Tuesday, August 12, 2014

Subway planning



I've been putting in more time planning of late - a subway area under the main deck of the layout.

I already have the train picked out. I've had it picked out for years now. I had originally given up on the subway section thinking that it was too much in too small a space. Then I was looking over my layout and thought, "Why can't I just hang another track from the bottom?" So...yup...gonna do it! :)


I have a a look that I want for the area itself. It's simple, modern and has a nice design element to it.










It will be a fun addition as long as I can keep my kids away from it. :)  The advantage of the layout bench work as it stands now is that the kids don't have access to it. However, if I go under the deck, they'll be able to get to it. I'm going to place a front of the scene so I can keep them away from it. It'll be covered with plexiglass, so you'll still be able to see in. Should work nicely. Even keep more dust out.

I want to detail things up a lot. One thing that's always bothered me is the distance between the train and the platforms. I need to work that out, but...you know..if I don't I'll still be ok. heh  I want lights, signage and all the small little details in the subway area including the grime found near the tracks. It'll give me a lot to work on, that's for sure.


Permil (M`s Craft / $34) has a subway platform, but i think I'm going to build my own. It does look nice, however. It might be a good start to planning - breaking down what they did and emulating it.

http://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10250758

I'm also going to have a entrance to the subway as well, of course. I might go with the Tomytec version, but - again - I might just make my own. It's a rather simple design and I should be able to do something cool with it. However...I'll pick up this $7 item as a safety.   :)




I'll only be running one train, but I might go with double tracks anyway. Jury isn't out on that one yet. Honestly, that's one detail I may skimp on - going with a single track instead of double. Half the work, really. :)

There's a guy I follow on GOOGLE+ who's done a pretty cool tunnel. I like the look of it and will shoot for something like it. It's a cool construction and the overall feel is working really well, though I think he's still struggling with lighting. I thought it looked fantastic, but he's still tweaking.




So...the plan is in place. Now I just need to wait for funding for materials.   Hello FREELANCE! :)








2 comments:

  1. I've always been bothered by the size of the gaps between platform and train at my stations but mostly when looking down at them. If your subway station is going to be seen though a window under the layout then the angle of view may do a lot to hide that gap. Looks like an interesting project and I look forward to seeing how it shapes up.

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    1. Agreed, Brad!
      I'm thinking it may be a bit of a non-issue in the long run. People are not going to want to see it from the head on view anyway. All the real action will be looking from the side to see the train, platform, people and details.
      Thanks for looking!

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