I've been mulling over the idea of building an N scale shelf layout and decided to put together a few things and try out some ideas. I was mainly looking for something very simple, so I started with Lance Mindheim's popular one-turnout layout idea. This features a single track 'main line' and a single siding that services several industry spots. However since N scale has the bonus of being very space-efficient, I decided to splurge and add a second turnout to service a transload track.
I wanted to take advantage of N scale's ability to model with minimal compression, so I decided to try a 1' x 12' space in order to 'stretch' the layout out to a more prototypical proportion. This will permit longer cuts of cars, rather than just the handful that one often sees on shelf layouts with a higher compression ratio. It also allows more prototypical turnout angles and track curvature.
One thing that I currently lack is an actual prototype to follow, hence the 'anonymous' designation. This is one area where I would like to ask folks for some input (ok, a
lot of input, really
). I'm thinking along the lines of a 'prototype inglenook' that one can sometimes find on an Internet search, but I haven't found anything suitable so far. I'm interested in a contemporary prototype (perhaps BNSF or MRL) with cars that match up to my model inventory: 50' and 60' boxcars, various covered hoppers, centerbeam and bulkhead flats, plus a few gons, tanks, and such. Power is EMD: SD40-2, SD45-2, and SD70ace (yep, that's already biased toward MRL
) and perhaps some GE as well (Dash-9 mainly). One other wish is a Rocky Mountain locale so that I can have a nice backdrop with some snow-covered peaks against a clear blue sky.
I slapped together a quick little test/demo version that you can see in the below pics. This uses some leftover Atlas C55 track that I had lying around. Ultimately I want to use hand-built Code 40 track, but that will have to wait until I settle in on a finalized plan. I also added in some crude structure mockups just to get a sense of scale and how things will look together. The whole thing at this point is essentially an operational mockup.
Rolling stock is equipped with LEZ couplers. I've been fiddling with some of these to get them to couple with very little effort: I want to couple cars at very low speeds (<5 scale mph) without having the target car bounce or push away when the couplers make contact. (Note, the regular MT couplers do that too, and of course they also slinky like crazy at the very low speeds). Results so far are promising, tho it is a work in progress.
Anyways here are the pics:
Thanks for looking, all thoughts and comments are very much welcome!
Ed
