title: Mid-Size Track Plans for Realistic Layouts (Model Railroader)
author:  Bernard Kempinski 
description: Bernard Kempinski is a freelance writer who has contributed more than 40 magazine articles and 20 lectures on model railroading, many of them on steel mills. His N scale Alkem Steel mill model won best-in-show award at the Madison, Wis., NMRA show in 1997. He also consults on layout design and has been commissioned to build models on subjects as large as a 1950s steel mill and a paper mill, both featured in the Walthers catalog. He is the proprietor of Alkem Scale Models. Bernard, a former Army Captain, is an analyst for the Institute for Defense Analysis in Alexandria, Va.
zlib_text: Railway Engineering
  Geometric Design
  
  Introduction
  • Geometric design of a railway track includes all those parameters which
  determine or affect the geometry of the track.
  • The need for proper geometric design of a track arises because of the following
  reasons:
  • (a) To ensure the smooth and safe running of trains
  • (b) To achieve maximum speeds
  • (c) To carry heavy axle loads
  • (d) To avoid accidents and derailments due to a defective permanent way
  • (e) To ensure that the track requires least maintenance
  • (f) For good aesthetics
  
  Introduction
  • The geometric design of the track deals with various aspects, which are as 
  follows:
  • Alignment of railway track
  • Details regarding curves
  • Details regarding track gradient
  
  Alignment of tracks
  • Alignment of railway line refers to the direction and position given to the centre
  line of the railway track on the ground in the horizontal and vertical planes.
  • Horizontal alignment refers to the direction of the railway track in the plan
  incl