My "Layout Nook"

     In other parts of the world, people have Layout Rooms. Here in San Francisco, we make do as best we can with the space we have. I never complain about my tiny apartment, rather I accept it as the home I have had these past seventeen years, and embrace my limitations of space at the existential level. This is my little part of the world!

      This sunny Saturday morning I cleaned out this odd corner of my tiny kitchen, which has always been a sort of "staging area" for incoming groceries, outgoing recycling, and anything else that I need to set out of the way until I can figure out where to put it. Before any of the clutter could jump back in, I moved in my stock of styrofoam sheets, my previously unseen N scale micro layout "test track," and the baseboard for my current project. And voi la! I now have a layout nook.

     It's a sunny window, and there's an outlet at counter-top height just behind the fridge.  Actually, I don't envision operating in this space, nor do I think I'll do much modeling in here. But it seems right to have a place where work in progress can sit level while I'm not working on it, but don't want to properly put it away. Having it "out" makes it available and inviting. So when I come home and see it sitting there, I can move it to my modeling table (just two feet to my right as I took the picture) and tinker away to my heart's content.

Stub Switch

     Here's an amazing bit of trackwork I found in an old MR magazine. It's a three-way stub switch that functions as a double slip! It took me a while to puzzle out just what happens when you throw it, but it's actually really simple when you finally see it. Here we see the turnout in its center position, acting like it's not  really there (upper and lower routes go their own way.) Pull the throw downward, and the straight line goes through. Push it upward, and the curving line goes through. Genius! I'm considering making it the focal point of my new layout!

     Of course, we all know why this sort of trackwork went extinct a long time ago. Any route that isn't selected is a perfect derail; both rails lead off into the weeds. From a modeling standpoint, I don't see that as a problem. I'm talking about a micro layout here, not a mainline run. Switching is much of the fun, and this makes switching just a little more interesting. You see, I'm of the school of thought that says it's bad form to run your trains through an open switch. Just because there's a spring in there that allows a train to back through without derailing doesn't mean that's the way it works in real life. If the train's a-coming, they throw the switch. (I know there are exceptions, such as fixed or sprung points, but that's another story.)

     This arrangement also gives the opportunity to build a signal system showing which routes are clear and which are dead. Also, there's the problem of how to index the three-way throw. Electronic and mechanical challenges, Oh Boy! It just gets better and better =)

Godzilla-Board!

     Having disposed of the "surf-board" benchwork of the first attempt at realizing the T&D, I cast about for the right place to begin anew, and at home. Listening to some of the recent MRR podcasts, I heard someone (Terry Terrance, if I'm not mistaken) muse on the possibility of making your own heavy duty Gatorboard. Since I have the materials readily available, I decided to experiment. The result you see below.

     While it's not proper extruded polystyrene, the foam dollhouse packing that I recycle is tight enough to hold up under a number of modeling situations. The standard thickness is 1 1/8" and the sizes vary greatly. I selected three matched blocks and lined them up to form a 16" x 39" slab.  I cut code 80 chipboard (available and affordable at the art supply store) for the laminate, and spread an even coat of yellow carpenter's glue over the entire surface. Laid flat on the floor, I set my drawing boards on top (to spread the weight evenly) and loaded up my 2 foot stack of MR magazines, plus lots of books, then called it a night and went to bed. Next morning, I did the same for the other side, and tonight my home-made Godzilla-board is ready to go!

     While the surface is sturdy, you could dent it with a knee or elbow. With my drawing board flat on top on top, I actually sat on the pile of magazines with no hint of compression. The whole slab weighs a pound or two, but I suspect it will lighten up a bit as the glue moisture works its way out of the chipboard (which feels slightly cool, as that's where the water went.) It's as flat as my hardwood floor, which is as flat as I need it to be, and perfectly rigid. I plan to use it as the baseboard upon which I will build everything else. No holes or openings are planned, as wiring etc. will be built into successive layers. In the end, I plan to finish the outer surfaces with chipboard, prime heavily with acrylic gesso, and paint in some sort of faux finish to suggest rusty steel.

     But first things first! The slab dictates the dimensions, so my mini-layout now has a specified area. Since I can't model a whole railroad, I'll focus on one scene from the T&D. This is my favorite part of the process, figuring out a track plan, designing the scenery, and fitting it to the narrative. There's room for a few switches, maybe a runaround, and a structure or two. With a layout this small there's no reason not to spike every tie, weather every board, and detail every figure.

     I drool with anticipation =)