Position of turntable in engine yard

When planning an engine yard with a turntable, it is easy to forget that the whole idea of a turntable in real life is to save space, by turning locomotives in a small area instead of running them through loops and turnouts.

One often sees turntables placed on a layout that tends to waste precious space, specifically one sees the roundhouses placed beyond the turntable like this:

Positioning of the computer and control area

Over the years I have often seen a layout design discussed and thrashed out for an extended period, without any thought as to where the control area will be. Things like control areas and computer screen take up space and really need to be considered when designing the layout.

Design tip: station sidings

I have noticed on a number of on-line sites that people often wisely upload their track layout design for feedback. I have also noticed that many of the layout designs include tracks that have numerous bends in them. S-shaped bends are not good for two reasons:

Track length calculator

Updated 4 November 2006 to version 1.5

Here is a tiny Windows program that will calculate the fewest pieces of Märklin straight track needed to make up any length. It is able to handle K-Track,  C-Track, M-Track as well as Z scale and I Gauge track pieces.

The program will also work out the required distance if the you know the offset you wish to achieve at a given angle. All the angles that can be produced with Märklin tracks are included.

Here the program has been asked to find the best set of K-Track lengths to produce a length of 256mm...

the result is 4 pieces, one length of 2207 track, two 2208 lengths and a single 2203.  These four pieces will be 0.2mm longer than 256mm