3rail - Passenger and Express Trackplans

Element Track Plans:

The goal of the Element Track Plans are to create a portion of a scene (such as a small business or activity) that can be inserted into a layout to instantly expand Operating interest. Perfect for Freelancers or "Tinplaters", they use a minimal number of turnouts, and can often be populated with toy structures. The track plans and structure styles in each element differ slightly, for visual variety should multiple elements be added to your layout.

Sleeper Setout Track

The following spur represents a setout track at a large town station, that allows sleeping car passengers to board early or depart late (typically for trains that pass through in the wee hours of the morning).

Sleeper (*.pdf)

~ Sleeper (zipped *.scarm) - (Atlas 21st Century Track)

Express depot - (origin)

The following spurs represent an express depot with optional driveway unloading, that can handle full-length "baggage cars" without disturbing each other.

Package-1 (*.pdf)

~ Package-1 (zipped *.scarm) - (Atlas 21st Century Track)

Flower wholesaler - (destination)

The following spur represents a business that requires high-speed delivery of extremely perishable product (cut flowers).

Package-2 (*.pdf)

~ Package-2 (zipped *.scarm) - (Atlas 21st Century Track)

Permanent Layout Track Plans:

These Layout Track Plans were conceived as self-contained permanent layouts to fit in a typical name-sized room. Some are continuous run, while others are "vignettes". All could be traditionally wired, and many could be built from permanent modules. Most are shelf style, but even the island style layouts have their track easy enough to reach that they do not require any popup hatches.

Passenger Train Layout in a fun "Tinplater" style - capable of being stored on edge

This semi-portable layout is built upon the traditional single sheet of plywood (hosting a minimal amount of structures which could get damaged), which you could even temporarily setup outdoors on a pair of saw-horses. Whereas a typical plywood sheet layout is designed for short freight cars and tiny motive power [EXAMPLE], this exclusively for local passenger, long distance passenger, and express freight traffic layout can not only accommodate your prized O-27 Passenger trainset, but it gives the trainset an exciting, and credible, operations purpose.

Plywood (*.pdf) - 4' x 8'

~ Plywood (zipped *.scarm) - (Atlas 21st Century Track)

Note: Traffic was intended to move in a clockwise direction. Opposite direction running is possible though if you use the ovals as runarounds.

Just as the modeler John Allen did with his tabletop layout, you can later expand this layout into a giant empire.
Here is one example of how you could, with just a two foot triangle of extra benchwork, turn the layout into a return loop:

Commuter Layout - for an unused dining room

This staging-to-point layout features dense commuter passenger operations on a tight timetable [EXAMPLE] in a moderate sized space (see a continuous run example on page 107 in the book "Creative Model Railroad Design"). Several infrequent freight destinations were included, should you wish to inject freight traffic as a foil. Unlike on many compact layouts, the tracks pass between a large swath of freestanding non-railroad buildings and scenery.

Although comfortably operable by one person in "sequential" mode, this track plan shines with the addition of a second person to handle the fiddleable staging. To enhance re-staging efficiency, this layout uses an easy to construct sliding staging table (which is fabricated and operates much like a desk drawer). At a higher cost and significant loss in re-staging ease, you could substitute a conventional staging yard [EXAMPLE].

O-scale Unused Dining room Layout 3dView

Commuter (*.pdf) - 10' x 15'

~ Commuter (zipped *.scarm) - (Atlas 21st Century Track)

Note 1: For occasional railfanning, it is possible to make a continuous loop by connecting the end of the Staging tail track to end of the furthest Passenger Yard track. The curve passes through the tall Newspaper building [EXAMPLE].
- If you make this continuous run modification, I suggest you swap the newly connected yard track with the "tail" track, and also make the "engine pullup" be on the other curved turnout.

Note 2: Although this smaller station is designed as a terminus, with the deletion of the Freight House the track plan could be modified so that the station can accommodate through traffic [EXAMPLE].

"Old School" Passenger Train Layout

Most track plans found in books are designed for HO, and they almost always use flex-track and straight legged turnouts. I chose a multiple commuter RDC train friendly John Armstrong track plan (see Plan-26 on page 14 in the book "101 Track Plans for Model Railroaders") as a feasibility study, to see how easily a mixed passenger/freight 2rail HO track plan could be upscaled to 3rail O-scale (with spurs capable of accommodating modern jumbo sized rollingstock), while building as close as designed but using only 3rail curved leg turnouts and (as much as possible) sectional track pieces. Two RDCs and one road engine can easily be on the layout simultainiously.

