3/8/2008
I've been working on the plans for what I'm calling the mini-layout. This is because we'd still like to move in the relatively near future, hopefully with a room of an appropriate size for the layout I'd like to do.
One of the nice things about the mini-layout is that I have a lot of what I'll need to get it operational in short order. Assumptions The maximum train length, based on the sixe of the layout and particularly staging will be about 20 forty-foot cars, plus locomotive and caboose. I might consider expanding this to about 25 cars or so, depending on how the plan comes out. The Berlin line (and thus the Whiting Street yard) are offline. All staging will be stacked in a single location allowing access from outside the scenicked portion of the layout. Thus staging will be hidden from the operators, but the design allows the person operating the staging to see the whole layout. Operations Operators would be: The person operating staging could conceivably run the through trains. The time between trains would be spent shuffling trains in staging. Roster I will probably have the DERS-2b and DERS-2c by the end of the month. The DERS-1b is readily available. So the only challenge I have is finding more FA-1 locomotives. I have all of the hacks already or on order. The only thing that will be difficult is the light weight passenger cars, simply because there is no model available. I'll need about 4 to start, but can substitute heavyweights in the meantime. Construction The final decision is whether or not I want to tackle a helix. My concept (particularly for staging) could be problematic due to the necessary location of the helix if I use one. |
Randy's Layout Blog >