Wunceover Light Tram

“Ah, yeah,” I thought and the light bulb began to flicker. I knew that certain criteria couldn’t be met in that space, but maybe if I could go just a little bigger. I went out and measured the back of the car again, and found that I could meet almost all of the original criteria if I could fit the plan into a space 20×40″. Hmm…

I went into design mode using a variety of software — Empire Express for the track plan, and SketchBookExpress and Pixelmator for the scenic treatment — and came up with my version of the plan.

My version expands the curve radii to 7 5/8″, and uses the Pilz/Tillig switches and flex track.

HOn30 Mini-Layout FINAL

You’ll see the same basic concept of the line, except that I’ve added an additional siding at the left-center. The basic idea is that the railroad was originally installed to haul supplies to the lighthouse and keeper’s house at the right side of the layout from the little pier at the upper left. At that point, the only buildings on the island were the lighthouse and keeper’s house.

Eventually, the Coast Guard automated the light, and the keeper and his family decided to convert their home into a bed-and-breakfast. The maintenance workshop was constructed, along with its siding and a storage track. Also, a shelter was built on the pier, which now serves both the B&B guests and supply shipments from the mainland.

With increased traffic, and B&B guests expecting a certain level of “creature comfort,” a small coach car was constructed, as well as a couple of boxcars and flats.

Although not shown on this drawing, a small house was also constructed along the creek for the B&B’s handyman and his companion, who also helps out at the B&B.

With a plan now firmly in place, I spent parts of yesterday and today collecting and rounding up a few more supplies for this little project. As it turns out, with the exception of the lighthouse, I have all the structures I need for the project.

Two of the structures, the workshop and the small house, date back to the first HO scale layout that my father built when I was about six years old. At that time, the kits were marketed by Atlas. Both are still available, now sold by Model Power. The little station is an AMB Laserkit, which I built in a hotel room while on a business trip several years ago.

I still anticipate building a second HOn30 layout to use some of the other HO structures I have on hand or have recently purchased. But I think this will be an excellent testing ground for some interesting portable layout build concepts. At this point, I need very little in the way of additional supplies, and I believe that construction will proceed pretty rapidly.

At Peach Creek, I picked up two pair of Pilz/Tillig HOn30 switches and a few pieces of HOn30 flex track. I also had a good chance to look at Bachmann’s scenic items — particularly their line of trees. For smaller scales (HO included), they’ve got some really nice, affordable boxes of trees. I’ll certainly be using them on the HOn30 layout(s), and likely some will find their way to the On30 as well.

Tillig HOn30 Turnout (Bottom)

Tillig HOn30 Turnout (Top)

Back to the track. The Pilz/Tillig turnouts are really quite nice, and have a couple of unique features, the most notable being that they are flexible. Yes, you read that right. While they have a nominal 14″ radius diverging route, the entire turnout can be bent to create a curved turnout or a wye. A close look at the picture of the bottom of the turnout shows how that works.

Tillig have also seen fit to pre-install a solder tab so that the frog can be easily wired, and they include a pair of insulated rail joiners, a pair of regular rail joiners and a couple of extra solder tabs. Nifty.

There is a drawback to these turnouts over the Peco — some sort of switch throw is mandatory. While the Peco have an integrated hold-over spring, the Tillig’s have none. And, with the point rails being continuous into the frog, they tend to want to stay centered. That said, I do have a large quantity of micro-slide switches that I think I can attach to the bottom of the turnout. That would allow holding the points appropriately, and also be able to be used to route the power to the frogs.

Bachmann 32008-1 Elm Trees

The picture above shows one of the many types of Bachmann trees (they have almost 40 varieties/sizes). They really look better in person than they do in this picture, and will make excellent foreground HOn30 trees (and very good mid-ground On30 trees). They tend to be under $7 a box (typically three trees) at either Peach Creek or Moose Caboose. (For “background” trees on the HOn30, Scenic Express “Super Trees” will also be used — they’re really economical!).

I also stopped by The Moose Caboose to pick up a box of cork roadbed and see what other trouble I could get in to. Glenn did a good job, though, of keeping me in line (I think Donna must have called ahead!), though I did look around the shop to see what interesting HO stuff was there. Woodland Scenics have some beautiful built-ups, although they’re really expensive.