The original track plan was 4'x8', which would require a 8'x16' table if exactly upscaled to O-scale. Because accessing the inside of the layout would be too far of a reach at that size, and because O-scale 3rail trains can negotiate tighter curves than HO trains, I compressed the track plan to fit a more S-scale sized 5.5'x13.25' table. It is possible to shorten the table length by a further 10" (on the Hazleton side) if your are willing to reduced spur lengths slightly. There must be an access isle way along both of the tables long sides, but the short Hazleton side can butt against a wall, and the Alesburg side can have its corners rounded off.

While not an exact clone (there are no mesas, the Skillman station was relocated a few inches, and the semi-superfluous orbiting cutoff at Armstrong Jc. was removed), it is schematically close, and still allows for continuous running. The spur at Armstrong Jc. could be shifted slightly closer to Manville. It could also have its turnout connect to the opposite end of the spur, or better still, be made into a runaround siding by adding an additional turnout.

O-scale Old School Passenger Train Layout

Armstrong (*.pdf) - 5.5' x 13.25'

~ Armstrong (zipped *.scarm) - (Atlas 21st Century Track)

Medum Size Through-style Passenger Station Layout - for a long hallway

This linear point-to-point shelf layout is based on an educational illustration from the book "Track Planning for Realistic Operation". If desired, you can extend the runs before the curve of the Fiddle track "wings" to shorten the wings extension. The Fiddle tracks can also be mounted on a drop-down, which can be folded away between sessions. Tracks within the station are at their most minimal efficient length, giving you the choice of using either full O-scale, or forshortened O27 (better from an operating standpoint, as you can make trains longer), passenger cars. If you have the space, such as if you choose to build this layout outdoors in a garden, you ideally should lengthen the station tracks (in car length increments) to a similar length as the ones in the educational illustration.

The Inspirational Medium Size Station Illustration

Hallway (*.pdf) - 5' x 15'

~ Hallway (zipped *.scarm) - (Atlas 21st Century Track)

Note: Being a layout with a double tracked main line, this layout could potentially be modified into a continuous run "dogbone"

Big-time Passenger Terminal

Some track plans, in order to keep the layout to a reasonable size, employ curved turnouts. I chose an island table, loop-to-loop curved turnout steam engine passenger layout featured in the book "Track Planning for Realistic Operation" (figure 11-9) as a feasibility study, to see if I could make a reasonable duplicate of the design using only conventional 3rail turnouts. This layout is intended for persons who enjoy running passenger trains and have a large collection of (26" turntable length) steam locomotives.

As this track plan was designed for HO scale it had to be upscaled, but at the same time I also desired to keep the layout as absolutely small as possible (you can always expand a small layout if you have the space, but the opposite is never true). I also needed to make sure that all portions of the layout remained within a three foot reach.

To achieve my goal I had to eliminate some features in the reference layout. The main line was reduce from double track to single track. The vestigial freight spurs (the team tracks and engine terminal supply tracks) all had to be eliminated, but this actually was a benefit as it concentrated the focus on this being a big-time passenger terminal. One coach yard track, One station spur track, One long, short, and outdoor turntable spur, and One turntable lead track had to be eliminated for space reasons, but the advantage is that their expensive turnouts would not have to be purchased. The reach problem was resolved by relocating the coach yard to the inside of the layout, rather than along the outside. As the original plan is a layout of its era, there were no scenic dividers or staging tracks (what they used to call "layover tracks") drawn, but the Coach Yard is very effective to use as pseudo staging tracks. The connection to the engine service area also had to be shifted from the return loop to the station loop, but as a side effect this improved operations.

While not an exact clone of the original track plan (it unexpectedly is even narrower in width than the HO original), this layout design is functionally identical, and fully retains the "feel" of the original. Track in GREEN is an exposed downward grade, and track in YELLOW is hidden beneath the layout. Although a small layout, it justifiably provides on-layout display possibilities not normally available to owners of large locomotive collections.