Model Railroading > HO engine yard facility yard? How big is big enough?

I am currently in the planning stages of a new layout, HO scale. I have around 100 plus engines and growing. I plan on having several staging tracks for outgoing trains, separate from the engine service area. I will have at least two large engine houses. So the question is How much area would it take to have a suitable engine yard for servicing facilities? There will not be a roundhouse or a turntable. This will be a modern facility. Fuel racks, sand tower...etc. In HO scale. I would like your opinion, and yes i know there are alot of options. But i am thinking presumably about 4'x 10' Please give me your thoughts. Thanks!

With that many engines have you looked at UP's Bailey yard webcam ?, maybe a idea there

Ed Stewart
Jacksonville, FL

I'd build it to allow for proper "servicing" of the locomotives you'll need to run the layout. If the goal is simply to display equipment, save layout space and build shelves for the wall.

- Jeff Carlson

If you really want space to display a LOT of power, then your estimate is probably right. But like everything else on a model layout, you'd be wise to condense and compress, because engine facilities could otherwise chew up a lot of space you could use to make your layout more operationally interesting. Do you really need ready tracks with room for 30 road units? If that's what you want, then go for it, but realize that to have a yard complimenting an engine facility that big, your operational mileage will be close to zero and all the crews at your operating sessions will be hostlers and yard jobs.

If you figure each locomotive is a foot, and you have 5" between centers then you have 10 x 9 - or 90 locomotives (on a 4x10) - that is a shifting estimate due to shorter switchers, longer newer units, etc. But consider that - 90 locomotives without much room for facilities - and you're still 10 locomotives short. 4 x 10 might not be enough. (and yes, the centers may be squeezed, but then you have issues with display servicing, buildings, accesories, occasional car (tank, box, flat - delivering fluids, parts, wheelsets, motors, prime movers, etc.).

There's a few engine shops that have a small storage yard for readied locomotives. Bellevue Ohio is one. Have your service area then the storage yard. But have your tracks running at a angle. One lead is close to the edge of the bench work and the other lead is 2ft back or so. Then run the tracks angled between the two leads.

Posted from Android

Like said before, smaller is better!! Most of your engines will be on trains running the system. . Or in a staging yard. theres nothing wrong with an engine fuel& sand rack or engine terminal but you dont want that taking up the whole layout. Unless thats what you want.

Posted from Android

Instead of building a big "display" yard to show off your engines.
How about building an engine facility that's sized to fit your layout and use the space you gained for another industry or two.
You can always build some display cabinets that won't eat up layout space.

Thoughts: how about planning the size of engine facility that the yard/division point you're modeling would service. Several layouts I've operated on, have around 100 locomotives, but not even 1/4th of them are in or around the engine facility at any one time. The rest are in the staging yards, out on the road, or switching jobs elsewhere. So during a normal session (which all depends on traffic and design of your layout), the servicing would occur and engines may or may not visit the engine facility.

Some trains could be through trains, others could swap power, or, maybe every train that rolls through gets new power. It's all based on what your design is, which is to say, what you want to run as your railroad.

You didn't mention time period. Steam engines may have to visit the turn table and engine house every time, where as diesels may just go to the fueling racks and/or not even stop in say one direction on their journey. Some trains could be through trains (passenger for example), and others need heavier or lighter power swapped for the direction (topology of to be traveling) would dictate.

Like Bakersfield, CA in real life. One direction requires a ton of helpers and 6 axle power, but the other, the same train would only need a pair or so of 4 axle diesels.

Or, if your railroad was a connection point of more than 1 RR. Some trains could require 'home' power and others could be anything available.

Good luck, lots of options for sure.

Mike ONeill
Parker, CO

> I am currently in the planning stages of a new
> layout, HO scale. I have around 100 plus engines
> and growing. ... How much area would it take to have a suitable engine yard
> for servicing facilities?


The best way to handle this is to run a simple simulation of your operating sessions. Get a piece of paper and show trains that you'll run, the power they'll have and the times the trains will arrive / depart that terminal. That'll tell you how many units you'll need to run trains and how many will be in your terminal at any given time during the session. Note the maximum number of units that you'll need to accommodate during the session. If possible, allow for space to "park" those units plus some additional overflow room, maybe adding 25% more, give or take and that will establish the track capacity you need. With this method, there's no guessing needed, the simulation will tell you what you need. If you don't like the result, modify your operating plan until you do (such as having some trains run through with their power, without having engines use the engine facility) - pretty simple really...

Of course, all of this assumes that you'll be running prototypical operating sessions with (more or less) predictable train movements & locomotive consists. If you're just running trains around for the fun of it with no attempt to replicate a real RR, then just put an engine facility there that looks good to you in the space you have available, display your engines on it as you please and have fun!

Take care,

Mark