At JoAnne’s, I picked up a couple of rolls of moss ribbon. I have no idea what this stuff is intended for, but it looks like it’s going to be fantastic for making vines and ivy. From there, I moved on to Michaels, where I picked up about a half-dozen different kinds of floral wire (for tree-making) and some really tiny tools. Also, for tree-making, I picked up some masking tape and a couple of gray and brownish spray paints from Lowes.

All that was just about a hundred miles on Donna’s car. Can’t wait to get mine back from the shop!

Corinna off the wall at the GSMTS

I spent the past weekend at the Great Scale Model Train Show in Timonium. As planned, I took Corinna for the On30 modular setup, and everything worked a treat! My modules ran well, and were a subject of much curiosity and discussion. There are more pictures at the MADmodules site.

Motrak Models HO scale "Little Depot"

I also went a little wild on the shopping front. In addition to some basic scenic supplies for the layout, I went ahead and bought a few things for the HOn30 project — a MinitrainS Plymouth diesel set and a very nice little station kit from Motrak Models. Stylistically, it’s a perfect match for the other two HO station kits I have already on hand, and so will work very nicely on the mini-layout.

I was not able to see all of the available Peco track for HOn30. Apparently, it’s not all available in the states — we’re limited here to a “medium” radius turnout and meter-long flex track sections. The Peco medium turnouts are pretty similar in size to a regular Atlas snap-switch, but with chunkier ties. I’m going to spend a little bit of time to see if I can find someone in the UK who ships to the US to try to get a couple of the “set” series HOn30 switches. If I can’t do that, then I’ll just go with Atlas and bury it in the dirt.

As an aside, I previously mentioned that Tom Bell was designing a few conversion shells and whatnot for HOn30. Since my last posting, he seems to have increased his offerings on the Shapeways site, and he now has models in HOn30, TTn3 and On30 listed at very reasonable prices. I’ll probably be ordering an item or two from him in the next week or so…

In the mean time, I’ve decided it would be prudent to build a “proof-of-concept” mini-layout prior to going all-out on the three-piece display. I’m thinking that 20″x30″ or so will still be the size to get going with — just a loop with a switch or two for fun.

Second up, I’ve looking at some stuff for bashing HOn30 locos. A fellow I’ve corresponded with in the past (Tom Bell) has designed several HOn30 items, which can be purchased through Shapeways. Here’s a link to Tom’s designs: http://www.shapeways.com/shops/tebee

Finally, Dallas Mallerich just posted this link on facebook: http://www.009.cd2.com/members/how_to/nouaillier_a.htm

As it turns out, the original layout was built by Bob Van Gelder in a space 30″x60″, but I was still determined to see if I could make it fit into 24″x40″. After some further digging, I found that Peco’s small-radius HOn30 switches have a 9″ radius, so I based a sketch on a 9″ radius. Still, no joy.

In any event, this is a train show weekend! So, once we’ve got the MADmodules set up and running, I’ll have some time to browse the aisles. There are at least two dealers who carry HOn30 items who will be present at the show — and, they’re both somewhat local as well. Hopefully, I’ll be able to get my hands on something useful this weekend.

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.

Conway, Broomshire & Hill Town Railroad Track Plan

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!

HOn30 Portable Layout Track Plan

There are a few things that you’ll notice right off the bat.

First, there are no passing sidings or run-arounds. Which is okay since all the sidings face the same way. There’s still fun to be had operating the little railroad, as the area inside the loops to the right is a full-fledged Inglenook and there are two additional destinations for goods.

I’ll start fleshing out the where the structures and scenery go soon, but generally speaking, the right half of the layout will be a gritty, urban/industrial area featuring the RDA Dulaney Iron Works kit along with a couple of Downtown Deco Addams Avenue kits. The area in the upper left will be a bit more rural, and the siding will serve an RDA Easton Mill building.

I also have a couple of tiny stations, and plan to have a total of three on the layout. That will offer plenty of opportunity for a short passenger train to get in the way of freight operations. Or, I may simply decide that this is a “one horse road” and run a single train. Even so, this still opens up the possibility for two folks to play trains — one as engineer and the other as brakeman/conductor.

