WB47's comment about the how folks actually use stub-end yards got me thinking. The other use for a yard might be to stage complete trains. So I made one track a dual-purpose or hybrid track, which can be used as a long classification track and/or as a staging track (about 12' between turnouts). It can also be used as a run-around track when one of the arrival/departure tracks are occupied, and as a third arrival/departure track. And it can function as a locomotive escape track for clock-wise running arrivals. This track also has a short spur which could be a caboose track or bad-order car track.
So from the top down, the yard has:
- three long classification tracks
- one hybrid classification/staging/arrival-departure track, with a short caboose storage track on a turnout at the left.
- two arrival/departure tracks
This made the yard just a bit wider, and made the engine tracks into the engine house about 2" longer each.
