07-20-2009, 09:19 AM
Hi guys,
Ive been thinking about my plans for the Modesto & Empire Traction Company. I have it hanging on my closet door, so everytime i open my closet or walk out of my room, i see it hanging, waiting for some more work.... Ive been thinking alot, and i really want to condense it somewhat. Currently, i have it set up in somewhat of a Free-Mo setup, with 35 modules which would occupy a space of 40'x30' if they were all set up together. Of coarse, i did not plan to set them up all at once anyways, and rather just run a few at a time....
Now im thinking of trying to setup this plan to be partial layout, and partial modules. I have always wanted to take a few modules to a train show, set them up with a group, and run them and watch people look at my work. I had planed to do this with my original M&ET plans, and i still want to be able to take a few modules with me to a train show here and there, so i will have to keep that in mind.
My plans for this re-design on this M&ET layout would be to have a double decker layout, with a helix connecting the 2 levels. Now since the M&ET is a shortline railroad, and they only have switchers (the newest ones being 2 Gensets #2000 and 2001 which arrived in December of 2008) this would mean i could keep the helix radius down to a fairly small radius of 22". It does not have to be large, nor does it have to look good with a train going up or down, because it will not be seen.
Here is the original plans for the M&ET i came up with after spending 2 months working from Google Earth, Live Maps, and Google Maps Street View. This first pic is a shot showing the overall design, zoomed out
Ive been thinking about my plans for the Modesto & Empire Traction Company. I have it hanging on my closet door, so everytime i open my closet or walk out of my room, i see it hanging, waiting for some more work.... Ive been thinking alot, and i really want to condense it somewhat. Currently, i have it set up in somewhat of a Free-Mo setup, with 35 modules which would occupy a space of 40'x30' if they were all set up together. Of coarse, i did not plan to set them up all at once anyways, and rather just run a few at a time....
Now im thinking of trying to setup this plan to be partial layout, and partial modules. I have always wanted to take a few modules to a train show, set them up with a group, and run them and watch people look at my work. I had planed to do this with my original M&ET plans, and i still want to be able to take a few modules with me to a train show here and there, so i will have to keep that in mind.
My plans for this re-design on this M&ET layout would be to have a double decker layout, with a helix connecting the 2 levels. Now since the M&ET is a shortline railroad, and they only have switchers (the newest ones being 2 Gensets #2000 and 2001 which arrived in December of 2008) this would mean i could keep the helix radius down to a fairly small radius of 22". It does not have to be large, nor does it have to look good with a train going up or down, because it will not be seen.
Here is the original plans for the M&ET i came up with after spending 2 months working from Google Earth, Live Maps, and Google Maps Street View. This first pic is a shot showing the overall design, zoomed out