Revising C&S Junction

With a new benchwork configuration in place, I needed to rework the track plan for the new benchwork. For reference, the original benchwork and track plan looked like this.

The Original C&S Junction Plan.

Since this point, I have been able to add some additional details to the track plan, including roads, bridges and buildings. These details were added after I confirmed that the track plan seemed to fit my needs, but I have included them in the images here. I'll explain my process for working in these details in a future post. However, here is the new track plan.

Revised C&S Junction Track Plan.

This configuration gives me some nice new possibilities. The turnback at the left end of the original plan is muted, now being about 120 degrees, instead of a full 180 degrees. Add in the reverse curve, and it helps diminish the feeling that the tracks are looping back on themselves. Furthermore, at the top end of the peninsula, I execute a "Belina drop" where the backdrop will climb up to the upper deck, preventing the engineers from observing the full 180 degree turnback curve. This also minimizes the challenges of the narrow layout section necessitated by the backdrop wrapping around the outside of the Golden Branch helix.

All in all, the new C&S Junction is a better configuration for the layout. The necessary changes to accommodate the new benchwork configuration work well. Finally, the switching near C&S junction is now in its own location, without any other significant switching nearby. Therefore, crews working this area should not affect other crews passing through as much as they would if there was another switching operation in the same aisle area.

28 Days, 28 posts to go.

Cameron Turner