Staging Yard and Operations

Not sure I ever blipped this, so here goes.  This is my N scale staging yard.  It represents Denver CO and Salt Lake City UT - the eastern and western connections to my layout (to the right). The trains there now are all through trains.  Locals are built on the last track to the left.  My operating idea was that through trains would originate from either Denver or Salt Lake, enter the layout, go around once and then take a cut off and return to their staging track.  This was so that through trains would go through Glenwood Springs from each direction. Sometimes I let one keep going around while I sort cars and/or deliver cars to the industries.  Makes things a bit more chaotic but fun.

Locals would leave Denver or Salt Lake and come to Glenwood Springs, drop off cars to be delivered and pick up empties to take home. Then proceed back to staging.  The Glenwood Springs yard would then create local trains to take the cars to either Rifle, Craig, or the connection to Aspen or Snowmass (modeled just off the layout with stub tracks).

The wooden case on the wall to the left holds n scale freight cars.  When a car comes back to staging on one of the locals, the cars are put back into the case and the next set of cars is brought out for delivery. And so it goes....forever.... or until I don't.