Well as the long weekend draws to a close & the mind starts to wander to the income producing activities i have to achieve this week.....I am no closer to deciding on a prototype location to model. The Goulburn weather has not been conducive to outside activities ( read...things i should have done ) & i have spent a fair portion of time flicking through thr myriad of books i have collected over the years hoping that a location that ticks all of my operating wishes jumped out at me.
I suppose the issue of modelling an exact prototype location should have already been decided ???. Well that is what my purist portion of my mind is telling me. I have the layout room built & ready to go, i have modified a portion of the benchwork to accomodate a couple of bridges i want to showcase, i have all the control infrastructure sorted, plenty of track, structures, locos & rollingstock...so what is the issue???
Maybe this is where my nickname "The Retard" comes into play....is what i am suffering a type of writers block...or am i expecting too much from this layout. If my wife was reading this post she would probably throw procrastination into the mix.
My original plan was for a double track main continuous loop with the lines leaving & entering a staging area located in the 3metre x 3.4 metre area at the end of the layout room....leaving a 9 metre x 3.4 metre area of scenicked running space.
The main reason for a double track main was because of the fact that the layout will probably be operated by me only for the great majority of the time & this would allow me to sit back, put the feet up & watch two trains circumnavigate the room while i quaff copious amounts of tea & i can stop / start & vary trains through the staging area.
I guess at the end of the day if i have to name a couple of layouts that inspire me it would be the likes of Lambing Flat & Bylong. The sheer quality of these layouts goes without saying ...they just evoke a quaintness & an unmistakeable country branch charm that in prototype, is just a memory. The attention to detail & the ability to reproduce a more than convincing atmosphere is something to aspire to also taking into account that i have seen neither of these layouts in the flesh & the quality has to transcend through photo or video is a true credit to the respective builders.
Maybe this is the moral of the story....quality not quantity. The more i think about it a single main line with a branch or two may well offer me operational enjoyment & a finished article that is easier to maintain & operate solo....Now what to do with all the structures i have complete, under construction & in kitform.....
To be continued.....
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Another view of the completed structures showing a station destined for the layout |
More completed structures vying for a spot on the layout
The single line truss bridge on the branch has been placed, weathered & track laid.
The two span double track truss bridge designed for main line use, is yet to be placed &
may well be only utilised for single track use...not unknown in prototype.
The tunnel portals take the track from the main layout area into the staging area
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