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Re-Design

The original railroad was a simple loop in my backyard.   I wanted something the would be better suited to operations.

I decided on an out and back design.   A yard and turntable will be built at one end of the railway.   A connector links the reverse loop for true continuous running without the need for throwing any switches.  

The yard is called “Green Springs” after a nearby park that my wife likes to visit.  Leaving Green Springs, the train passes a small town called Occoquan, just big enough to have a passing siding and a couple of industries.  Then it makes a “U” and pulls into the town of Jackson.  Leaving Jackson, it enters the reversing loop that has a passing siding that will also serve as a staging area that I call Lexington.

The idea of staging trains is to make it appear that they originate "offstage" and thus provide more traffic for the layout.  The staging track can be either a source or a destination for off-road traffic.  

Below is an approximate diagram of what I ended up with.   Train #1 leaves Green Springs in the lower left and joins the loop in Occoquan.   It continues around through Jackson and ends up on a staging track in Lexinton (the loop in the upper left.)   Train #2 does the same process in reverse.   Jackson is my main switching location and it can take some time to complete!

The green line is the Interchange track (Brunt Interchange) - just left of the Stone Mill.   It allows for continuous running when I am not operating.