Moving on from "Give Way to Trains".
I have for a while, been considering the best way to expand on my new found enthusiasm for 16mm scale micro layouts.
One thing I was considering was an extension to the original Cartel Challenge layout. This was the reason I built the Y turnout. At least one turnout would have been needed on the layout extension. I didn't enjoy the project, even though I have something that I'm proud to have made. I found the removal of the sections of rail that was needed to get everything to work tiresome and hard work. It's not like working with code 75 bullhead rail in 4mm scale, where the rail is trimmed to size and shape with some strokes of a file. Working with code 148 rail involved cutting sections of rail away with a track cutting disc. I didn't enjoy it at all. That's OK we all have aspects of the hobby we don't like. If I was modelling in any other scale I could buy turnouts. But that's not possible in 16mm scale. There are no R-T-R turnouts. There are downloadable .stl files for 3D printed track, But I've already established my track construction method, and wouldn't want to change from that. While I'm not a huge fan of hand spiking track, I can tolerate it more than filing, cutting and grinding code 148 rail.
What to do then?
There are only two blogs on the internet that I check everyday. One is James Hilton's "Paxton Road". James updates his site daily. There is always something skilled, interesting, and/or thought provoking to read. The other one I check is Chris Mears' "Prince Street". Chris' blog is like the tide, it comes in and out. Sometimes he posts regularly. Sometimes he goes for a while without an entry. But I find that if I don't check it, then I miss something interesting. Like back in September of last year when he posted this conceptual sketch for an idea of his called "Portage Tramway".
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| A catalyst |
Let's start with the name "Portage Tramway". If you live in Minnesota, portage is a word you become very familiar with:
Portage is the practice of carrying water craft or cargo over land, either around an obstacle in a river, or between two bodies of water. A path where items are regularly carried between bodies of water is also called a portage. The term comes from French, where porter means "to carry," as in "portable".
There are portages all over the Boundary Waters Area Canoe Wilderness in Northern Minnesota. That's what sprung to mind as I looked at this. Somewhere to run my Bachmann On30 stock.
A short narrow gauge railroad runs between a couple of lakes, taking freight and people about their daily lives. A vital lifeline in this vast remote area of the state. A couple of short sidings sitting on a rocky lake shore are all the railroad has here. A short one with a timber passenger shelter on it for passengers and a longer one, to a dock on the lakeshore. It certainly conjures up atmospheric images in my minds eye every time I think about it. My Bachmann Railbus could shuttle in and out of that passenger platform all day and keep me happy, while my Porter or other small loco shuffles freight off and on the dock, maybe spotting a car in the platform road to make a switching move.
But it's one heck of a long way from a 16mm scale industrial micro layout. But conceptually, it's not a huge leap.
It's the idea presented that's important here. There are two different worlds in this scheme. The short siding and the long one. Do you want viewers to admire the effort you put into a loco or some rolling stock? Sit it on the front siding. If you want to lose yourself in the moment, set a train slowly down the rear siding. A train doesn't have to travel far, for you to loose yourself in it and forget it's only covering a few feet in the real world. All appealing ideas.
So I did what I always do, stuck the idea on the back burner, knowing full well when the time was right it would re-emerge.
So lets take a breath before this post gets any longer and meandering like a stream to portage...
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