Layout Design

I have been doing some work lately on designs that are "non-contiguous". That is, the various sections or decks of the layout are not connected directly by tracks as in a helix or liftout, but instead the connection is implied and comes only through staging and operations linkage. I wrote about this idea of ops-and staging-linked decks in the Spring 2003 issue of the Layout Design SIG's Layout Design Journal (#28). It's been great to see these ideas start to take on more practical form in a client's layout. In that case, the separate deck is a branch … trains going to the branch on the main deck actually enter a small staging yard. Likewise, trains emerge on the branchline deck (in another room in the basement) from a separate staging yard representing the "mainline" connection on the distant deck. The owner reports that while there were originally a couple of skeptics on the crew, everyone is enjoying the extra operating possibilities. Read on for other "non-contiguous" examples below.

What happens when the layout is small, the crew is consistently the same people almost every session, and job roles become a bit too easy? Sometimes, reworking the operating plan to focus on another element of the real or imagined prototype can bring a breath of fresh air. I'm working on one such alternative session now. The layout is prototype-based, so we're not changing things radically. But we're focusing on different trains and activities on the same layout. Layouts can be a bit like our old Carrom Board -- with different games to be played on the same infrastructure.

Ops Plans

Click image for layout details

N scale design for a "virtual" HO branch?   I've just added this "non-contiguous" layout example to the Layout Design Gallery. One of the ways to add interest to a layout is to imagine unmodeled locations "beyond the benchwork" represented by staging, as Rick Fortin and I did when developing an operations plan for his ATSF 4th District Layout. But then I got to thinking, what if we could actually operate there? This design for a portable N scale section was the result.

A first look at the Oakland Harbor Belt   I mentioned last month my plans for a proto-freelanced N scale layout to share our garage with the family car. I was amazed when I received dozens of requests for more information. OK, it was really just a few. Well, actually, just the one request, but she seemed really interested (thanks, Mom!). Anyway, I've put a couple of pages up on the web to give an idea of what I am planning for the Oakland Harbor Belt. If there's interest, I’ll add more over time.

Click image to visit the OHB

In the last few weeks, I realized that the plan I had been working on for the OHB had one major problem. Oh, it would have fit in the garage. And I've been designing for engaging operations and minimal reset time all along, so those aspects looked pretty good. But the footprint of the benchwork in the garage was going to make it sort of difficult to enter and exit the car.   That problem of access was continuing to nag at me. My family's very supportive of the layout, but the design was not "playing well with others", requiring a bit of contortion to exit the car and extreme precision in parking the vehicle. And in the long term, the household happiness quotient directly affects hobby satisfaction. So I'm modifying the trackplan to reconfigure the layout into a more family-friendly shape, negating the work I've done so far on a staging shelf and necessitating a fairly complete redesign. Is it painful to have such a substantial restart? Yes … but I think the whole family will be happier with the result.   The previous and current OHB plans are significantly based on non-contiguous layout sections, linked primarily through concept, operations, and staging (oh, and the odd car-float). My chosen prototype inspiration (the "pocket prototype" railroads of the Oakland/Alameda sections of the east San Francisco Bay area) and the broken-up, obstacle-filled garage space in which I am working seemed to lend themselves to this scheme. A major focus of my design effort has been to make use of "the big aisle" (where the car parks), so movable and suspended layout sections will come into play.   It's a slightly unorthodox approach, but I feel very encouraged by the way the plans have come together. There won't be enough room to incorporate every neat idea (is there ever?), but there is a freedom in the non-contiguous design that allows me to use space very efficiently.   There are still a number of challenges to be met. De-junkifying the garage appears to be a process, not an event. I need to rehang a door to swing the other way and manage ventilation of the garage to mitigate dust. And there's a lot of benchwork to build, track to lay and wire, etc., etc. But now that I am confident that the layout will be a better neighbor in the garage, I can proceed more quickly without the nagging fear that the benchwork for the primary yard at Fernside was going to smack the lovely wife on the elbow every time she got out of the car.   So the layout concept is in place; the re-worked plan's nearly done; the short-lived staging shelf has been scraped clean; loads of junk are going to charity, the dump, or eBay; and I have set a demanding goal for myself: first op session in September '06. I'll let you know how it's coming from time to time.   And in the meantime, if you'd like help with a layout design or operations plan that truly captures your layout vision, please contact me. At least that's something I can work on without moving the piles of old magazines in the garage.

Copyright © 2005 by Byron Henderson