Expansion planning on the railroad

I've been working with expert railroad planner, Scott Perry about the future expansion of the railroad. I have NO experience in planning (as is obvious with the existing layout) and wanted Scott's input as I've seen his expertise first hand from being a member of the NCIOG (North County Interchange Operating Group).

I had been going about it all wrong in that I sort-of designed the future benchwork first, when it should be that I start with the purpose of the railroad and the industries it services. Here's some of Scott's comments on the planning process:

"Here is an industry diagram. I put in some of the industries, but not all. The ones I didn't put in didn't have another industry on the line to ship to. These can be added at will since all traffic to and fro is generated off line. Basically, the more of these types you use the more hidden staging you'll need. The industries I used keep all the traffic on the layout proper.

Here's a diagram.

This is a pretty busy railroad! Just the coal mine will generate two trains per ops session. Lots of back and forth. The asbestos plant sound like something you really want to build, so figure out a customer for it. An insulation company or a brake parts company would work. Worst case, ship it to the freight house. The coal distributor can sell gravel, too. A small cement plant is a great customer.

On the far right I always put the railroad as they consume a lot of goods; gravel, fuel, oil, sand, etc.

My rule of thumb is that every industry should have at least one supplier or destination on the railroad. This way more traffic stays on the board.

If you add the brewery or the bakery, you need to add a grain silo somewhere."

This is Scott's diagram that he furnished from the list of industries I provided to him. Click on the picture for a larger view.

This is an exciting process! This Friday the NCIOG group is meeting at the first time at my home for a planning session and we have a great start with Scott's input. Stay tuned for more!