Adding Inglenook Wye To Timesaver Shunting Puzzle N Scale Layout Design In SCARM Plus Wye Variations

The Timesaver shunting puzzle layout seems fun but it is pretty limited. So I want to add a second element to the layout, a Inglenook Wye. This is also a shunting puzzle but it is more prototypical, The standard Inglenook Wye is a 3-3-5 with 8 cars. This has two short sidings each holding three cars and a longer main siding that holds up to five cars. Plus a header track that hold three cars plus the locomotive. The puzzle usually starts with a random draw showing which 5 cars of the 8 will be shunted into a freight train, or consist, and in what order. You them move the cars into the proper position on the main siding, building the consist from rear to front. The trick is to get that last car onto the main siding first.
Inglenook Wye length equations:
Cars = both short sidings + header track - 1 or Cars = A + B + Header - 1
Long Siding = Cars - Short siding or Long Siding = Cars - A
With:
Cars is the total number of cars used
Short sidings A & B
Header Track
Long Siding
Works better of the two short sidings add up to an even number. If they are not the same length, then you can average them, i.e. a 3-3-5 is the same as a 2-4-5 since the A&B both add up to 6 cars and average 3.

[@mitsu7909]

cuanto moide ? how much length?

[@handlaidtracksand3dprinted922]

It depends on the length of the cars you are using. It is much smaller for Beercan Shorty Tank cars than for 80' autoracks. That is also why I made trackend stops to limit the track lengths depending on the cars being used.

[@debbiemilka2251]

This tutorial is the very best of all the switching puzzle video blogs. I will be working on tis very soon. I find you very encouraging !

[@handlaidtracksand3dprinted922]

Awww you made me smile! Have to hand build some tracks next! You can do it!

[@hpept]

Well explained. I recently built a 3-2-2 Inglenook puzzle due to space constraints. To add more interest, I added the possibility to run into some unexpected events during the session by rolling a dice at the beginning. If the unexpected event is called, I roll another dice to choose one among six different. Events like shunter failure, car failure, turnout failure, time schedule delay, wrong switch list or delay on freight loading can alter the dynamics of the game introducing some extra limitations. I'm really happy with the outcome, having considerable operations possibilities not usually attainable with a micro layout. Cheers.

[@handlaidtracksand3dprinted922]

Sounds like a very interesting way to run operations. I'm generating random five car construct orders from the Wye yard to send to the Timesaver docks with specific spots for each car. So they are sent in a random order but still had to be ordered at the Wye. Then usually I park them on one of the long Timesaver sidings and build the return five car construct - also in a randomly generated order. Which is essentially a Timesaver game. Park them on the Departure line and shunt in the Wye cars to their proper place - a second Timesave puzzle... But I've only done it in SCARM as I am still making my tracks. Working on my turnout mechanism now. Stepper motor and an arduino controlled. Thanks for watching!

[@greeneyedggirl]

Okay, this is genius!!! Could you tell us more about how you do this? I'd love to add this to the mix of my op sessions too!!!

[@kmbbmj5857]

I've often heard the Timesaver is not prototypical, but as they also say, there's a prototype for everything. I was working on a track plan based on my hometown (all the tracks are gone now) and all of a sudden it dawned on me that my home town was a timesaver. Only difference was the turnouts to the switchback are the other way around.

[@BrooksMoses]

Oh, interesting! What town is this?

[@kmbbmj5857]

@@BrooksMoses Lockhart SC. Tracks came curving into town from the south. Straight ahead was a runaround and the depot. Switch to the right over the canal led to switchback with a mill on one tail and power plant on the other. Mostly gone now, but Google maps you can kind of pick out the remains in places.

[@jeffwardlow4626]

I love time savers, I need more understanding how they work.... Can incorporate a timesaver in my layout?

[@handlaidtracksand3dprinted922]

For sure, it is basically an industrial siding. I have the Timesaver on one side and a set of two Inglenook Wye's on the other side. I just published an updated video here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/bn7ZpZiNjZ5mg5o Finally running a loop. The Timesaver is fully built already, they 2 Wye's are in the empty space.

[@karltriebel4262]

The timesaver looks like a small British branch line terminus if you chose the top left track as the ‘main line’. If you named each section (ie platform, cattle dock, fuel siding, etc) you could spot wagons to randomly assigned places in a semi realistic way. For example a four wagon goods train arrives and has to place the wagons correctly, gather the empties and remove them. With a brake van to worry about as well of course!

[@handlaidtracksand3dprinted922]

Great ideas! My plan is to put small platforms and the sidings, but I'm squeezing into a tiny space. Want to have an arrival departure track for 5-7 cars. Inglenook Wye one end and the Timesaver on the other. Right now I'm still working on the turnout motor. Haven't made a video on it yet, but I made my own 3D printed turnout base and added a stepper motor to actuate it. But the weather turned nice and in Netherlands you have to take advantage of nice weather!

[@TSmith-ns45]

Are you actually “SO crates” and not “SOC ra teez”? 😂

[@handlaidtracksand3dprinted922]

It depends on the speaker I suppose... Here in Netherlands they say SO-crate-es, as a Greek it's SoCRAtes... If you are old enough to remember Bill and Ted then So-Crates it is!

[@greeneyedggirl]

I'm sorry, but a three way switch is not a Wye. A Wye is used to turn trains around. Since they no longer use turntables...

[@handlaidtracksand3dprinted922]

It isn't specifically a wye, but two sidings and a main line. But I found it on Wymann's page... www.wymann.info/ShuntingPuzzles/Inglenook/inglenook-trackplan.html So, yes it is more accurately called the Inglenook Sidings, but I'm not going to change it now! Though I am planning to build a turntable as well...

[@greeneyedggirl]

@@handlaidtracksand3dprinted922 oh heck yeah, without question an inglenook, I love those! It was just the use of the term Wye which is something entirely different. Otherwise smashing job adding an inglenook to your timesaver, go you!!!

[@greeneyedggirl]

Interestingly enough, my Dad and Grams got my interested in trains when I was a wee pads, but I didn't see the point in just watching them go in circles. Recently I discovered the Inglenook quite by accident and this lead me to operations as well, so I'm getting back into the hobby in N-Scale and the very first thing I did was laid down some track and 8 cars, and started playing with an Inglenook. Now having watched some awesome videos, I'm working on a full layout with DCC++EX and a timesaver and Inglenook as well as a full yard with interchange tracks and some real operations and such to play with for hours and days! Thanks for sharing this!!!

[@handlaidtracksand3dprinted922]

Very glad to hear your rediscovering model trains! I'm nearly done the Timesaver section with the frogs and feeders installed and the stepper motor wiring to be done next. Hand building the tracks and turnouts makes you want to add as many as possible vs saving the money and use fewer. I ended up with nine switches where only five were called for. Just a 2'X4' so I needed to make 9" curves to fit but I'm just a freight shunter...

[@greeneyedggirl]

@@handlaidtracksand3dprinted922 oddly enough, I started hand crafting turnouts a lifetime ago and my father thought I was an idiot and doing it the hard way, completely missing the point that I had hand made a #6 turnout just by looking at and measuring one I already had. I think it's awesome that you're hand crafting your own track! Go you!!! I might one day start doing that again too!!!

[@SouthDown]

That's pretty brilliant, adding the best of two switching puzzles into one. Nicely done, great voice too.

[@handlaidtracksand3dprinted922]

Thanks very much! It has given me something to do when these lockdowns keep happening. The Timesaver side is done. Working out the Inglenook Wye now. Decided to make some curved turnouts...