Hi all, Following several months of reading/research/design, good advice from forum and society members and several revisions i finished up a draft version of the track-plan for my next (future) layout for a future home. Inspired by modular ideas and the MRH's TOMA approach, i managed to actually design a new layout for my current space, where by using some modules "brought" from the future layout, i will be able to start working on parts of the future layout now! Designing the future layout first, and then downscaling to the present space using modules ended up being a game changer for me. The red numbered rectangles represent the modules that will be common to the current and future layout. Non module areas are going to be disposable (salvage track and material). To the future layout specifics: Theme: ATSF Los Angeles Division, 2nd District. 1964 to 1968. Type: Point to Point with continuous run option. Height: 50" to 54" main level (30" for staging and lower level freight/coach yard) Track-work specs: Code 83, minimum radius for curves viewed from the outside 40", 36" elsewhere. Scenes: 1. LA 8th/1st street coach/freight yards (compressed to being side by side instead of one after the other), including a compressed version of the engine facility at Redondo junction. Lower level at 30" (acts as west staging since all trains terminate here). 2. Helix up to the upper (normal) level, wye towards LAUPT and the mainline to the west. LAUPT terminal scene. 3. ATSF LA River crossing (bridge scene). 4. Arroyo Seco Bridge scene 5. South Pasadena 6. Pasadena Depot 7. Colorado Boulevard scene. Focus on the boulevard which now becomes the point of focus while the train is now seen only in the distance between buildings. 8. North Pasadena Industrial area. 9. San Dimas or other rural area w/o depot or town. (Still undecided on this one). 10. Cucamonga scene. Depot, Route 66 near the backdrop etc... off to east helix and down to staging. The current-space layout will include the Pasadena Depot Scene, parts of Colorado Boulevard and parts of Cucamonga. I included the plan for the current space in the same picture so that the similarities / modules are more apparent. Many thanks for your time and replies, and for the help provided in previous threads which was essential for the design of this plan(s). Yannis
Sounds like an ambitious and interesting layout. I will be looking forward to see how it all turns out.
Many thanks Montanan! The larger (future) layout is indeed ambitious. I am hoping though that it is going to be relatively doable both with respect to effort and time. I am saying this because the main concept is to have the larger size of the layout being a result of bigger (less compressed) scenes, simple trackwork etc... instead of more scenes and more turnouts.
There are some interesting ideas here. A layout like this would focus on the premier passenger trains like the Chief, El Capitan, and Super Chief. There isn't as much scope for freight, though you have the opportunity to cover the citrus and refrigerator car traffic. Are you looking at DVDs that cover this era? You might check out this one
Many thanks jwb3! Thanks for bringing this up, yes i have this pentrex DVD which is possibly the best film resource on the 2nd district! It even covers the whole line during my era going east on the Chief. I also have the CSP "Diesel Power on the Santa Fe" DVD which also covers Pasadena with both passenger and local freight action. Studying these movies helped a lot as well as the premier resource on the topic, namely J.Signor's LA Division book, and more importantly the Santa Fe Historical Society. The idea for trains is to cover as you say, all three premier ATSF trains as well as the daily local freight trains. ATSF did run two daily local freights on the district which where one of the reasons i chose the Pasadena subdivision (one westbound and one eastbound). I am also planning on two more freight trains, the pickup-extra for reefers (eastbound) and the steel-extra for finished steel products (westbound). As you say though, there is no big scope for long through freights on the district, in comparison lets say to the 3rd district.
