The Annie Part 3 - Design
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Fundamentals
- how much space is there?
For me, design started with a critical analysis of the available space, balanced
against the list of "must-have" items and the style and functionality of the
overall layout room. The central stairway leads down to a room on the left hand side of
the basement that is 18' long, 25' wide and has a back wall that extends 26' (behind the
stairs). There is one center support column in the middle of the room. The walls are
painted white, there's top quality carpet installed and there is a full finished ceiling -
the layout has to be a furniture-quality accessory to complement the room.
Layout Style:
point-to-point
I decided at the beginning that I would
model the Annie as a point-to-point railroad, just as the real line did for over 90 years.
However, I also wanted to have a hidden cut-off for continuous running for those times
when I just want to watch 'em go 'round.
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Design Components and
Conventions
There are literally hundreds of ideas
that modelers have developed to make their layouts fit their needs. Here are some ideas
and how I dealt with them:
Duck-unders: I
think they're a hazard and unrealistic - absolutely not included.
Helix: I think it creates too much hidden running - I
want to SEE my trains.
Lift-outs: see "duck-unders" - creates
unnecessary hazards, absolutely not included.
Staging Yards: I know some folks love this idea, but
I'm just not interested in having multiple trains sitting in a yard waiting their turn to
hit the main... plus the Ann Arbor ran two through freights a day, plus locals - so my
prototype wasn't overly busy to begin with!
Double-deck: I strongly considered this, but in the
end I decided that I did not want to have scenes stacked, such that I was in the same
place for two separate areas of the railroad.
Aisles: If they're not 3' then it's not good enough -
there should be room to move without worrying about your elbows.
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Preliminary
Space Usage Ideas
At first I wanted to preserve space in
the room and go with a unique double-deck idea. Then I decided I would get more mainline
with peninsulas. But the peninsulas all looked the same, and each scene would be linear.
And then I solved all of my problems with the "octopus times two minus one" plan
- 15 separate and distinct scenes linking Ann Arbor to Boat Landing! click here to view the 3 space options - this might be a long download, but it's worth
the wait!
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Developing
the Track Plan
Now that the most efficient use of space
was determined, it was a simple task for me to design the trackplan. Starting from Ann
Arbor I simply sketched each of my must-have scenes in place at appropriate intervals,
finishing in Boat Landing. In most scenes I was able to lay out the features exactly as
they existed in real life, but you will see that I have used some selective compression in
Ann Arbor and Boat Landing and that in the City of Clare I have flipped the unique depot
scene so that the cupola of the depot and the crossing faces the viewer... so North is
South and South is North, but it makes ME happy... and that's what it's all about.
click here to view the trackplan - this might
be a long download, but it's worth it!
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| Next Time:
Keeping an Open Mind - Revising the Plan!
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