Givens and Druthers

There is a popular term amongst model railroaders known as "Givens and Druthers". This refers to a list of "Givens" (hard and fast requirements for a model railroad which act as constraints for the modeler to work within)  and "Druthers" (design guidelines that help to set direction for the modeler)

So, this may come a bit late, but so as not to be left out of the fun...

GIVENS

• The modeled portion of the layout will be 2'X10' with design considerations for an adequate staging area off layout.
• The layout must be built in sections with construction techniques that allow the layout to be moved to another home with little difficulty.
• The layout must be designed with operations in mind. Layout height, wiring, coupler, turnout, and locomotive control should all be designed for both ease of use and enjoyment

DRUTHERS 

• Operations should be simple, yet elegant.  The emphasis will be on fewer industries and longer sidings as opposed to a lot of industries, short sidings and overly complicated track work.
• Operational design should allow for a typical ops session lasting about an hour.
• The design must include a large industrial complex as a showcase for intricate design and kit bashing and to serve as a focal point for operations on the layout.
• The design must also incude a scenic river scene to showcase a faithful interpretation of the box canyon dam and bridge.
• The overall theme of the model railroad is one of a small shortline struggling to earn it's keep with few customers and difficult economic conditions.  All artistic design considerations, (from choosing which season to model, to detailing the level of distress on mainline track) should be made with the layout's theme in mind.

That should about do it.  I've found that by distilling all of my wants and needs down to a few small bullet points, I end up with a plan that feels very focused and purposeful.  I feel that focus and purpose is key to the success of any model railroad, but when you are limited by space and money, (as I am)  this list of "Givens and Druthers" becomes all the more important.

Track Plan #3

The track is laid down now, so this is the final track plan.  My goal was to create an operationally interesting design without filling up the space with a mess of unrealistic trackwork. I am pretty happy with the results.

A typical operation session would unfold as follows:




The BNSF arrives from Newport (staging) with cars destined for industries on the layout.  

The MFTR local switcher collects the cars, sorts them at the yard and readies them for distribution.

Loaded Cement hoppers are replaced with empties at the Cement Factory.

Empty pulpwood cars are spotted at the sawmill.

The switcher then performs a run around maneuver to set up the boxcars and tank cars for delivery on the facing-point siding at the Paper Recycling Facility.

Cars are spotted at the appropriate doors at the Recycling Facility.  Some cars may need to be moved temporarily to allow others to be pulled or spotted.

Cars destined for Newport (staging) are then collected and readied for their destination at Newport.

BNSF collects the outbound cars and returns to Newport (staging).




Industries typically receive the following cars per operating session:

Cement Factory: 4-6 2-Bay Covered Hoppers

Paper Recycling Facility: 1-3 50' Boxcars, 0-1 Tank car

Sawmill: 1-2 Pulpwood cars

It's Working!

Having just completed wiring the layout, I decided to switch a few cars around just to test that everything is working properly.  The track still needs a bit of TLC to iron out a few rough spots and then a good cleaning, but I am pretty happy with it so far!



Taking inspiration from Mike Confalone's trackwork on the Woodsville Terminal, I decided to lay the track in a manner that simulates rough, under-maintained track. It's been a bit of a balancing act trying to make it look "messed up" without actually messing it up!

What's in a Name?

UPDATE: The Name of the Railroad has changed slightly. More details here.

You know what one of the toughest decisions I've had to make while designing this railroad has been? Not choosing a location or theme or choosing which industries to model.  The toughest decision has been coming up with a name for the railroad.

I haven't spoken with other freelance modelers about how they had come up with their own railroad's names but I imagine that, much like me, they take on the task pretty seriously. Does one name their railroad after the region?  A prominent town or a significant geological feature? Should one choose a name with a personal meaning? Perhaps after a grandfather or a favorite vacation spot?

When it came to naming my model railroad, I first sat down with a pen and paper and laid out a few ground rules to help focus me in my efforts:

1. The name must be easy to say, spell, and remember for the purposes of easy "googling" for people looking for information on my railroad.
2. The name must be plausible and consistant with the naming conventions of other regional short line railroads.
3. The name must reinforce the theme of the layout which is that of a small, modern short line working hard to thrive during a difficult economic downturn.

