Staging Tracks Are Laid!

In another milestone reached, all the staging tracks are laid!  You cannot ever have enough staging, but there are practical limits.  That said, I think I packed in as much as I could.  The track plan developed a 'continuous' staging scheme, unlike the dead-end staging on the previous version.  Hopefully this will reduce the time needed for staging.  After running over the main, EB trains will enter the "points east" end of the staging yard, and then emerge on the "from the west" end as an EB train again.  Previously I had to back out each train, turn it around and then back it into the yard.  As such, and EB train would become a WB on the next session.

There are 9 staging tracks, each roughly between 30 and 40' in length; shorter inside and remarkably longer as they go out.  I plan to keep the very inside track as a run-through to allow people to just run trains in circles or break in equipment.  This is a first for my layout!  Up until now, it was all 100% point to point with no continuous run option.

Of note, ALL track is salvaged track, pulled from the previous staging yards (about 30% of the new staging), plus a bunch from a couple dismantled layouts in the area.  All in, about 300' of staging; equivalent to over 5 scale miles of track!

OK, on to the photos...

Laying out the west end entrance and first staging track test


West end

First test train!

Laying out east end entrance

LOTS of track!

Pressing on...



Last 3 tracks.

DONE!

Testing each track.

Completed East End

Aint it perdy?!

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