Up to this point, I hadn't put a topic in "Layout Engineering Reports," because I don't have a layout, just several Smart-N modules. But since MC Fujiwara has broken that ground with his Free-MoN modules, I figured it was about time to try to consolidate my scattered posts.
There's also the fact that, at train shows, my modules invariable get set up in the same order. So effectively they
do function as a layout, albeit one that's only assembled for three days at a time.
So, here's my little empire:
From oldest to most recent...
1. North Sheldon / Area 53My loop module is split into two scenes, that are separated by a skyboard on the module and about 700 miles on the map. North Sheldon is a freelanced engine facility nominally located in west-central Indiana, with a modern-era roundhouse and vestigial evidence of earlier uses. It's also one of the main control points on MARRS' N-scale setups. Initial scenery was completed many moons ago, and I intend to go back eventually and detail the heck out of it, but newer projects keep intruding. Since the usual geometry of the MARRS layout puts this scene on the
inside of the layout, it's a relatively low priority.
Area 53 is meant to represent a government facility that's recently had a major security upgrade, which involved abandoning an existing road and railroad crossing, and relocating the entrance to make room for a security checkpoint. This scene is largely complete, but it's continually being upgraded, including the in-progress addition of working crossing signals to replace earlier (extremely cheesy) dummy signals. And yes, the giant robot and UFO are removable for "serious" photos, if I were ever serious.
(And I can't believe I don't have a better "overall" picture of the scene online...)
2. Langham JunctionNamed after a 50-foot-high "mountain" near Kankakee, IL and the KB&S mainline, this "shuriken" module allows MARRS to use an extra loop on our dogbone-style layout. It also functions perfectly well as a normal corner module. Eventually, I have plans to replace this with a much more elaborately-sceniced module that performs the same function.
3. ICRR BridgeThis is my gesture toward the pure-prototype folks (sort of as a penance for Area 53): a to-scale replication of the Illinois Central's (now CN's) crossing of the Kankakee River at Kankakee, IL. There are lots of nitpicky details still to be taken care of here, but the overall effect is pretty much what I've been shooting for.
4. Kankakee StationJust north of the bridge is the prototype for my latest module, the Kankakee, IL railroad station and its environs. This is the station mentioned in the song "City of New Orleans," and quite a classical railroad structure. This will be a somewhat selectively-compressed version of the area. I've got most of the landforms in place, and I'm working on plans for the structures.
Approximate area that will be represented on the module:
So, that's where things currently stand. When I have a chance, I'll collect the previous Railwire threads I've created for these modules and post a list of links.
