The Shortest Distance Between Two Points

While repeatedly sketching track plans* for my new modelled locale, Kingston's Hanley Spur, I had a dickens of a time trying to get industries in a straight line. (*plans in name only, and I use the term loosely. Pencil on paper is more accurately sketching or doodling!) 

I've heard that in model railway planning, left=west and right=east. So if east goes with south, and west goes with north, based on real railway scheduling, then left=north and right=south. 

Since my Outer Station yard is on the right, I perceive left=south based on the shape of my benchwork. So I'm immediately going against the current! And based on the benchwork arrangement, plus the need to maintain two lines (CN and CP), as well as the large distance that would normally be required to replicate the spur in scale, there's virtually no way it could be a straight line!

The Hanley Spur trackage, if viewed on a map, starting at the north end of the city and heading downtown, forms a letter 'Y', or a backwards 'J', or perhaps a lazy 'T'.

At our recent ARK Hanley Spur Project meeting, I wryly commented that my track plan would resemble the all-points, screen-encompassing movements of the presenter's screen saver, darting here and there all around the square! So I tried it! And it turned out that way!

On my good ol' city map showing trackage, I've drawn red boxes around the industry spots I'll model,  each with its own spur. These are, from north to south:

On CN (follow the blue arrows):

• Outer Station yard
• Presland Iron & Steel - Elliott Ave.
• Queen's Interchange (this accounts for the blue arrow exiting the map at top left, heading about half-a-mile-west then mysteriously returning and heading far south) - Rigney St.
• National Grocers warehouse - Cataraqui St.
• Imperial Oil warehouse - North St.
• Freight shed/team track - Wellington St.
• lead to Canadian Locomotive Co. - Ontario St. or beyond.

And on CP (follow the yellow arrows):

• Presland Iron & Steel (jointly-served) - Elliott Ave.
• Gus Marker Cement - Division St.
• Quattrocchi's Produce - Montreal at Railway Sts.
• three warehouses on Railway Street
• C E McPherson - Rideau St.
• River Street diamond (crossing CN)
• I Cohen - Railway St.
• Sowards Coal (this is another far-flung arrow, reaching all the way from Railway Street all the way down to Ontario St.)

In addition, each line incorporates a run-around track to ease trailing-point and facing-point switching tasks. I was pleased to be able to incorporate five industry spots on CN and eight on CP. (We won't highlight the fact that the CN yard is several tracks and the CP has none. But remember, CP was arriving in town from the far north, God's Country, while CN had a switcher here, as well as serving other local industries and only 50 miles from Belleville and Brockville yards).