Cropped from this photo by Jon Bryant / CC BY-SA 2.0
My dream layout is a large tail chaser where a train can run for a reasonable length of time before it gets back to where it started. I think this quote sums up what I want far better than anything I could write:
...my real hankering is for a big layout. Not just long sweeping curves and sidings you can lose a few wagons in but a recreation of the linear space the real railway has. I like the approach to a town and the junctions, sidings and yards you pass as the train slows for the stop.- number6 of RMWeb, describing his plan for Southerham.
The only place I have room for something like that is the loft. I think it would be 00 rather than 009 and based in the South East - probably the South Western Main Line or one of the connecting lines. I'd build a double track loop round the edge of the loft with a 3rd rail, with some of the track being partly hidden (not so much 3rd rail fitting needed). There will also be some double or single track lines which leave the main line and crosses the main line at least once, perhaps including a junction loosely on Worting Junction. A small yard, and perhaps a couple of sidings elsewhere would certainly be part of the plan and I'd like to include a station, though I probably won't run many passenger trains - the station may be based on Eastleigh, but probably with smaller platforms and buildings - maybe looking more like Shawford. In my ideal world I'd also include a representation of a depot - perhaps based on the Northam Desiro MPD - however in my current house I doubt I have the space. Anyway, this is a dream and since the loft needs quite a lot of work to make it suitable for a railway it will probably stay a dream for a few more years.
2 comments:
The trouble with large layouts is not the real-estate they need, more the time investment. I've found that the danger is that after the first flood of enthusiasm, that expanse of bare MDF is too much to cope with. The small easily finished mid-sized layout give more satisfaction in the short-term.
A good point. I don't have much time at the moment. I'm also certain that they'll be things about building a large layout that I would find really tedious. I think once I got to the stage of being able to run trains and work on scenery I'd be ok. I like seeing in-progress layouts that have trackbed & contours, so if I got to that stage I think it'd get my enthusiasm going again. However I don't think I'd get to that stage quickly enough.
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