandeo
John Allen's Timesaver layout was featured in the November 1972 MR, page
66. John considered it a game played with trains rather than a model
railroad. November '72 is out of print, but photocopies are available
from our customer service department, e-mail
custome...@kalmbach.com.
So long,
Andy Sperandeo
MODEL RAILROADER Magazine
Michael Larson
>As i am recently getting back into the hobby, i am looking for a track
...
>Anyone have any suggestions? I have heard of a plan called "time saver"
...
In addition to the suggestions made by others I would also mention these two:
Ben King's Timber City & Northwestern is a (not particularly) small layout
with good switching opportunities. It can be seen in RMC for June 1988 or
MRer for September 1995. If the 3' x 10' size is too large there is the
slightly smaller (at 2' x 8') layout in _Building Your Next Model
Railroad_, by Robert Schleicher. This is a collection of articles from
Model Railroading magazine published by Rocky Mountain Publishing, Inc. in
1989. The _BYNMR_ book touches on the major aspects of building a layout
(i.e., planning, benchwork, trackwork, scenery) from the perspective of
the modeler with the experience of having built at least one layout. In
addition to incorporating John Allen's 'time saver' trackage, this book
contains examples of how this layout can be incorporated into a larger
layout in the future.
Neither of these plans may be small enough for your needs, but I think
they each contain valuable ideas and approaches for modelling in confined
spaces.
Michael Larson
mi...@uclink.berkeley.edu
Don Mitchell
says...
>
>The original "Timesaver" consisted of a short double-ended
>siding (just two cars), plus a single spur coming off the
>siding one one side, and a switchback spur coming off the
>other. It was less than five feet long. (Actually there
>were two identical timesavers joined by a crossover and
>part of the challenge was to exchange cars between two
>operators.
>
>Garth (Haridas) Groff
>"Not yet famous author"
>gg...@poe.acc.virginia.EDU Chant "Govinda Bohlo Hare"
If memory serves me, the *original* TimeSaver is still in use. Former
G&D operator Allen Fenton brings it to PCR conventions.
Don Mitchell donm...@cts.com
Garth G. Groff
Another possbility to consider is the series on the Pioneer
Valley which ran in MODEL RAILROADER for five issues during
the winter of 1994. This was an 0-scale "Timesaver" clone in
2X12 feet, but would fit nicely into about 1.5X8 feet in HO
(allowing a little extra room for scenery). This was a very
complete series, from special light-weight benchwork to some
really nice fine detail ideas.
~S
--