Back to basics

Post 2 today.

As I said last time, I've been looking at how I'm going to make the layout work. So maybe I should set out my aims for the whole thing.


1) To simulate the operation of a change over point between electrics and something else.
2) To be an NZ 120 ;layout of the style were the railway is part of the scenery, not the main attraction.
3) To be a place to display locomotives, and rolling stock.

Hmm, I was expecting a bit more than that, but I be "a simple man of simple mind".

(I still can't work out what the hell I'm doing wrong with the pictures. they just don't want to expand for some odd reason that's buried deeper than I can see).

dark tracks are (of course) what I'm planning on keeping. One of the main tricks is to get the feel for a location without removing too many tracks.

the operation scheme for the loco depot would be as follows.

A loco would arrive from the north. it would move into the depot and first be turned to face north again. it would then move to the refueling/ash/water track. It would then either be placed in the shed, or run back on the track on the station side of the loco shed. They are then ready to move forward to the lead track to collect a northbound train.

At an exhibition the loco depot in itself would be a full time job positioning loco's, and I think I'll aim to make this one of the focal points of the layout. The other one would be the actual physical process of changing the loco's over. There's no shunting to be seen, but I don't think I'm going to miss it.