Track Gangs hard at work

Eating through Atlas Code 55 Flex.

After a short break and some running of trains, it was time to get back in the saddle and lay some more track.
This time I chose to build the Whitehall yard. The yard consists of 32 turnouts.
Of the 32, 4 had already been installed as part of the main line installation.
Then a quick count back on available turnouts in my stock soon reviled a short fall in the number needed to build the complete yard including the loco facility. I found I was 8 short... darn it.

I was able to complete the main yard tracks and the north run around including the switch lead track.
Here are some pictures of the finished product.

Once finished, I ran a train around and manually moved it into its position to get a feel for the yard length. The standard train length for the layout is 2 x 6 axle loco's (or 3 x 4 axle) + 20 x 50ft box cars and a caboose. The train that is in the yard has 3 x 4 axle loco's (C 420's) + 2 x 40 ft box cars (track cleaners) + 21 x 90 ton hoppers + a caboose. So as you can see it is a bit longer than the standard train length but still fits into track 3 of the yard.

Looking at the yard and the space available between the run around track and the isle, I still have space to add another track if needed. However, I think I will hold off for now and see how things work. I think a main line passing siding, main line, 6 yard tracks, plus a bypass track should be sufficient for the layout needs.

As this is just the track work, I now need to install the 20 tortoise machines and apply power to the track. Hopefully I will complete that in the next week or so.

Stay tuned for the next update.