With those three rules in place, I set to compiling a list of items that could be potential fodder for naming my layout.

Cities and towns in the area:

Newport
Usk
Cusick
Ione
Metaline Falls

Prominent bodies of water and geological features:

North Western Washington State.
The Pend Oreille River Valley
Metaline Falls
Box Canyon
Sullivan Lake
Colville National Forrest
Cabinet Mountains

Famous residents, and other naming considerations:

Canadian trapper Dave Thompson
Steamboat Captain Elmer "Cap" Arnold
Entrepreneur Fredrick Blackwell
Panhandle Lumber
Diamond Match Co.
The Timber and Stone act of 1878
Vaagen Brothers
Lehigh Portland Cement Co.

Now, if you are familiar with the area, you will probably say that the most obvious name for my freelance model railroad would be the "Pend Oreille Valley Railroad."  And you would be right.  The only problem is that name is already taken by the REAL shortline railroad that exists in that region. (more on why I don't simply model that railroad in later posts)  Plus, It's hard to say, and spell and doesn't evoke a real sense of the area in and of itself so it kinda violates a few of the rules I laid out for myself.

The layout itself attempts to depict industries and operations between the towns of Usk, Ione and Metaline falls and the modeled portion exists solely in the town of Ione, so perhaps a name like "The Usk, Ione and Metaline Falls Railroad"  But that is kinda a mouthful, plus I dislike the name "Usk" and Ione is scary close to the name of the company I work for which weirds me out a bit.

I could name the layout after the Lehigh Cement Co. which is the most prominent industry on the layout, but... nah.

Ultimately I settled on the name "Metaline Falls Terminal Railroad."  This meets my desires on several levels.  First, it is simple and catchy which satisfies rule #1.  The name feels plausible and consistant when compared to other short lines in the region (Kettle Falls International Railroad, Mount Vernon Terminal Railway, etc.) And finally, "Metaline Falls" refers to not only an area town, but also a section of very heavy rapids that once existed on the Pend Orille River before the Boundary Dam was built, changing the water table and effectively burying the falls for good.  This idea of industrial progress and it's tendency to shape a region both physically and economically with both positive and negative outcomes is a central theme of the layout and satisfies rule #3.

The word "Terminal"  Also does well to both describe the type of railroad I'm modeling (NOPE!) and evoke a sense of inevitability that seems to be so common with modern-era short lines.

Finally, after all of that, the first two letters in the MFTR's reporting marks are my initials! I take that as a sign of good luck, which I am very happy to have as I continue on my adventure in model railroading.

4X8 Sucks!

The January 2012 issue of Model Railroader magazine is out now and the project railroad featured is once again a 4X8 foot layout.

I hate 4X8 foot layouts.

Ok, hate is a strong word. I don't hate them, but I do have some serious issues with pushing the idea that a 4X8 foot railroad is good option for a beginner. It is not and the reason for this has everything to do with size.

When we talk about the size of a layout, we should always take into consideration not only the foot print of the layout itself, but also the asile around the layout that are required for maintenance and operation. With this in mind, a 4X8 foot layout actually requires 8X10 feet of space.  That's the size of a spare bedroom! (for more on this, check out this awesome article by professional layout designer, Byron Henderson)

In my opinion, that kind of space requirement is just too much. Especially for a beginner who may be unsure of just how much long term enjoyment they will be getting from the hobby.  There are also many of us who just don't have a spare room to turn over completely to the trains and trying to squeeze a large table into a den or other room shared with the rest of the family is sure to foster more than a small amount of animosity towards the trains.

I think one of the reason the 4X8 foot sheet is still popular (besides the fact that MR pushes it so hard.) is because of the desire of a beginning hobbiest to watch trains run and run and run. If this is your desire (and it is a perfectly valid desire) and you are just starting out, consider building a small N-scale layout.  My second model railroad was an N-scale layout that I built on a small closet door.  It was small enough to easily slide under my twin sized bed when not in use, and it still offered a lot in terms of operation and modeling. Plus I learned a whole lot of tips and tricks along the way that I am now able to take advantage of on my new, slightly larger layout!

If the size and detail of HO scale models interests you, and continuous running is not a concern, then a small, space-saving point-to-point style shelf layout that can be placed against the wall may be your best bet!

