(It wasn’t until I’d written this that I realized how self-indulgent it is, but the exercise has been useful – any help appreciated)
So, I know what I want my layout to do, when I want it set, how I want it look and feel and act. I have a room to work in, small but available. I have the tools and ability to build, the budget to get going, and spousal buy in for the project. I have kids who are psyched to help and friends who want to help build and help play. And ye I am at an absolute loss when I try to design the plan.
What do I do? What do you guys do to start the process of pen to paper? There are not a lot of local people to talk to - even the guy at the LHS while super helpful didn't have a club to turn me on to.
I've been through Chip's guide to newbies - thank you for that Chip! Here's what I have:
Givens: the room I have is 84 x 82 inches. The door way is on the "north" wall at the east end. That door is 30" wide. I need to be able to use the room as a home office. All that means is enough space for a desk type chair and a desk area of about 30 by 30 inches to set laptop or legal pad on. I will not meet clients at home
Druthers: I want to model what I see - at least sort of. I live in Maine. I want to do a freelanced imagined branch line of the Maine Central (MEC). There were also often Boston and Maine locos on MEC.
I like steam engines and old diesels switchers. I like twisty coastal and woods scenes and dense New England industry. My railroad doesn’t have articulated steamers or MU diesel drags.
Its about 1949 or 1950 in my world. Maine hosted a major naval port during the war - Portland Harbor was the birthplace of many Liberty Ships and along a great circle route is the closest US port to the UK. A thousand convoys left from Portland. Some even made it to their destinations. Maine also provided millions of tons of raw materials for the war. Logging produced lumber and paper. Textile mills produced cloth for uniforms. The rail infrastructure that supported the war effort was serious business both in terms of freight and passenger service- but its a few years later. Things have slowed back down and there is a strange sense of hollowness - like an event hall once the lights are back up and the partiers have gone home. There's a sense of pride but also the world is a bit dazed - its still a lot like that here, by the way.
Major industry in Maine generally relies on natural resources. Some we ship out in raw form. Some we turn into paper, lumber, gravel, cement, or pie. We also make excellent baked beans.
I have two thoughts about how to capture what I’m looking for, at two points in the transportation chain. Each is intended as learning opportunity and temporary – up to five years – layout until I buy the building my office is in and finish the basement or the kids go away and I get a bedroom. Which is the better choice I could use input on – I’ll set them out below.
In terms of operation I am more interested in playing than modeling. I want a good looking layout but when I envision an hour after work spent relaxing with the trains I imagine running them, not building them. I know myself well enough to know that the layout has to make sense to itself. I enjoy puzzles and will enjoy shuffling the car cards and playing switcher. When I am working, I would like to be able to turn a train on and let it circle.
I am no artist, though I can build. I have a super tolerant wife – who is an artist. She also wants space trains on another planet where everything is white. She has no idea that she’ll get her wish for at least some phase of the build…
My two concepts are these:
Birch Island Division – (In reality, Birch Island is a medium sized island off the coast of Maine on which we have land but no house yet – there’s no power out there but room for live steam…) In my world Birch Island would be a large island with inexhaustible lumber and granite. In reality, most of the granite for buildings on and around the mall in Washington DC and NYC, among other places, really did come from islands off the coast of Maine. There are some strange hollow islands out there. Anyway, the Birch Island Division would have no bridge to the mainland. Instead, it would be served by car float. Logging camps would serve a lumber mill and paper mill. The lumber mill and paper mill would ship off island via car float. There might also be a furniture company on the island. The island powerhouse would be served by coal from the ferry dock but also by saw dust and wood scrap from the lumber mill. There would also be a major quarrying operation. Slabs of granite would be shipped off island. A gravel plant would crush granite chucks to gravel for shipment off island as well. There would be a small town near the ferry dock but few roads on the island. Most residents live along the coast and move around the periphery of the island by boat – this matches the prototype.
