The ROCK 3.0: Expansion Thoughts!

I preface this blog post with the following public service announcement...

I am continually fascinated to watch freight move across my layout with a purpose.  I love the logistics of moving Car A from Destination A to Destination B.  On the Illinois Division, locals would move freight between the towns to major terminals where they could be moved out on freight trains.  I model a small portion of this with train #113 Joliet to Bureau Turn.   Right now, this sweeper train moves freight from Ottawa to the west staging yard at LaSalle as well as move freight east to Blue Island via the East Staging.  What if I was to expand on this idea?

Uh oh, here we go.  I'm locked in eastbound and can't expand any further.  Although it was suggested by one reader to go out the one window and come back in the other window.  Crazy readers!  So, back to what I was say, but what about westbound?   The west end of the layout ends out in the hall upstairs with the drop leaf LaSalle Yard.  If you stand at the throat of the yard and look west you see about seven feet of hallway and a little used guest bedroom on the horizon.  Uh oh.  Did you get approval from your wife?  No. We are just in the planning stages now.

Possibly in a drug induced state, the wheels started turning.  I give the hallway a good skunk eye as I ponder.  What if I was to create another drop leaf section to meet LaSalle Yard?  I could span the hallway into the guest bedroom.

Things that make you go hmm...?

.

So, I got out my tape ruler and hobbled around post surgery to begin to survey the situation.  I think I could run a narrow layout (no more than 3" wide around three of the walls in the guest room and open up to a small urban scene at the end (modeling Peoria).  

So, let's review this idea.  Here is a plan I drew up.  Oh no, he has a plan already?  This is how it started with full room expansion on the first layout.

So, what do we get from this crazy idea?  First, let's give it a name.  I'm thinking the Peoria Branch Expansion Project.  It sounds official enough.  Let's look at the positives and negatives of this.

Positive

1. Modeling Bureau Junction.  Very cool!  This would give my #113 Joliet to Bureau Turn an actual destination to travel to, turn on the wye and return making it one big job vs. two small jobs currently.  This train would operate very much like the prototype.
2. Modeling the Peoria Rocket - Now, I have a sad excuse of a Peoria Rocket that runs from LaSalle to Ottawa in like two minutes making one stop.  This train will now run from the far end of the layout to the other end making a total of four stops now.  It will look even better when I finally receive my custom paint E unit.  :-)
3. Off Layout Destinations - I feed my logistics desire to see freight move with a purpose.  Instead of everything westbound ending at LaSalle.  LaSalle would function as a small independent yard.  Westbound traffic would now be routed to one of three off layout destinations at Bureau Junction (Silvis), Chillicothe (Santa Fe), and Peoria (numerous railroads).
4. The additional real estate and railroad jobs would require a fifth person to operate.  I have a core crew of four plus me.  This leaves nobody out when time to play.  If short a crew member for an operating session, I could keep to only operations in the main room for the session.
5. Longer train runs overall: Peoria Rocket, Train #95 Chicago to Peoria freight, #113 Joliet to Bureau Turn.  
6. Scenery would be minimal in the new section not requiring any additional materials.

Negative

1. The railroad is basically doubling in size although majority of the volume of operations continue to be on the original layout with less overall track on the new section.
2. More track maintenance.  
3. Expense of lumber, turnouts, flex track, ground throws, additional NCE plug-in jacks (I have enough throttles), quick disconnect electrical hardware to run between temporary sections in hallway.
4. I'm sure there are more, but that is all I can think of with my positive outlook currently.  :-)

Operating Scheme of the Peoria Branch Expansion Project

Using a series of drop down/lift out sections coupled with three permanent, semi non-obtrusive sections, the CEO proposes to extend the Rock Island: Ottawa Sands layout west and south to Peoria, Illinois.

Modeled Sections:

LaSalle – Modify existing drop down yard to be double ended creating a two track yard.

Bureau – The Junction at Bureau.  Model the line to Peoria.

Chillicothe – Model the Santa Fe Junction and passenger station.

Peoria Heights – Model Peoria Paper industry.

Peoria – Model small yard with tracks for various interchanges, Pabst Brewery, and Station.

Operations

• New Train #130 – Peoria to Bureau Turn 
•  Peoria – Work the Pabst Brewery, interchange cars with TP&W, GM&O, N&W, C&IM, ICG and BN (basically classifies this cars which will be removed during the session to represent the interchange with these railroads).  Cars will be present from previous day’s Train #95 Chicago to Peoria.
•  Chillicothe – Pickup Silvis, LaSalle, Ottawa, Chicago Cars (Orange, Gray, White, Blue tabs)
• Drop off ATSF (Yellow tabs)
• Bureau – Drop off Silvis, LaSalle, Ottawa, Chicago (Orange, Gray, White, Blue tabs)
• Pick up Peoria cars or Santa Fe Cars (Black, Yellow tabs)
• Chillicothe – Drop off any ATSF cars (Yellow tabs)
•  Pick up any Peoria cars (Black tabs)
• Return to Peoria, classify inbound freight, and make deliveries to Pabst Brewery.

• Changes to Train #113 – Joliet to Bureau Turn
• Formerly terminated at LaSalle and return train came back later in the session.  Now, train will work as one job from Ottawa to Bureau Junction and return.  This will manifest into a really big job moving cars between terminals.
• Ottawa – Drop off any Ottawa or Soo (White or “Soo” tabs)
• Pickup any Silvis, LaSalle, Peoria, or ATSF cars (Orange, Gray, Black or Yellow tabs)
•  LaSalle – Drop off any LaSalle cars (Gray tabs)
• Pickup any Peoria, ATSF or Silvis cars (Black, Yellow or Orange tabs)
• Bureau Junction - Drop off any Peoria, ATSF and Silvis cars (Black, Yellow or Orange tabs)
• Turn power on the wye.
• Pickup any LaSalle, Ottawa, Soo or Blue Island cars (Gray, White, “Soo” or Blue tabs)
•  LaSalle – Drop off any LaSalle cars (Gray tabs)
• Pickup any Ottawa, Soo or Blue Island cars (White, “Soo” or Blue tabs)
• Ottawa – Drop off any Ottawa or Soo cars (White or “Soo” tabs)
• Pickup any Blue Island cars (Blue tabs)
• Return to Joliet

• Changes to Train #95 – Chicago to Peoria Freight
• Ottawa – Drop off any Ottawa or Soo (White or “Soo” tabs)
• Pickup any Peoria or ATSF cars (Black or Yellow tabs)
• Terminate in Peoria

• Changes to #12 – Peoria Rocket (Peoria to Chicago)
• Peoria - Depart at 6:45am (new station stop)
• Chillicothe – Depart at 7:06am (new station stop)
• Bureau – Depart at 7:39am (new station stop)
• LaSalle-Peru – Depart at 7:59am
•  Ottawa – Arrive 8:16am

• Changes to Soo #574/#575 – Soo Line Dubuque, IA to Ottawa Turn
• Train originates at Bureau Junction on the Main #2
• Ottawa – Drop off all cars.  Pick up any Soo cars (“Soo” tabs)
• Return to Bureau Junction, terminating on Main #2

Pfft....I give this expansion project a 25% chance of happening.  Well, it was a thought.  I know for one thing though, I don't want to change what I have now.  I'm really happy with that.  This would only expand on that idea.