In any event, I think this could do a good job of meeting pretty much all the criteria I set out last week. Since I have so many of the structures, I can still keep costs down, leaving the bulk of the expense in the track and trains.

In the mean time …

In our last episode, I was rambling on about the virtues of the Gage Vest Pocket Railway, a sprawling farm/estate railway built in the early ’20′s. Were HOn30 my only scale, I might be able to pull that off. But in a 30′x60′ space, the result would likely be less than optimal.

If we look back to my original criteria for this project, we will see that this layout is supposed to be as inexpensive as possible, and that means using as much “on hand” material as possible. This quickly became a bit of a problem, because frankly, the only farm building I have on hand is a small barn. It’s an excellent barn, mind you. But still…

What I do have on hand are a few gritty industrial-type structures: the Dulaney Iron Works made by Railway Design Associates, and a couple of the Addams Avenue kits from Downtown Deco.

Dulaney Iron Works

Addams Avenue Pt2

Addams Avenue Pt3

Not much like farmland, but very much more like a gritty industrial area. I’ve also found a shop online that has a few other RDA kits still on hand at prices that are reasonable, should I decide a little additional grit is required.

Track planning is underway, and I’m finding the limited space planning to be astoundingly challenging. While I’ve headed down a path of an oval with spurs here and there, I’m really wanting to try to figure a folded dogbone into the space. I know that the track will fit, as I’ve done that in the past in N-scale, but wedging in the HO building spaces are the problem. I do have a picture in my head, and maybe I’ll try to bring you a sketch of that in the near future.

For now, I have to get back to the On30 pike, though, as Corinna is due to debut in two weeks!

After talking with Kevin about some of my ideas for the HOn30 pike, and we’ve decided to plow on, full speed ahead. At the same time, we’ll be plowing on, full speed ahead on our regularly scheduled On30 projects. “What the heck,” we figure. Model railroading is supposed to be fun, despite the fact that Model Railroader magazine removed it from their masthead several years back. What’s up with that, anyway?

Anyway, while reading a page on Carl Arendt’s Small Layout Scrapbook, I stumbled across a really neat idea for a layout — a private estate railway, set in New York. An article, which you can view here, appeared on the railroad in the December, 1923 issue of Popular Science.

While the prototype was a 2-mile-long point-to-point layout, I still think it might make an interesting basis for the little portable HOn30 line we’re going to start building. There are, however, certain features I wanted to include on the layout that are lacking in this prototype — specifically, some sort of wharf scene. Even so, this looks like a really fun little theme for a “macro” layout.

This morning’s thoughts are:

• That there are three sections to build 30″x60″ layout. (my first N-gauge layout was this size, and I think it would be a good size for HOn30, too).
• Should allow reasonable operation as well as “roundy-round”
• Operations for two
• 360 degree viewing
• Each section is about 20″x30″ and is built into a “brief case” that holds/protects/carries the layout and has a small drawer or drawers for supplies such as the trains, wire connections, tools, other loose bits. EVERYTHING necessary should be able to fit into the layout cases (except, possibly, DCC system*).
• Height of cases is limited such that the cases can fit across the back of a 2010 Hyundai Elantra Touring and still have room for camera or overnight bags and other stuff, preferably without folding down the back seats.
• Rolling stock not limited to MinitrainS offerings. Should be little 4- or 8-wheel boxcars, flats and gons, and little passenger cars, too.
• Setup should involve next to nothing – put cases on table, remove lids, click together, play trains.
• Structures, scenery items live on the layout.
• Structures mostly card stock or other quick/easy/cheap bashes.
• Construction concurrent with On30 layout.
• Track could be simple as Atlas N-Gauge snap track (with joints soldered) with most of the ties buried.
• Except for cases, all foam construction

So, with all those thoughts to chew on, I leave you to your morning coffee…

The question now becomes one of just how serious do I want to get about this. It is, after all, just a little diversion, so it’s gotta be pretty cheap and fast and easy. And, all folded up, it’s got to be able to fit comfortably in the back of my little car.

Hmm… Wonder what HO stuff I’ve still got laying about in the basement….

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!