Clockwise or Counter Clockwise

Facing a 4 track mainline, with track 1 being closest, I would run 1 & 2 anti-clockwise, and 3 & 4 clockwise. Unless all the trains are lettered C&NW, then it's all wrong.

I have a small Ping Pong table layout----it runs in both directions as it automatically changes by means of cleverly placed switches! I could run it for hours and hours!

 

Mike Maurice

On a 4 line main the outside 2 would be CCW, and the inside 2 CW, following the right hand rule, on my railroad.

Now there's a new word; "anti-clockwise"!  Would that be how one would time anti-matter decay?

B

Anticlockwise is the real English term for the American term 'counterclockwise'. 

 

It could well be used for timing antimatter decay, but it might prove to give the antitheses of expected results should antiparticles be involved.  

 

I remember Emma Peel telling her replacement Tara King on "The Avengers" (late 1960's) that John Steed liked his tea stirred anti-clockwise...

 

Rusty

Clockwise is West and Counterclockwise is East out of the yard.  Both ways.  Hidden loops and a hidden yard underneath the yard allows me to run trains several loops and then send it "off" to the Southwest, West, North, South, or East.

 

Nathan

Rusty, I really enjoyed watching the Avengers when it originally aired back in the late 60's.

 

Larry

 

Nicole, spoken like a truly educated English woman. 

Popi, run them clockwise and anticlockwise (I have English roots). 

I run em fast, furious and in different directions to create interest for the kids.

 

watch here.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O4itstzghgY

Trains running on my longest loop will travel in both directions during their run.  I vary the direction on the other two, running them clockwise or anticlockwise, to change the view of the trains. 

First they go this way and then they go that way and then they go around and around.

 

Seriously, in designing my track plan, one of my goals was to have any train go in any direction on any loop. (And I don't really have loops...well sometimes I do and sometimes I don't, but that's a story for another day.) The result is spaghetti but it looks neat and fools visitors.

#1&#3 are counter and #2 clockwise

I have two irregular loops. The outside (passenger train) is counter-clockwise and the inside (freight) is clock-wise. If you had anticounter-clockwise would that be clockwise? 

Where it stops, nobody knows.......

I will have two large loops, one upper level double-track and one lower level single-track.  I will run the double track using right-hand traffic rules, and when leaving the yard clockwise the train will be going west and counter-clockwise will be going east.

 

On the single-track lower level trains coming out of the storage yard onto the loop will be going counter-clockwise, and counter-clockwise up the connecting track to the upper level.  Going down from the upper to lower level, the trains will be going clockwise on the lower loop until they go through the reversing loop to get back into the storage yard.

 

If I want to run trains without any rules, I think I would run them counter-clockwise because of the better view of the train coming around the mountain.

 

Ron

If only one I run counterclockwise.  For some reason it just looks right...lol

-Greg

Being a stock race fan for 50+ yrs I run my trains counter clockwise, they don't look right going clockwise.

My outer loop (closest to the layout edge, sometimes right alongside it) runs counterclockwise - the trains just go around and around. 

 

Loop two, inside of that, has auto-switching reversing loops at each end, the train reverses direction each time it goes around.

 

Loop three, inside of that, runs clockwise.

N0w, if each loop is a Main Track, then it should be able to run in either direction!

Depends what number of beer I am on.

On the upper level the outer main runs clock wise, on the inner main it runs counter-clock wise but they can run iether direction (except the Big Boy...long story). The outer has a double crossover to the inner and the inner does a 7 loop Helix to the lower level where the main line is clock wise (could go counter but it would make the closed end yard unusable but still access the turntable), many dead end side tracks and clock wise makes them a back and park thing.

Dan

With a return loop I can do either, and do. It is my habit though to run the outer main counter clockwise, and the inner loop clockwise.  That way trains are passing each other just like cars do in America. 

.....

Dennis

Clockwise mostly. Why? Because that's the way they ran when they layout was first set up. Why then? Because that's the way they ran when they ran on the "floor layout" loop. However, I have run them counterclockwise to get better pictures.

I have three loops of 0 and one loop of Standard Gauge running around the outside of the 0 gauge layout. The inner and outer 0 gauge loops go clockwise and the one in between is counter-clockwise. The direction was set by the direction of sidings on the inner that you have to back into, then alternating the direction on the other loops. The Standard Gauge loop has no set direction; it's whatever I feel like when I'm setting a train on it. 

We have two loops on the club modular layout. Typically, I run them forward. One thing I do enjoy is matching speed and allowing the trains to pace each other.

 

Gilly

Steamers counterclockwise (back in time) while more modern stuff runs clockwise!

I have a double switchback on both main lines but the yard feed to one goes directly to a clockwise run and the yard feed to the other goes to a counter clockwise run. Since they are also connected the trains can run either track, either direction. 

I have a two track mainline.  Use to run one each direction, but now the two trains are both going counter-clockwise.

during the shows I go to with tracks 1 and 3 going counterclockwise and tracks 2 and 4 going clockwise, I switch out locos about every 45- 1 hr. and run locos on all tracks so I "sharpen" the drivers on both sides!!! 

I have a two track main line each with long passing sidings. Well, that is long for my smallish layout anyway. I like the visual appearance of trains crossing in opposite directions. My new layout will have 4 main lines that run independently of each other plus a storage yard. I will alternate between clockwise and counter on each loop.

Sometimes I like to run trains in the crazy eye formation

 

you could get dizzy watching that for to long.

 

that's way cool!!!

Thanks Popi, That was fun when I sat them up last Christmas.

I'm not sure it's all that healthy for the old folks to watch them running in different directions like that for too long, so I changed it so they were all running in the same direction after a while.

On the new display I was planning on changing directions periodically; they're all running clockwise right now. I'll have to set up the crazy eye formation again and get a video of them running over the bridges and through the tunnels in all directions.

 

Never really thought about it! Clockwise out of Ivor's shed through his 'scenes' and back and again.

It's not mine, but it's Kismet...

 

The train goes clockwise, the track counter-clockwise.

 

 

Rusty

http://www.xkcd.com/1366/

Have any of you run your trains so much in predominately one direction that you can see more flange wear on one side? From a mechanical standpoint, I like to equalize the wear. And for the sake of variety, I like to avoid excessively repeating patterns.

 

Sometimes the preferred direction of operation will depend on the orientation of the layout, if you have better viewing angles from your operating post, or whatever.