Track Plan #2

Alrighty, this is pretty close to the final track plan for the MFTR. (EDIT: Turns out it wasn't even close.)

A larger version can be viewed here

A typical operation session would unfold as follows:

The local switcher starts its day by heading towards Newport (staging) to collect cars destined for industries on the layout.  

The cars are then sorted on the storage tracks and readied for distribution.

Loaded Cement hoppers are replaced with empties at the Cement Production Facility.

The switcher then performs a run around maneuver to set up the paper and pulpwood cars for delivery on facing-point sidings.

Loaded boxcars and empty pulpwood cars are delivered to the appropriate industries.

Cars destined for Newport (staging) are then collected and shoved down the mainline towards its destination.

Industries typically receive the following cars per operating session:

Cement Factory: 4-6 2-Bay Covered Hoppers

Papery Recycling Facility: 0-1 50' Boxcar

Pulpwood Facility: 2 Pulpwood cars

So there it is, I'd like to hear what you think. If you see a potential problem with this plan, please let me know before I start laying track. Your thoughts are welcome!  

How did you spend your vacation? (layout construction)

I took a nice little vacation for myself last week and spent it building the vast majority of the benchwork for my little model railroad.  It took longer than expected, but I am exceedingly pleased with the results.

I based the benchwork off of The Beer Line which was a project railroad seen in Model Railroader Magazine.  The article itself can give you a good idea of how it was assembled, I am not a great carpenter myself.  In fact, the only time I ever pull out the 'ol circular saw is when I am building a new model railroad table.  However, I have compiled a list of Do's and Don'ts that I've been able to gather from building four different layouts over the years.

Do's

• Do take your time when selecting lumber.  Check each board for warping and avoid excessive knotting when possible.
• Purchase a nice cordless drill and bar clamps.  Both will greatly speed up and ease the construction process.
• Seriously, get some bar clamps.  I built three previous layouts without them and the results were not pretty.
• Do run a bead of wood glue along the edges of your boards where they join. (along with using screws)  The bond created helps keep the wood together where screws may fail.
• Speaking of screws, Avoid EVERYTHING except drywall screws. I've tried pretty much everything else including those awful wood screws that will strip every single time you try to remove them for any reason.  Drywall screws go in cleanly and can be removed just as easily without stripping the heads.
• Do drill a small pilot hole in your wood before securing the screw in place.  Without this step, you are highly likely to split your wood. which ruins the strength of the joint.
• Safety, safety, safety! Make sure to always wear safety glasses when operating power tools.  A cheap pair will only run you a couple of bucks at the hardware store and that is certainly much cheaper than an emergency trip to the hospital.

Don't

• Dont rush. This is the foundation that your entire miniature world will be built on. Get it wrong here and you could have problems down the line.
• Don't under brace your legs.  Be sure that you've added sufficient cross-bracing to ensure that your table legs won't start to wobble or lean with time.
• Don't forget that old saying: "Measure Twice, Cut once!"  
• Don't forget to have fun!

One interesting feature of my particular benchwork is that it was built in two separate 2X5 foot sections that were joined together using large bolts and washers.  I did this knowing that I would probably be moving one day and I would have hated to take a saw to my beautiful layout just to try and fit it up the stairs. 

With that in mind, I worked extra diligently to ensure that the tables would line up perfectly and connect together well. Assembling the sections carefully went a long way to that end and fitting the legs with adjustable feet allowed me to make minor adjustments to ensure a good connection as well as maintain a level surface across the length of the table.

Below you can see how I used 3/4 inch bolts with large washers to attach the two tables together.

My Daughter insisted on helping me out.  Her job was to hand me screws and clamps.

It's starting to look like something!

Plenty of room below for all my junk. The benchwork stands 48" tall which, helps bring the layout up to a good viewing height. It's interesting to note that I used very thin (perhaps 1/8 inch thick) plywood for the table top.  This is a new method for me, but I am trying to keep the benchwork as light as possible.  The track and scenery will eventually rest on a 2" thick piece of foam core, so this thin layer of plywood is mostly meant for stability and as a mounting surface for under-the-table switch machines.

Just laying out some track to see how it's shaping up!