This is the
trackplan for the 'new' HO American layout of the Newcastle & District
MRS.
Basically it is a double track oval with a feeder branch. The layout is set in the mid to late 1940s and features a through station on the PRR secondary mainline between Columbus (OH) and Chicago (IL), some 60 miles or so from the former. The feeder branch is owned by the B & O. Because of the availability of stock there will be running powers for the N YC and the NKP on the mainline.
The mainline will have a 14 road storage yard and the branch a 3 road yard with a turntable.
Power will be switchable between Digitrax DCC and Analogue
Traffic consists of through passenger and freight on the mainline plus wayfreights and exchange traffic. There is only one online industry ( Akron Dairy Products ) but there is still a fairly healthy turnover in LCL for the freight yard. Local passenger runs from Columbus terminate here as does the B & O, so loco servicing and turning facilites are required.
The time period is the 1940s after WW II so motive power is mainly steam and varies from T1 4-4-4-4s and J1 2-10-4s to humble 2-8-0s on the wayfreights. Some first generation diesels are beginning to appear.
To add visual
interest a grade crossing into the town of Westmorland runs slap bang
over the centre of the PRR / B & O diamonds.
Three
operators ( minimum ) are employed at any one time ... mainline / yard
/ despatcher. A full time team of five will be needed to run the layout
at exhibitions.
The yard operator is to be situated at the front so the public can see
the waybill system we will be using to spot the cars.
Total dimensions at present are 24ft by 10ft. In the future it is hoped
to add a 5 ft board at the rhs of Akron Dairy Products depicting a river
crossing. A suitable section will be built to match and inserted into
the storage yard. This will allow us to run trains of up to 40 cars in
length.
