Design quandary on the PRR Middle Division in HO Scale! I've been mocking up the Lewistown Yard and I got everything to fit to my satisfaction except for one thing... the ash hoist. If only I had another foot of benchwork!
The valuation map (above) shows that all of the loco facility tracks converge into one track at left. If you follow the lower most track towards the right, this is a service track to the ash hoist and coal dump.
While I have good track spacing for the coal wharf, I don't have enough length for the ash hoist between the tracks. Here's the overhead view:
Here's the overhead view with the ash hoist model laying on top of the proposed track:
One solution I am considering is having the service track connect to the spur that leads into the Viscose Company. It has plenty of length and would require a double-back move (not a big deal). The trade off is losing the prototype fidelity. It would fit much nicer as the image below shows, and the turnout template shown underneath the ash hoist would actually be straight through trackage:
Here's a longer view of the proposed trackage. It works, and looks nice, but just isn't perfect per the prototype. Again, the exposed turnout template would be straight through trackage. I welcome your critical feedback!
