THE DESIGN PROCESS

I decided to design the ultimate train layout keeping in mind some practical limits especially when it came to square footage.  There are those that will argue that I failed miserable on optimizing square footage.  Anyway, I knew that we would eventually move west, and assumed that we would be building our own home.  Therefore, another project I had going on was designing a mountain home in the tradition of Frank Lloyd Wright’s recognition of surroundings and nature.  On this score I got it  half right.  That is, the house incorporates the outside quit well, but does not fit the setting.  Matters not to me, because I live on the inside looking out!

Being one to set priorities based on the “fun factor,” I started to work on the train layout first.  Initially, I used a drawing package called AutoSketch.  This is a poor man’s CAD (Computer Aided Design) package made by the same people that developed AutoCAD an engineering standard. 

Once the design was complete, I decided to make an architectural model of the layout that was 1/8” the size of the real layout.  I am not sure I needed to do this, but it gave me an excuse to purchase a really nice scroll saw.  It also gave me the opportunity to view the layout in 3 dimension and make some changes and tweaks to problems I could not recognize in 2 dimension.

After I finished the train layout design, I set about to design the house.  I used several house design programs and had a number of designs ranging from 12,000 square feet to the current 6,731 square feet.  One thing was constant – any house we built had to have space for the trains.

After we moved into our home and replaced our 9 year old computer, the kids got me a software package made specifically for designing model railroad layouts.  This program (Cadrail) allowed me to create the same layout as I did with the other program, but with a level of accuracy as relates to track etc., that would assure that my layout would work correctly once built.  I guess the best analogy is it allowed me to create blueprints for model train design.

It was then time to build the layout.

PROTOTYPE VERSUS CLUTTER

In my mind there are two schools of thought regarding building model railroads.  Actually there is only one, I made up the second.  True railroad aficionados believe that a model railroad should be modeled after something real.  These are prototype modelers.  They pay great attention to detail as relates to a real railroad line.  And if not exactly modeled after an actual rail line, they try to make their layouts realistic from an operational point of view.  I, on the other hand, believe in the “clutter theory.”  I believe in cramming the maximum amount of activity in a square foot as possible.  This probably stems from the enjoyment I get from building railroad related things and not actually operating the trains.  I also do believe the more activity and detail there is, the more interesting is the layout.

I have great respect for those that prototype – they are very good at what they do.  It is just not me.

INTERCONECTIVITY VERSUS STAND ALONE

My original design had a number of mainlines connecting between various sections.  As I began to build the first section I realized I could get more trains running at one time if I abandoned this theory and made each section independent of any other.  This also allowed me to stick to a theme (e.g. steam versus diesel) more easily.  Now I only have two doodlebugs running between sections.  I run 186 locomotives/traction items and a total of 152 independently operating trains, trolley runs and switcher activity.  When you look at the design of individual sections you will notice that an individual section can run hidden under another section for turn around.  Also, I rarely run more than one section at a time.  There is nothing worse than hearing something go thud 60 feet away that you cannot get to directly.