While having a day off from work yesterday, it occurred to me that I had been looking at the HOn30 portable layout from a fairly narrow perspective, so to speak. In planning, I was pretty stuck on using 20″x30″ as a unit dimension in the layout sections. Surely, there would be other shapes/sizes that would fit into the back of the car equally well. And so, I measured the back of the car a little more carefully. What I found is that I have a full clearance space that is 40″ wide, 24″ deep and 20″ tall — without folding the back seats or blocking the rear window.
That opens up some other interesting possibilities for “section” shapes. For instance, I could do two 40″x24″ units, 9″ tall. Or, four 40″x12″ shelf sections. Those could either make a long, skinny switching layout or a 40″x64″ or 52″x52″ continuous-run layout. A scenic-only-section could fill the open space in the middle.
I got thinking about this perspective thing after stumbling across this plan for the Conway, Broomville & Hill Town Railroad somewhere in my travels ’round the ol’ internet.
Could something with this character fit into the confines of two 40″x24″ panels and still be made with continuous running, while still using basic Atlas snap-track components?
The short answer is, “Not likely.” But, I’m at least going to look at it, as I really like the look of this arrangement.
Of course, I could also adapt it for a part of the Corinna & Searsport On30 layout. Yeah. That’s a better idea!



