Downsizing a layout without losing character
that years ago since it’s fun to actually see them up close.
I’m trying to work very slowly on the
Though not yet finished, the far end of the layout is much narrower and represents the still rural edge of town, with this classic Southern Pacific wooden station, some trackside sheds, and a packing plant. The author plans to add a few more trees to this section.
layout since a problem with the last was that I actually finished it. I still have room for a couple of new struc- ture models, including a Richfield gas station and an old A&W stand but then it’s pretty much done. Then what? Since the layout is so high (just over 48 inches), I figure I can fit another under it, between the legs, that can be rolled out when I want to work on it or let the grandkids watch trains go round and round. This time I want to try On30 so I can run the geared locomotives that used to huff and puff though the Northwest woods, including right near where I now live. I figure I can fit a squished oval under the layout and have it stick out just a foot or so. I already have a Shay, some track and one small bridge kit. Maybe next winter.
If it doesn’t fit... D
ownsizing means getting rid of stuff, something I am very re- luctant to do (ask my wife). So when my layout had to get smaller, I starting loping off parts instead. For instance, to
use one of my earliest models of the carefully measured circus- style loading ramp at River station in Los Angles (RMC, April, 1988), I had to put it so close to the fascia that there was only room for two truncated tracks: one too short for anything and the other just long enough for an SP F-70-10 TOFC flatcar (which I plan to build this winter). What I wanted was a place to display my models of the colorful Pacific Motor Trucking trailers and trucks and this ramp is where they were loaded. There are also a couple of short tracks that die into the fascia for a future fueling area and caboose storage. One engine will fit on the fueling track, though it won’t be able to go anywhere, and one caboose will fit on its track and ditto–no place to go. However, I will be able to use some fuel fillers I scratchbuilt and a few ca- boose accessories, including an ice wagon. Similarly, the model of the “C” freight shed at River Station was too long so I cut it at an angle (which was not easy) so it would fit at the very end of the layout. Again, I wanted to see a pair of resin overnight cars I had made parked out front. For photographs I can
hold up a temporary backdrop but otherwise the freight house juts out there with no backdrop, though there is a bit of raised fascia to keep cars from rolling off the layout. Other tracks simply die into the backdrop, sometimes hidden
by buildings cut into odd shapes or covered loading docks. Sometimes they run smack into the “sky” because I couldn’t come up with a better idea. Visitors are usually kind enough not to point this out.–ROBERT SMAUS
48
OCTOBER 2013
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