06-30-2009, 08:13 AM
Here probably the last pictures from the planning stage:
The control panel has been finished and it works pretty much as it should. The layout consists of 7 blocks which can be controlled by the two transformer/controllers (double blue line) and 8 (correction: 9, switch has been added to control panel) sections where power can be turned off (single blue line). According to testing it in xtrkcad there is plenty of room for 3 to 4 locomotives running about.
And now that I was comparing the trackplan and the control panel I found out that the trackplan has one extra spur in the northeast corner..
The traverser holds four or five longer 2-axle cars or six short ones, which should be plenty considering the lengths on the rest of the layout. The red line denotes the edge of the world and the beginning of the twilight zone called the traverser. I am thinking of covering it with a hill or something so that it won't disturb watching the industry behind the traverser. (which will be slightly higher)
I may have to drop the idea of having a highly portable layout as scenery might get too high to turn the layout into one big box as was the original idea. Adding some more MDF and making two boxes would still be fairly portable in case of moving somewhere else eventually.
Oh, and I still don't know what the industries will be. Generic boxcars with generic goods to generic warehouses or something is what I've decided on for now (especially given the warehouse I'm building atm for the northeast corner of the layout)
The control panel has been finished and it works pretty much as it should. The layout consists of 7 blocks which can be controlled by the two transformer/controllers (double blue line) and 8 (correction: 9, switch has been added to control panel) sections where power can be turned off (single blue line). According to testing it in xtrkcad there is plenty of room for 3 to 4 locomotives running about.
And now that I was comparing the trackplan and the control panel I found out that the trackplan has one extra spur in the northeast corner..
The traverser holds four or five longer 2-axle cars or six short ones, which should be plenty considering the lengths on the rest of the layout. The red line denotes the edge of the world and the beginning of the twilight zone called the traverser. I am thinking of covering it with a hill or something so that it won't disturb watching the industry behind the traverser. (which will be slightly higher)
I may have to drop the idea of having a highly portable layout as scenery might get too high to turn the layout into one big box as was the original idea. Adding some more MDF and making two boxes would still be fairly portable in case of moving somewhere else eventually.
Oh, and I still don't know what the industries will be. Generic boxcars with generic goods to generic warehouses or something is what I've decided on for now (especially given the warehouse I'm building atm for the northeast corner of the layout)
-norm