1st Stage Revision

For the past year or so I have been building freight and passenger cars for the Delaware Central, Pittsburg & West Virginia, New Castle & Frenchtown, and U.S. Military Rail Roads. It has gotten to the point where not only my display case...

but also my small diorama...

were completely filled and over flowing. In fact there are 96 cars completed at this point and six more box cars on the way. I shared the above cell picture of the "yard" with my friend, Thom Radice, as a joke. Thom subsequently called to chastise me that I needed to get started on my layout so I'd have some place to store and run my trains. Of course, Thom was right. However, my basement is still too cluttered to build the entire empire so I began looking at my original grand scheme and thinking where I might get started on a MUCH smaller scale so as to get something up and running. I already have the engine house at City Point built but I wanted to have a place where I could not only do switching but also just watch trains run. I settled on the Avella section. As you can see in the following image, I have revised the original Avella track plan. Some buildings have gone, some are relocated, and some added.

By adding the 15" radius curve in the upper right hand corner, I am able to have a simple oval on which trains can run. In the future, I can remove this curved section of track and incorporate this "Stage 1" layout into the grand plan. The tight 15" radius curves are hidden from view either in staging or by the woods in the upper righthand corner of the image. My 4 longest pieces of rolling stock are 45' passenger cars and can handle these sharp curves. There are a few shorty barrel cars as well, but my rolling stock is generally in the 24' to 28' range. 

I have also lengthened the plan to make a 4' x 10' layout. This lengthened the layout by 3". I have also moved the turntable to the hidden staging area (Avella Yard). I plan on using a simple Atlas turntable in this area and was able to pick one up at the Great Scale Train Show in Timonium, Maryland, for $1.00 [sic]. I wanted to pack as many rail served industries into Avella as I could, and moving the turntable helps in this regard. It also makes setting up and switching trains in the staging area more interesting. You will probably note a few other changes in the track work.

If you look closely, you will see a pink line that divides the layout in two. The top section in the image is the 3' x 10' viewing section while the lower 1' x 10' section is the hidden staging area. A 1/8" Masonite backdrop will dived the two sections. The two sections will initially be bolted together but in the future I can cut the track and the scenicked section will be in the train room proper while the staging section will be in the storage area of the basement. Of course, I will have to insert two small sections to bridge the gap where the track goes through the wall.