Turning Passenger Trains

When designing the lower level of the layout which has a 4 track passenger station I knew that getting the consists turned around and back to the staging yard would be challenge. Originally I planned a reverse loop for turning the entire train and then thought that a simpler move of just running the locomotive to the rear of the train and pulling it out observation car first would be OK. This simpler move would mean no complicated wiring, no additional track to lay and bench work to build. After a few days it became apparent that the reverse loop was the way to go. So a couple of Atlas #6 turnouts, a specially wired Double Pole, Double Throw Switch, some additional electrical and carpentry work and what do you know. The thing actually works and is quite enjoyable to operate. The turning of the trains in this manner is remincesent of  how it is done in Sunnyside Yard located in Queens NY. Sunnyside Yard serves Penn Station. It was built by the Pennsylvania Railroad for the purpose of storing, servicing  and turning their passengers trains that terminated and originated at Penn Station. Today it is still in use and owned by Amtrak. New Jersey Transit trains can also be found there as well. These photos are from May 2003.

So in conclusion a project that I was leery to undertake because I was unsure of my skills with reversing polarity and keeping the trains from shorting out turned out to be a lot easier than I imagined and is a big operation plus for my layout.