All Quiet on the Attic Front
My ideas for a 'permanent' model railway are all a bit of a hot mess really! 😵
As well as my normal capacity for changing my ideas every time I see some new idea elsewhere, I have the frustrating issue of just where in the house is the best place to set up a fixed layout board.
At the moment, my wife is suggesting - due to my health issues - that I abandon my attic man cave and move down one floor to a more convenient room on the 1st floor (two flights of stairs is a bit of a strain for me). The down side of this plan is that the 1st floor spare room is about the third of the size of my attic space! 😬
Problems, problems, problems...
Don't Panic and Carry On!
While I um and ah about which room I will build my model railway, there is noting, however, to stop me planning the basic layout. Either room has roughly the same corner space for a potential layout of about 120cm x 65cm. So, I can at least tinker with a base board of that shape and size.
I've been tinkering with the free version of ANYRAIL 6 to plan my track layout, principally because it has a built in KATO Unitrack parts library. I used it to plan my latest temporary test track set-up which I used in my recent video...
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| Above: My Test Track No. 2 design in AnyRail 6. Here you see how much bigger my layout can be on our dining room table than my permanent layout size. |
A Not So Grand Plan...
Test Track #2 allowed me to practise with a couple of small branch sidings - and that was a LOT of fun - and this experience was stored away in my 'ideas bank' for future use.
This set-up had me thinking about my eventual deign for my first 'permanent' layout (although I say 'permanent' it is still likely that I won't get the design right on the first attempt, so a second and maybe even third 'permanent layout will probably replace that)!
I definitely like the idea of having two locomotives running at the same time and this 'half way house' approach with 'tag teaming' two locos just made me want more simultaneous loco action. So, it's looking like I will have to have some sort of duel loop layout with each loop separately powered [I am not thinking about DCC power at this stage]...
The above first rough idea was a 'sketch' where I played with just how I would transfer traffic from one loop to another. I tried out a pair of sonneted turnouts (top) and a double crossover piece (bottom) to solve this issue, the crossover is tempting as it will - naturally - allow trains to exchange lines in both directions. But, I have a sneaking suspicion that there will be hidden complications to running this complex section of track (who knows).
Still, whichever way I do it I'll then be able to designate one line as my 'main line' and the other as my 'local line' which will then connect to my shunting branches inside my loops...
My 'main line' will be where I run my 'big' regional trains - such as my commuter unit and inter-city passenger trains (and also my larger freight trains, for exchanging good to my local line).
[I now have two of the three type of loco I want to run on this line; my red DE10 and my new blue DD51, all I need is some sort of commuter multi unit.]
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| Above: KATO N Gauge 10-1743E *JR 103 Series EMU 4 Car Powered Set. I'm really smitten with this colourful little commuter unit! |
My main issue is that most of the Japanese commuter trains seem to be electric units - like the JR 103 series that keeps catching my eye - and I really wanted my layout to be all diesel. So I will have to keep looking around to see what models of that type are available. (If I eventually have to make my outer line 'electric', though, I will.)
Which brings us to the idea for my 'inner line'.
My vague notion here - and I'm no railway expert by any means - is that my inner loop is the transfer line linking main line traffic to my inner freight branches. Does that make any sense? 😶
So, for example, my big DE10 loco would bring regional wagons onto this line so that they could be parked and then transferred to their final destinations by my small shunters. You can see on the picture above that I have faintly sketched in potential branch lines leading off the inner loop (in light blue).
Now I know veteran model railway enthusiasts will crack up at this amateurish idea and point out the realities of how a railway works in reality, but my emphasis is 'fun things to do'. My layouts are not authentic recreations of 'so-and-so' line and stations from 'so-and-so' era and location... Remember, the whole reason I am doing this is because I love the movie 'Spirited Away' and so have a very fanciful notion about what kind of railway I would like! 😂
Obviously, this sketch idea will undoubtedly change - regularly - as my track collection increases and with the more test track experience I gain.
But, from my 'track day' I had yesterday I can say that wherever this goes I'll be having fun doing it!
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