Current RBL Track Plan

In a comment to my 2009 - Year of Construction post, Denny Turani requested that I post track plans for the RBL.  You may know that Denny is constructing a beautiful N Scale layout based on SP’s Coast Line through Guadalupe and Surf on the California coast.  If you haven’t already seen it, check out Denny’s SP Coast Line blog.

So Denny, thanks for the suggestion. Here’s the track plans and some 3D views to show how it is supposed to look once done.

RBL Track Plan - Lower Level

The RBL is designed as a multi deck layout. The lowest level is predominantly staging.The staging level is about 40 inches above the floor.

In addition to the staging yards, the lower level hosts the small interchange yard at West Oakland and nearby street trackage which can be seen at the lower right side of the plan below.

Here’s the view of the lowest level.

(click to open larger image)Note: Depending on your monitor, it may be hard to see the details on some pictures in this post.  I recommend clicking on pictures to open larger views, which will reveal a lot more detail.

The Trains

The plan is best considered from the perspective of the trains that will operate on the layout.

Aside from the RBL short line operation on the top deck, the layout will see trains that start and end somewhere other than the RBL. As with the prototype Richmond Pacific, there are nearby road freights travelling on the UP Cal-P line between Roseville and Oakland and there are BNSF road freights that travel between BNSF Stockton and BNSF Oakland. These trains pass through BNSF Richmond, take the BNSF Siberia lead to the RBL then take the UP Cal-P line the last few miles to reach BNSF Oakland.

There are also BNSF trains that use trackage rights on the UP Cal-P main all the way from Roseville to BNSF Oakland, and there are daily BNSF locals that go out from BNSF Richmond on the Siberia Lead, cross the RBL to the UP main and later, come home from the UP across RBL rails and back over the Siberia Lead to BNSF Richmond.  Finally, the RBL exchanges 20 or so cars with the UP and BNSF each day and those cars are collected by their respective class 1’s daily

The Role of Staging

So the lower level is largely about enabling all of this related action which is important, as it breathes life into the RBL itself.

Staging’s job is to efficiently hold, deliver and receive trains that play a part in the operations of the RBL layout as described above.  In general, westbound trains leaving an east location such as Roseville, travel to the upper layer, have some form of interaction with the RBL then continue back down to the lower layer and arrive the west end of staging. The same is true of eastbounds.

By designating start and end locations as the ends of the same staging track, trains will be automatically staged for the next run, there’ll be minimal need to shuffle trains between sessions.

Lower Level Plan - Staging Yards

Each of the UP and BNSF locations is represented by one or other end of the two side-by-side double-ended yards in the detail view of the lower level plan below. One yard is shown with orange ballast, the other has pink ballast. Both yards together have a total of eleven staging tracks.

The right hand end of orange staging represents two east locations - UP Roseville and BNSF Stockton, the left hand end of orange yard represents UP Oakland.

The right-hand end of pink yard represents BNSF Richmond. The left-hand end of pink yard is BNSF Oakland.

(click to open larger image)

Staging Operations

As an example of how it works, a westbound UP manifest (MRVOA, Manifest Roseville to Oakland) will start in a UP Roseville yard track on the right hand end of orange yard, travel via the Vallley Main described below and the inner track on the Cal-P helix (also described below) to the upper deck. At Stege on the upper deck, this train sets out a block of, say, 19 cars for the RBL. It then continues back down the Cal-P Helix, this time on the middle or outer track to reach to UP Oakland staging (orange tracks, left hand end).

By the time this MRVOA train reaches the other end of its staging track, it will be in the same place it started - UP Roseville - ready for the next session.

There’ll be a small amount of block switching to replenish the cars on the MRVOA that were set out for the RBL at Stege. You’ll see two small stub ended yards on each end of staging in orange ballast. These yards are to hold blocks of cars that will be switched into freights such as the MRVOA.

Local trains, such as the BNSF Oakland Local and the Warm Springs Turn, begin and end at BNSF Richmond on the right hand end of staging on pink ballast. They travel up the nearby helix (described below) on the Siberia Lead and join the RBL tracks at Marina Yard above.

This is handy, the operator doesn’t need to go anywhere, just wait a few minutes for the train to get to the upper level. The train then continues over the scenicked RBL and diverges onto the southbound Cal-P line at Stege. The BNSF local goes down the helix to reach either West Oakland or continues on the Warm Springs line to switch Warm Springs. With switching chores done, it returns to BNSF Richmond staging by retracing it’s path.

Where’s the elevator?

Two helices connect each end of the staging yards to the upper scenicked level. The one on the east end is just for BNSF use. I call it the Siberia Helix. It connects BNSF Richmond to BNSF’s junction with the RBL at Marina Yard.

The helix on the west end of staging is located around the corner on the small peninsula as there isn’t space for broad curves near the west end of staging. This helix is triple tracked and I call it the Cal-P Helix as it carries the double track Cal-P line from Oakand to Stege - the outer and middle track - and it carries the single track Cal-P line from Stege to the Valley Main which connects to Roseville staging.

