Tuesday, August 22, 2017

Another layout revamp - again, for the better!



My goofy-ball daughter :)


I went through another round of track organizing and design post-vacation. I came back with a fresh view of what I wanted and what I was aiming for and, again, the slower pace paid off.





Video Update:




So...I was looking at the layout space and saw that I still had some squirrely bits on it that didn't make sense. I also had added a switch before my vacation only to find out that it caused an electrical fail that ruined my setup. 

I addressed the electrics first. It turned out that I just had a feeder in place that was botching the works at one point. I t was grand as well because I solved the issue right before heading out to buy more gear to try and fix the problem. Saved myself some cash. :) 

Then it was on to the bits that didn't work for me. Mainly the lack of space in the harbor area.






It was really congested and  I didn't think it made sense having a high speed rail line zoom past a fishing harbor scene. The line pushed the freight line out and ate up a lot of space. So, I moved the sucker. hehehehe


The original setup:




The new arrangement:


 This also fixed another area I wasn't thrilled with - this switch where the high speed rail had to do a little sweep out. It looked awkward when the high speed trains ran through it. Seeing the freight do it was kinda cool, but the other trains looked odd.

 

The new arrangement has the high speed line as a straight shot right through while the freight line pops out - it's working for me.


I also get a better auto underpass which checks off another box for me. I might raise the road, then drop it as it goes under the bridge. I'll have to see how it goes as I start in on that side of the planning.




I took the switch from the old arrangement and moved it over to the shipping area which allowed me to make that space longer. Another want checked off.

 

This is a better setup, but it introduced another issue- the height of the buildings and rails in relation to the water area. I had planned on raising the water level, but saw that it was going to introduce some other issues I honestly didn't want to deal with. hehehehe   But now, the rail area where I wanted to have loading of fish and the like is WAY higher than the building area. The image below is showing the buildings on the pink foam, but they are really going to be on the deck. (where the wood shows in the bottom right corner )  I was wondering how I was going to get fish loaded on the trains at that height. I couldn't take the train down in the space I had to work with - I was already up two inches there.


I was looking a a bunch of options to drive trucks up on little roads and the like, but all that seemed silly. Then I thought, "Why not add a little interest and whimsy in here at this point? Some magical realism."  Like...a funicular lifting system that can be loaded up and then goods elevated up to the train space! 

I looked at a few options like this truck lifter.....



But then I found this nugget and fell in love with the idea.

The Lärchwandschrägaufzug.




So, people will load at the bottom by the harbor buildings in an area like the one pictured below....




Then the items (boxes....one of the little load wagons....forklifts....etc....) will be trucked up the hill to the loading staging area by the train. I want to have enough space there for the train to ave a loading space around it where people can work and move things around. Again, another great scene space to flesh out.



I'm going to scratch build the whole thing so it will be all mine, but I'll base the mechanics on the Lärchwandschrägaufzug. I love the look and feel. 





I might incorporate some other bits from other setups. I need to do some cherry picking of elements I see here and there when I Frankenstein my version together.




So....again...taking my time and planning things out is proving to be the wiser thing to do. Now that I've had some time to see what it is I really enjoy, I've been able to fold those elements into play. I highly recommend this approach.

IN OTHER NEWS:
I also need to continue building out the little diorama I'm putting together for a friend. I had to put it on hold due to vacations and family items, but I have it back on deck and hope to complete it in the next week or two so I can schedule a time to deliver it. Photos to follow.

Comments welcome!

Cheers!

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