Warning: The following falls under the category of Horribly Oversized (HO) scale. Those acustomed to Needlessly Narrow (N) may experience adverse side-effects.
Seriously though, I have been a lurker on TheRailwire for a couple of years now. This is my first post.
I am working on a small switching layout for my apartment. It is a freelanced design. I am trying to capture the feel of a 1920s class 1 granger railroad that was the last to build to anywhere. The inspiration is both the Chicago Great Western and the Minneapolis and St. Louis, railroads that were built in the last two decades of the 19th century and were forced to use corridors with steep grades and sharp curves. Their facilities in cities like Chicago and Minneapolis were cramped and didn't age well. These constraints and the need to compete against larger railroads such as the C&NW and the Milwaukee caused both railroads to be innovative and quirky (Eight covered wagons pulling 200 cars up a 2% grade in a tunnel...in Illinois? The Great Western did that. Stainless steel Budd coaches behind Pullman Green EMC doodlebugs? That was the M&StL.)
Anyways, since I don't have the space to model Saint Paul Union Depot or Northtown yard, I am focusing on a small freight house that served one of these late comers. It'll be cramped with just as much track as necessary to make moves possible without turning switching into a "move the empty slot" type problem. There will also be a team track that holds a couple of cars.
Construction will be unusual, based on a design that a friend of mine has used for close to 35 years (Currently on his 5000-sq ft layout. Youtube video below.). Instead of a wooden frame with foam or plywood on top of it, it will consist of 1/2" homasote splines, placed on edge and screwed together with drywall screws. As Jeff has proven on his layout, the resulting spline work is very stable over long runs, supports itself up to a support spacing of 42" without sagging, and is dead--and I mean dead--quiet. The downside is it can be heavy, but this layout is not supposed to be moved regularly. On the upside, Jeff has pieces of layout with handlaid track on them that he has reused successfully on three different layouts in three different cities.
Track will be handlaid Code 55. The emphasis is on zero derailments and smooth, flowing trackwork. Also, handlaying allows me to capture the non-standardized nature of early 20th century trackwork (Today, turnouts are ordered out of a catalog and emphasis is placed on standardization. In the past, track went where it was needed, even if it created quirky layouts.).
Since the Upload Folder is full, the two images I'd like to upload can be found here:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/51670624@N02/22075111404/in/dateposted-public/ and
https://www.flickr.com/photos/51670624@N02/22697895715/in/dateposted-public/.
The first is part of the inspiration, a photo taken by the City of Minneapolis somewhere in town sometime in the early part of the 20th century. You can see how the track threads itself between the buildings, giving the feeling of having been layed after the city was built up. The second is the current iteration of the track plan. It needs some tweeking because the pulling power of the locomotive that I will be using is less than I anticipated.
Currently, the locomotive is being tuned up (no pictures yet...). Splines will be cut in the next couple weeks and track laying will commence shortly after that.
Anyways, I can't promise consistent or frequent updates, but I will try.
Ryan
Minneapolis, MN
