Lessons learned from Phase 2

One might think that after learning all those lessons on phase 1 that there would be very few lessons that could be learned in subsequent phases.  This might be true if the phases were identical in form and function, but phase 1 was a branchline and switching theme and phase 2 is a mainline running theme. Phase 2 and three are very similar so there will hopefully not be as many lessons learned.
 

That said I am a firm believer in the idea that if you aren't learning something you are doing it wrong.  I have often said the day I think I know everything about my job and there is nothing to learn is the day I need to retire. The same is true for the hobby as when there is nothing to learn the challenge is gone and the challenge is half the fun.  So lets not look at these lessons as mistakes but rather teachable moments. When I am tasked with training a new coworker one of the first things I tell them is do not be afraid to make a mistake, it is only a f@#* up if you fail to learn from it. So lets get to the lessons I learned on this phase of planning.

1. Start at the end/beginning

For this track plan I started on phase 1 which is effectively the middle of the track plan. This meant that decisions were made early on that negatively effected both phase 2 and phase 3. For example a turnback curve being placed that made an area of phase 2 almost impossible without wasting a ton of space. I somewhat remedied this in the second iteration of this track plan which was created when I transferred the drawings to the CAD program as I started at the west end and worked east. On one of the alternative plans that is in the future I think I am going to lay out the staging yards at both ends then work from one end to connect them.

2. Know your staging requirements

When I started this I did not know how big the staging yards would need to be. While I had a rough idea, when I started actually looking I realized that I needed twice as many tracks on the west end than I originally thought. This left me trying shoehorn the tracks in while still maintaining standards. I got around this with a split level staging yard using the top level for departures and the bottom for recieving. Of course this means that there must be an operator to move trains from one level to the other during an op session but thats a small sacrifice.

3. Think vertically

This applies to the staging but also to one turnback curve. If you utilize grades properly you can tuck things under another level. This is especially true if the lower area will be unsceniced. This thought also applies to the use of a mezzanine for phase 3 as this allowed for more freedom and space for the design of phase three. However this also means one needs to think of vertical clearances but that is more of a concern for phase 3. A longer mainline run and more staging was achieved by thinking vertically and looking where levels could overlap.

4. Watch your aisle width

I think this is rather self explanatory and no matter how many times you tell yourself to stick to a standard width, the temptation to cheat will always be there. But also double check your aisles at multiple points especially between turnback curves.  I had to re-layout some curves when I went to draw the fascia or backdrop due to clearances being tighter than planned.

Hopefully the list of lessons learned in phase 3 will be smaller but having already started the planning I somehow doubt that will be the case. Till the next stop enjoy the journey.