This layout could be done without staging. An island railroad division would have limited trackage and few cars on the island at any one time. The locos would be limited to those that could be reasonably floated across – small steamers and diesel switchers. I see this layout as multiple decks of shallow shelves. There would be a sea level deck which would be one foot deep around the periphery of the room (I’ve never typed the word “periphery” before and there it is twice), except on the south wall where it could be deeper. A steep grade would wind its way up from sea level around the walls, essentially using the perimeter of the room as a giant helix. There would be bridges across the doorway. This would result in a nice long single track mainline.
Operations would be single track way freight type. A typical session might involve pulling inbound cars off the float and putting out bound cars onto the float. Inbound cars would be made up into a train for delivery to the industries for reloading and for delivery to town. A passenger car or combine might grab passengers from the ferry and run them to town as well.
From town, the train would climb its way up the hill spotting empty cars at industries and pulling empty log cars back off to the logging sites. The loco would drop the empty log cars and pick up full ones, then run the previous in reverse.
Mere Point – (In reality, Mere Point is home to Paul’s Marina, where we keep the boat we use to access Birch Island) Mere Point would receive the car float from Birch Island. As the mainland terminus industry has sprung up around the ferry terminal. The MEC mainline from Portland to Augusta runs through the division.
This layout is heavily dependent on staging. A series of trains runs from off stage through Mere Point and back off stage. Staging would be “run through” so that a train could appear more than once playing different roles. Operation would consist of receiving cars from the ferry terminal and spotting them to the lumber mill, paper mill, etc. Some through freights would stop and drop slugs of cars for spotting to the industries or to the ferry and to p/u cars full of goods. Some through trains would just keep on moving through. A Budd or Doodlebug might shuttle passengers from the ferry dock to the mainline to connect to through passenger runs. Operation here would involve switching, some classification, and would build the industry branch lines off the mainline to add the need to keep the main clear for the through traffic.
I envision Mere Point as two decks – staging yard below and operations above.
Both of these ideas appeal to me. If I had enough room today I would do a long single track branch line joining the heavily trafficked mainline outside a city and move material from the branch to the city, process it, and move it out on the through traffic. Which would you guys do in the space I have? Why? How the heck would you start?
If you’re still reading, I would appreciate your input.
So, I know what I want my layout to do, when I want it set, how I want it look and feel and act. I have a room to work in, small but available. I have the tools and ability to build, the budget to get going, and spousal buy in for the project. I have kids who are psyched to help and friends who want to help build and help play. And ye I am at an absolute loss when I try to design the plan.
What do I do? What do you guys do to start the process of pen to paper? There are not a lot of local people to talk to - even the guy at the LHS while super helpful didn't have a club to turn me on to.
I've been through Chip's guide to newbies - thank you for that Chip! Here's what I have:
Givens: the room I have is 84 x 82 inches. The door way is on the "north" wall at the east end. That door is 30" wide. I need to be able to use the room as a home office. All that means is enough space for a desk type chair and a desk area of about 30 by 30 inches to set laptop or legal pad on. I will not meet clients at home
Druthers: I want to model what I see - at least sort of. I live in Maine. I want to do a freelanced imagined branch line of the Maine Central (MEC). There were also often Boston and Maine locos on MEC.
I like steam engines and old diesels switchers. I like twisty coastal and woods scenes and dense New England industry. My railroad doesn’t have articulated steamers or MU diesel drags.
Its about 1949 or 1950 in my world. Maine hosted a major naval port during the war - Portland Harbor was the birthplace of many Liberty Ships and along a great circle route is the closest US port to the UK. A thousand convoys left from Portland. Some even made it to their destinations. Maine also provided millions of tons of raw materials for the war. Logging produced lumber and paper. Textile mills produced cloth for uniforms. The rail infrastructure that supported the war effort was serious business both in terms of freight and passenger service- but its a few years later. Things have slowed back down and there is a strange sense of hollowness - like an event hall once the lights are back up and the partiers have gone home. There's a sense of pride but also the world is a bit dazed - its still a lot like that here, by the way.
Major industry in Maine generally relies on natural resources. Some we ship out in raw form. Some we turn into paper, lumber, gravel, cement, or pie. We also make excellent baked beans.
