Brainstorming on the design
Every model railroader has a dream of building the perfect
layout. This means different for different people. To me it's a compromise
between a number of themes I wish to include in the layout, and the available
space, time and money.
The different items I wanted in my layout:
- Double main track with long riding lengths, varying traffic, space for at
least 15 trains riding around.
- Platform lengths of at least 10 feet, allowing trains up to 9 feet
- Major passenger station with at least 6 tracks, freight station with sidings
to industry and a fiddle yard with hill.
- Streetcar circuit (local traffic) with connection to tourist attraction
(a castle e.g.)
- Placed in the Belgian Ardennes, in the late fifties (so steam, diesel as
well as electric engines)
- As realistic as possible, in every aspect (nature, geology, era, ...)
- Rural, suburban and industrial regions
- Several eye-catchers (through details or thematic scenes)
- Recognizable and possible: existing structures and situation as well as
fiction, but acceptable ones.
- Visitors should have an "in the layout" feeling
- Steering possibilities from full automatic to full-manually
- All parts of the layout should be easily reachable, during build-up and
later to correct failures.
Base principles: a more practical wishing list...
- Scale: HO (1/87)
- Size: 15 by 15 feet
- Style: along the walls with central peninsula (M-shaped)
- Minimal radius: 3 feet on main track, 2 feet on sidings and hidden tracks
- Maximal climbing percentage: 2,5%
- Minimal height difference on crossings: 4 inch
- Minimal height above floor for visible tracks: 4 feet
- Minimal width of space for visitors: 2 feet
- Open-frame construction (to have everything reachable from under the layout)
- Minimal space above staging yards: 8 inch
- Maximal distance from the edge of the layout or from maintenance holes:
2 feet (arm-length)
- Rails: ROCO code 83 on cork roadbed. Turnouts self-build.
- Catenaries on all main tracks. Non-functional: in hidden parts only placed
to prevent damage on pantographs.
- Control panels with understandable layout and child-friendly buttons
- Second, switched control panel.
- Long main track with block-system security and at least 10 staging tracks.
- Natural landscape form (nature existed before man)
- Hard-shell landscape: lightweight and easily correctable
- Background: partly removable hardboard plates, painted with latex and acrylic
paints.
- Recognizable situations (general infrastructure as well as landscape details)
- Example: Belgian Ardennes 1957, but fiction place (or did you ever hear
of 'Duvelle' or 'Boulroie' ?)