In other words, the Cal-P line goes up the helix as double track, winds around to Stege on the upper deck where it connects with the RBL and converts to single track. The Cal-P then continues back to the Cal-P helix (inner track now) and heads down to the lower level to join the Valley Main track which runs around the front of the lower deck to reach the east end staging at Roseville (orange ballast, right hand end).

Here’s a plan view again.

(click to open larger image)I like helices with grades below 2.5%. To get this, you need broad radius curves and limited rail-rail separation for each layer. Both helices have 2 17/32” layer-to-layer separations. Siberia Helix has 17.5” radius curves and 2.27% grade. 

Cal-P Helix has three tracks with the following specs:

• Inner - 17.5”, 2.27%
• Middle - 18.75, 2.15%
• Outer - 20”, 2.02%

Here’s the 3D rendering with the helices shown. Siberia Helix is the far one, Cal-P is on the small peninsula in the middle of the view.

(click to open larger image)

To make the layout work in the limited space available, I rely on helices and the lower level. If money and space was no object, I’d spread things out and keep everything on one level and get rid of the helices.

Helix Connectors

Referring to the plan view above, UP and BNSF staging is located on the top and left sides of the plan, UP staging is in orange ballast and the BNSF is in pink. The orange and pink staging tracks are also seen in the left side of the 3D view above.

As mentioned above, the BNSF line leading from BNSF Richmond staging (right hand end, pink ballast in the plan above) to the Siberia Helix, is the Siberia Lead.

Leaving the right hand end of orange staging (UP Roseville & BNSF Stockton), is the UP main which I refer to as the Valley Main. Valley Main is a single track that basically runs all the way to Stege. This is a deviation from reality (as if the rest of the layout is not!) because the Cal-P is double track between Oakland and Sacramento except for some single track around Sacramento. In RBL world, the single track exists all the way from Roseville to Stege, making Stege the a busy CTC location, and that suits my purposes just fine.

The Valley Main is shown in yellow ballast on the plans. You can see it in the 3D view below of the east end of staging. The Valley Main track starts at UP Roseville staging (right-hand end, orange ballast) and loops around the back of Siberia Helix and then folds back under itself and the  east end of staging and runs along the full length of the front of the lower deck on it’s own little shelf. The shelf is about three inches lower than the staging tracks and about two inches deep. This is routing is needed to bring the Valley Main over to the Cal-P Helix. I liked this solution because the track is visible the whole way. All other alternatives involved too much hidden track.

Here’s a 3D view that helps illustrate each of the tracks. (The tracks at lower right are West Oakland).

(click to open larger image)Putting the Valley Main on it’s own mini-shelf is a compromise worth doing due to the operational benefits it opens up. The alternative was to put that track on the same level as staging which would have meant giving up a staging track which I did not want to do. Besides, the small amount of vertical separation helps to mentally separate the Valley Main from the staging yard tracks representing BNSF Richmond.

Further turning lemons into lemonade, I put a nice long siding, good for a thirty car train on the Valley Main to increase options for the dispatcher and to add operational interest.

Referring to the 3D view above, the Valley Main (yellow ballast) runs along the front of staging. It eventually parallels the two Cal-P tracks that leave the UP Oakland staging into the Cal-P Helix on the lower center of the plan (located to the right of our viewing position for the 3D view above).

Looking at the 3D view below, the oval-shaped tracks in grey ballast are the double track Cal-P mains leaving UP Oakland staging. They curve around to the left and lead up to Cal-P helix. The Valley Main comes around the front of the lower deck at a few inches lower, cuts under the 2 Cal-P tracks and the Valley Main then runs parallel to them from this point for the run up to the upper deck. In the 3D view below, the Valley Main (yellow ballast) stubs out on the small peninsula. That is where the inner helix starts.

(click to open larger image)You can also see here is also a reverse loop (orange ballast) thrown in here on this end for use between sessions to turn equipment. The reverse loop leaves the west staging and loops around the Cal-P Helix and comes back into the crossovers at the end of west staging.

This end of staging looks pretty busy, but most tracks have no switches.  In the 3D view above, West Oakland is seen in the upper right left, west staging is on the right. Not shown is the triple track Cal-P Helix that leads to the Stege interchange with the RBL on the upper deck.

Oakland Junction

In addition to staging, the lower level has the West Oakland switching area which will be served by the BNSF Oakland Local and switched by the Oakland Terminal Railway (OTR). It will also be visited by a UP local out of Oakland staging.

I had to work hard to squeeze a junction in here to allow all these different trains to get where they need to go. I refer to the Junction as Oakland Junction. Here’s the 3D view.

(click to open larger image)

Oakland Junction is seen on the left side of the view. Oakland staging is at the top of the view in the distance. The two Cal-P lines (grey ballast) loop around from Oakland staging to the foreground on about a 1.5% grade. West Oakland street trackage is to the left just out of view. On the far side of Oakland Junction, a connector track converges with the outer Cal-P track as it swings to the right and the two Cal-P tracks go up Cal-P Helix (not shown) to reach Stege. BNSF trains from Stege, use this connector track to access West Oakland. The BNSF Oakland Local comes down the Cal-P Helix on the outer Cal-P track and diverges off the Cal-P track to pass through Oakland Junction and cross over to reach West Oakland.

