Building Sn3 and N Worlds

By Stationmaster

Adding a turntable and coal tower

Today I installed a small turntable for turning around the locomotives at Grand Junction - my main division point.  The turntable was from my old layout and sits in a 1" depression.  You pull a locomotive onto it, stop, and rotate the bridge and loco180 degrees with your hand. Then the loco can pull off for its  return trip going the right direction.  The gray square behind it is a small engine house I have not built as yet.  But from the prior layout I had built a sand and coal facility and set them on the layout to check fit.  The sand house is the small building between the turntable (named "turnie thing" by my son years ago) and the tall coal tower.  It supplies sand to the locos to spread on the rails in front of the drivers for traction.  What I forgot in my careful layout was that the coal tower received loads of coal via coal hoppers on the right side of the tower.  There is a depressed or sub-level hole under the track there where a hopper would dump the coal to be lifted by elevator to the top of the coal tower.  Whoops. So I cut the hole in the styrofoam for the coal tower receiving bin, and then drew in the track for the hopper.  And yet another switch to connect that lead to the yard.

 The other paper cutouts are place holders for a water tower (round with "W.T." on it), and a small diesel fuel house.  Just out of the blip are place holders for a crew supply house (old boxcar) and a rooming house for the crews.  

Having buildings built is certainly a help in doing the layout but place holders keep me honest as far as what will fit.

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