I have two thoughts about how to capture what I’m looking for, at two points in the transportation chain. Each is intended as learning opportunity and temporary – up to five years – layout until I buy the building my office is in and finish the basement or the kids go away and I get a bedroom. Which is the better choice I could use input on – I’ll set them out below.
In terms of operation I am more interested in playing than modeling. I want a good looking layout but when I envision an hour after work spent relaxing with the trains I imagine running them, not building them. I know myself well enough to know that the layout has to make sense to itself. I enjoy puzzles and will enjoy shuffling the car cards and playing switcher. When I am working, I would like to be able to turn a train on and let it circle.
I am no artist, though I can build. I have a super tolerant wife – who is an artist. She also wants space trains on another planet where everything is white. She has no idea that she’ll get her wish for at least some phase of the build…
My two concepts are these:
Birch Island Division – (In reality, Birch Island is a medium sized island off the coast of Maine on which we have land but no house yet – there’s no power out there but room for live steam…) In my world Birch Island would be a large island with inexhaustible lumber and granite. In reality, most of the granite for buildings on and around the mall in Washington DC and NYC, among other places, really did come from islands off the coast of Maine. There are some strange hollow islands out there. Anyway, the Birch Island Division would have no bridge to the mainland. Instead, it would be served by car float. Logging camps would serve a lumber mill and paper mill. The lumber mill and paper mill would ship off island via car float. There might also be a furniture company on the island. The island powerhouse would be served by coal from the ferry dock but also by saw dust and wood scrap from the lumber mill. There would also be a major quarrying operation. Slabs of granite would be shipped off island. A gravel plant would crush granite chucks to gravel for shipment off island as well. There would be a small town near the ferry dock but few roads on the island. Most residents live along the coast and move around the periphery of the island by boat – this matches the prototype.
This layout could be done without staging. An island railroad division would have limited trackage and few cars on the island at any one time. The locos would be limited to those that could be reasonably floated across – small steamers and diesel switchers. I see this layout as multiple decks of shallow shelves. There would be a sea level deck which would be one foot deep around the periphery of the room (I’ve never typed the word “periphery” before and there it is twice), except on the south wall where it could be deeper. A steep grade would wind its way up from sea level around the walls, essentially using the perimeter of the room as a giant helix. There would be bridges across the doorway. This would result in a nice long single track mainline.
Operations would be single track way freight type. A typical session might involve pulling inbound cars off the float and putting out bound cars onto the float. Inbound cars would be made up into a train for delivery to the industries for reloading and for delivery to town. A passenger car or combine might grab passengers from the ferry and run them to town as well.
From town, the train would climb its way up the hill spotting empty cars at industries and pulling empty log cars back off to the logging sites. The loco would drop the empty log cars and pick up full ones, then run the previous in reverse.
Mere Point – (In reality, Mere Point is home to Paul’s Marina, where we keep the boat we use to access Birch Island) Mere Point would receive the car float from Birch Island. As the mainland terminus industry has sprung up around the ferry terminal. The MEC mainline from Portland to Augusta runs through the division.
This layout is heavily dependent on staging. A series of trains runs from off stage through Mere Point and back off stage. Staging would be “run through” so that a train could appear more than once playing different roles. Operation would consist of receiving cars from the ferry terminal and spotting them to the lumber mill, paper mill, etc. Some through freights would stop and drop slugs of cars for spotting to the industries or to the ferry and to p/u cars full of goods. Some through trains would just keep on moving through. A Budd or Doodlebug might shuttle passengers from the ferry dock to the mainline to connect to through passenger runs. Operation here would involve switching, some classification, and would build the industry branch lines off the mainline to add the need to keep the main clear for the through traffic.
I envision Mere Point as two decks – staging yard below and operations above.
Both of these ideas appeal to me. If I had enough room today I would do a long single track branch line joining the heavily trafficked mainline outside a city and move material from the branch to the city, process it, and move it out on the through traffic. Which would you guys do in the space I have? Why? How the heck would you start?
If you’re still reading, I would appreciate your input.
