Point Worth Pondering

As I work through this process of deciding what to do next I keep reading various blogs about layouts.  Lance Mindheim wrote recently some advice in his blog that a smaller layout in closet in a smaller scale is better than no layout at all.  In addition building something sooner is better than waiting for the perfect plan and combination.  Take a read by following this link

New Layout - Same Room

For the last 10 plus years I have been collecting trains that interest me in several scales but mostly I have been in O Scale with a minimalist blueboard layout of a lead and a couple of tracks that I would shift with my trusty Atlas 0-6-0 switcher.  The old is now gone and I want to reduce the hobby shop in the basement and at the same time build something more than a very bare minimalist layout.  The next layout can be of any scale or gauge with no prototype yet chosen.   As I work through this process I will commit to this forum the process to help myself focus my thoughts and hopefully help another poor soul out of their paralysis.  The starting point is usually the room.

The room is shown below.  There is a non load bearing wall between the two parallel is shown between the wall and the air handler.  The post is the circle is the support pole 5 feet from the wall.  All squares are one foot.  There is a PDF of the plan here  Future posts will deal with prototype or freelance choice and the given and druthers of the layout.

The Underserved in the Hobby

As the centralized structure of the hobby has been taken apart little by little and the new structure has yet to be built we are at a loss many times to know how the hobby is going.  Lance Mindheim who builds layouts and has written several books about the hobby has hit upon a point where a missing group of the hobby sits which can be easily overlooked today.  Those of us who enjoy the social aspects of the hobby in sharing what we work on, operating a layout, or just a meal talking about our favorite subject need to find ways to reach these advanced beginners.  In this group are the future of the hobby, our future operators and hopefully future friends.  Please take a look at his blog post

Innovation by Rapido

Rapido is a Canadian model train supplier who is innovating for the hobby by solving long standing annoying problems.  The two problems are the remote uncoupling by magnets and switch machines with targets.  The Kadee design for electro-magnetic uncoupling is 30+ years old and requires major surgery to your roadbed and sub roadbed.  The new Rapido solution takes less space and uses a blue LED to mark the spot for uncoupling.  An obvious solution that results in a "why didn't I think of that" moments.  The second solution is the new switch machine with an integrated switch stand.  This item will solve the issue of knowing which way the turnout is thrown in a yard ladder.  The other operational help is when you are coming down the mainline and you need to make sure the last operator returned the points to normal when they finished using the siding.  Take the link below and review the products.

Rapido Railcrew