The track in the foreground that stubs out at the switch is actually the start of the Warm Springs line. The Warm Springs track has been omitted for clarity.

At left of the view, there is a pink ballasted track that is the switching lead for West Oakland and another track just inside it that slopes back down to Oakland staging. This sloping track is used by a UP Warm Springs Local. The UP local starts at Oakland Staging, passes through Oakland Junction and heads for Warm Springs. On it’s return, it  switches West Oakland. Knowledgeable folks will note that when you leave Oakland you head for West Oakland or Warm Springs - they are in opposite directions. By arranging things this way, one UP local can serve both. Modeler’s license, at work here. The main purpose of this train is to create traffic for the BNSF locals and for Amtrak.

The orientation of Oakland Junction allows Amtrak trains to travel from Roseville staging to Stege, then come down the Cal-P Helix and continue to Warm Springs via Oakland Junction or they can head for Oakland staging.

West Oakland Layout

West Oakland consists of a small yard, a few industries reached by street trackage and a cold storage plant serviced by the UP local.  Here’s the 3D view.

(click to open larger image)Street trackage runs along the far side of the layout close to the wall (wall not shown). It is a reasonable depiction of the actual configuration of tracks at West Oakland and I am pretty happy with the way this shaped up.

A small interchange yard running the length of West Oakland facilitates switching and interchange with the OTR. There is a two track cold storage plant on the small peninsula at left of the view which will be switched by the UP local from Oakland staging. Oakland Junction is at the lower right of the image just out of view.

Warm Springs - Mezzanine Layer

There is a small mezzanine level representing UP Warm Springs that sits about five inches above staging.

I am not overly in favor of enclosing staging such that it can’t be worked on, especially when the vertical clearance is under twelve inches. Call me suspicious but I predict that the turnout most likely to give you trouble is the one you can’t work on easily. I think the narrow Warm Springs shelf will be fine as it leaves decent access to the handful of tracks it covers, it covers no switches and is well worth its inclusion due to the operational possibilities it opens up for the BNSF Warm Springs Turn.

In the views in this post, the Warm Springs layer is omitted for clarity. I’ll describe it in the next post.

Scenic Treatments

The top level and mezzanine levels will be scenicked, as will West Oakland. The lower level which is mostly staging will not be scenicked but may benefit from color coding of tracks, perhaps by spray painting the ties. The idea is to assist operators in differentiating tracks that are physically next to each other on the layout, but operationally representing vastly separated locations. On the plans you see the different tracks shown in different color ballast for the same reason.

Overview of Lower Level

Putting it all together, here’s a view of the whole lower level so you can see each of the elements. This view is from outside the garage door. This view will not be possible once the layout room stud walls are built. You can see the brown sill plates for the stud wall running around the the right and left sides of the view. This view also gives a better view to the orange reverse loop that runs around Cal-P Helix (not shown) in the middle of the view.

 (click to open larger image)

Okay, that it for now. If anything is not clear, let me know.

Next I’ll show how Warm Springs trackage fits in. Then I’ll show the rest of the upper level in a subsequent post.

- Coxy

Comments

[Denny Turani]

Great job Steve!
I have both a suggestion and a question:

Suggestion: why don't you name the places on the plan? This would make easier for who is not familiar with the layout to locate the towns, industries, helixes and such along the plan, while reading the description.

Question: You mentioned small stub-ended yard holding car to replenish trains that have completed their Roseville-Oakland run. Does this replenishing move take place within the op session and is it done by the operators, or is ita re-staging operation you'll do between sessions?

Oh, and thanks a lot for mentioning me and my layout :-)

[Steve Cox]

Hey Denny,

Great suggestion. I don't know what I was thinking! Duh! 3rd Plan It sometimes resizes text so I tend not to use labels. I am in the process of updating the images with labels and will repost.

Regarding the stub yards, I see these being for in-between session use. Road trains in staging that set out cars for the RBL will receive cars from the stub yard. Road trains in staging that collect cars from the RBL will move those cuts to the stub yard.

The stub yard is also where these "offline" cars can be shuffledl so the same cars or blocks of cars don't show up in a regular order at the interchange track. I can force a lot of cement loads or extra centerbeams for Channel Lumber for example. In a lot of ways, what comes out of these stub tracks drives activity on the RBL switching line on the upper deck.

I don't see these yards being worked during an operating session. There'll be more interesting jobs for operators and I want to manage the number and timing of lower deck jobs so that aisles are not overly burdened with operators trying to get to trains at the same floor location.

On the Oakland staging end, I may use one track of the sub yard for the UP Warm Springs local to start and end if it fits. This saves a staging track.

Cheers,

Steve

[Denny Turani]

Steve:

Good choice! These restaging moves fits better between sessions. Switching staging yards usually doesn't add up to the operators fun :)

I also like the idea of having blocks of cars with a purpose, like extra loads for a particular industry.

Anxiosly waiting for the next chapter...
Denny