Hi folks,

My interest in running ops is slowly raising…

While building the mainline of my new Rockwall Canyon RR I’ve made significant curve and grade accomdations to allow for smooth running of my live steam and mainline 1:29 equipment. However in doing so, I think I’ve eliminated much of what you would need to create a proper “ops” session…all the spurs and industry!!

Here’s my solution…
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When completed, the lengthy double track mainline will have a reverse loop and raised rail yard on each end.

To make things more interesting, I’m now planning to build a branch line near each end of the mainline. They will be accessed from the mainline but only served by locals coming out of the yards. Each branch will have a passing siding and 5-6 spurs for industry.

Mainline ops will be necessary to shuffle cars from yard 1 to 2 and reverse.

Meanwhile, Railboss4-automated commuter trains could also be running continuously (with priority) making automated station stops along the way.

What are your thoughts? I’m hoping to get back over to Bob’s or Stan’s this summer to learn the finer points of ops from the pros!

Sounds like a good plan! Start on the mainline without many industry plans. You will find things like “run arounds”, passing sidings and other improvements will show where they are needed as you start operating. I always recommend “Googling” “Shunting” or “Shunting Puzzles” will help give you a wealth of ideas. The 1 to 1 railroads will many times call what looks like a passing siding as a “Marshalling Yard” or an “interchange” for an industry.

Lots of info on this site and we can all help you spend your money and your time.

What Ric said ““Sounds like a plan””… Your plan sounds like there’d be a few different operations scenarios within the railroad… Mainline freights from yard to yard, Branchline freights to work major industries and feed the yards… If you want others to play, you need a variation of difficulty to the operations…

Some want semi-tough Ops, some want really thought provoking Tough Ops, and some just want to run a train, plain and simple…

That’s the variation I was working to achieve on the Bluestone Southern…

Thanks for the replies gents!

I’m glad to hear Andy’s reply about varied operation.

I think with this concept we could “employ” about 8 operators. ( 2 yard switchers, 2-3 branch operators, 2 mainline freight, and 1-2 commuter rail). If it works out well, I have a spot worked out for a third branch line for future expansion!

I think my kids would have a blast running the mainline trains from yard to yard “on call”. I suppose live steam would also work well on the mainline too.

I had some surplus stone dust (crusher fines) on site so I decided to build up a branch line for ops. I have an open house scheduled this weekend, so I am curious to see if folks will like it or not. If so, I will replace the ballast with crushed stone. The branch contains a short passing siding and several spurs and a switchback. One spur is rather long, and actually crosses back over the mainline at grade. I’m trying to limit access to the mainline to ensure smooth running for live steam, etc…

I’d be more inclined to bridge over the mainline, leaving it completely open for live steam to run the main… With the track plan as shown, only an engine and a car or 2 would be required to run up to Boraxo… This could be done during Ops, by leaving the main part of the train in the siding, and working the Boraxo cars to and from there… Keeps the entire mainline clear…

Just a thought… (http://www.largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-cool.gif)

That’s a good thought Andy.
It happens that Boraxo is actually below grade of the mainline whilest the branch line is above it. I’m not sure I can get the Boraxo spur to dip down steeper than it already does to clear. Maybe a better idea is to move Boraxo to a new location on the other side of the line.

I could then abandon the current Boraxo location and fill in the space with plants or even a water feature.

I had no idea as to elevation as the pictures don’t show it that well…

If there will be live steam running on the mainline, then the last thing I would want would be a crossing that could possibly interfere with that mainline run… With that in mind, I’d go with your option 2, abandon Boraxo from that location… Plants or a decent sized bush would do nicely and separate one mainline from the other…

Hi Andy,
Sorry about the lack luster photos…I should have taken some ground level shots to better illustrate the terrain.

In looking at the site tonight, it seems I can easily move Boraxo and its storage siding up to the higher level above the mainline. In all honesty, the current site has never really been all that great considering its low situation and difficulty to access. This will also limit foot traffic over the mainline which often times stirs up debris that cause derailments.

Thanks again for your advice.

No need to apologize about pictures… Thought the pictures looked good, really showed what you were doing in relation to the track plan… All I’m doing is throwing some different ideas at you… It’s your railroad to build as you want… I do like the setting for it, tho… (http://www.largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-cool.gif)

Interesting live steam running. Should create interesting pictures and video, besides fun. Hope your open house goes well.

Thanks Ric,

I’m not sure I will have any live steam running this weekend. A few guys run their diesel locos on both track and battery, so I would not want to dirty up their wheels.

Early in August, however, I have a more steam-centric event that will take place. While I don’t plan on using the live steam to run branch line ops (yet), I see no reason why they can’t handle the mainline moves from yard to yard. With a butane fired engine, a single lap (hauls a train from yard A to yard B, and hauls a different train back to yard A) would be a decent run. The gas could be shut off and the engine left warm until needed again…or send it off with a passenger train.

I tend to look at the live steam runs and commuter passenger trains as a bit of an added challenge to the ops. To get from the yard to the branchline you actually have to run down the mainline 20ft or so (opposing traffic on the inbound track). Its the garden railway equivalent to a moving windmill on the mini golf course.

The trick is to use a heavy enough ball moving fast enough, then them flimsy wood blades don’t stand a chance.

Here’s the latest on the new Rockwall Canyon branch line! After consulting with Bluestone Southern, it was determined that Boraxo was in difficult place to serve. After intense negotiations with the state and county, Boraxo was finally permitted to move to the east side of the mainline. On July 8th the move took place, and the first deliveries began the day after (in the rain).

Looks good… Am glad it worked out… Operators will probably enjoy it more, not having to watch for trains on the mainline and stepping over it all the time… Looks like a fun area to do some switching…

Gotta love that retaining wall… (http://www.largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-cool.gif)

Andy Clarke said:

Looks like a fun area to do some switching…

Gotta love that retaining wall… (http://www.largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-cool.gif)

Looks like an interesting puzzle in there…(http://www.largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-wink.gif)

Looking good Jeff.

Thanks guys,

Now that I’m happy with the configuartion, I will be adding a layer of crushed blue stone and ballast…I’ll hopefully, also be working on some proper stone retainment. The maple logs work pretty well, but they don’t quite fit into the whole “Rockwall Canyon” scheme. Of course, I’ve said this before when I used a long 8in Birch log for retaining on the railroad yard…3 years later its still there and still somehow solid!

Once the worst of tick season passes us by I will be able to go back out rock hunting. Hopefully I can dig up a few bigger rocks for the embankment up to Boraxo.

Folks at my open house were liking my Boraxo structure, so that may inspire me to build a few more industries. (Perhaps the Pola-brand house can go back to being a house). Im hoping i can get away with using the same construction techniques as I had used on

Boraxo 15 years ago. The structure is most built from corrogated plastic and styrene angle stock, but includes a durable fiberglass roof to deflect debris. The whole method merely requires a quick sketch, a long metal ruler, a sharpie, a utility knife, contact adhesive, and a rattle can!