The CNJ Bronx Terminal is located on the Bronx side of the Harlem River and bordered by Third Avenue, Southern Boulevard (today: Bruckner Boulevard) and Lincoln Avenue. The Central Railroad of New Jersey purchased the lot in 1905. The Bronx Terminal began to operate in 1907. It had no rail connection to the other freight terminals along the Harlem River and in the Bronx.
The plan published in the Railroad Gazette on March 22, 1907 provides a good starting point for my model of my layout. Using the scale, it is possible to work out the approximate lengths of the irregular tetragon. Mapping it to a 21st century street map is a bit harder as it is not entirely clear where the CNJ Bronx Terminal lot ended and the public sidewalk began.
The CNJ Bronx Terminal tracks have changed over time. I will try to stick to the plan published in the February 1950 Issue of the Railroad Model Craftsman. Specifically, this plan shows the crossover from the inner to the outer circle track re-arranged, the separate spur track to the engine house partially built over the Harlem River added and tracks 10 and 11connected with a short wye track.
With this, I set my layout to the mid-1950s. By that time, the oval freight house and the tracks around it have been used for almost 50 years. Though the length of box and reefer cars has increased from 36 to 40 or even 50 feet, the freight yard is still being used and the team tracks are still busy, as numerous photos show. I will try to stay to the prototype as close as possible but will allow myself to deviate from it in specific areas in the interest of practicality and feasibility.