A Diversion
Sunday, January 3rd, 2010Donna and I were talking last night about the possibility of building, in addition to the main Maine railroad, an industrial switching layout that would be a small, bookshelf kind of thing. At first, we remarked about just how much railroad could be built in four square feet in N scale. But, the more I thought about it the more my thoughts diverged.
On the one hand, I have a lot of On30 stuph that isn’t going to make it to the primary layout — Peco track and funky gas mechanical switchers and little Porter steamers, for instance. On the other hand, I could build a whole lotta railroad in a very small space in N scale. Or, a compromise could be achieved in HOn30.
In any event, the idea has continued to grow, so to speak, from one little micro-layout into a two-, and then three-section affair, with each section being a complete scene. Essentially, three separate micro-layouts that are designed to link (and travel) together, each in a shadow-box setting. Overall length would max out at about 12 feet, and the overall depth and height would be limited to 12 inches.
Removable-pin hinges would be used to align and connect the shadow boxes, and for transport, the whole thing could be folded up and a protective panel added to the open face. When at home, the layout would simply sit on either book shelves or shelf brackets. On the road, tall folding tables (or standard folding tables with leg extensions) would be the layout base.
This is the kind of thing that could keep a couple of operators busy for at least a couple of hours, so, DCC would be the control system of choice. Since the layout would be so small, only a couple of locomotives would even fit. So, it’s a natural choice to use the modified MRC Command2000 system I have laying around.
Since the locos are going to be very small no matter which scale I choose, sound in the model itself is probably going to be a problem, so I’d have to make all the sounds ambient “suggestions”. This could be easily achieved using “sound only” decoders with their outputs coupled with various other sound modules through a mixer of some sort, feeding small speakers placed in each layout section.
Lighting could be provided for each box using strings of inexpensive Christmas tree lights (that I already happen to have on hand).
The more I think about this, the more I like the idea!
