What are staging yards and how are they used?

Well, the subject pretty much tells it all. I here it a lot and am curious as to what it is.

For operation-oriented model railroads, staging tracks are tracks connected to a layout but conceptually separate from it that represent distant origins and destinaations not represented on the actual layout. So I might have a model of the New York Central representing a stretch between, say, Rochester and Buffalo, but I could have track leading off to a shelf that represents New York. That is probably the long and short of the concept. The question then becomes how you execute the idea.

Let's say your railroad stretches between Buffalo, Syracuse and Rochester. You could use staging yards to represent the endpoints of Buffalo and Syracuse... these staging yards would be "off-stage" hidden from visitors and the trains that are visible to your public would be "on-stage." By originating and terminating trains in "Buffalo" and "Syracuse" you could free up your visible yard in Rochester for normal yard functions instead of storage of trains not running.

Oh wait. We did that. See the track plan for our club layout, the Rochester & Irondequoit Terminal. The staging yards are off to the left, in a back room. There are two levels- the top level is Buffalo, the bottom level is Syracuse. The railroad mainline runs from Buffalo yard, down three levels to Rochester, then through to Syracuse. The system works quite well, and has more than doubled the amount of trains we can run in a given operating session. Our layout is roughly 10x25 (not counting the staging yards).



Visit http://www.ritmrc.org for more information...

-otto-

My version of the Santa Fe in Oklahoma circa 1989, contains 5 staging yards. On the three decks I have first the mainline from Arkansas City KS to Gainesville TX through Oklahoma City. I model the part from Guthrie through Oklahoma City, so there is an open staging yard for Gainesville, and a hidden staging yard for Arkansas City and another for Newton KS. I also have the Enid District which ran from Guthrie to Enid and on to Kiowa KS, joining the transcon mainline through Waynoka. So I have a staging yard for Waynoka.

The BN Avard district ran from Tulsa to Avard OK on the ATSF Transcon and then to Waynoka. So I have the Tulsa staging for BN. Then at Cherokee OK on the Enid District is the old KCMO Santa Fe line through western Okla known as the Orient. So I have a hidden staging for Clinton OK for the grain trains coming off the Orient and going across the Enid District to the Okla District and south to Texas.

Finally there is a staging yard (open) at Enid for the Farmrail operation.

I think you can get an idea of the variety of staging I use, some open, some hidden. Some with several tracks, others with just a couple.

During an operating sessions trains come out of staging, run across the stage and into another staging.

Hope this helps