For some time, I’ve had the nagging feeling that it’s time for a new adventure, a new primary layout. The question is when and how to go about it. The theme would likely be BNFS’s Harbor Subdivision, shown above.
I’ve been wallowing in modeling limbo the past year or so. It’s a place I don’t particularly like. All three of my layouts are stick-a-fork-in-them “done”. My main railroad is The Downtown Spur. I could find a few “make work” projects, but there’s really nothing that motivates me that much. I love photography and at this point I’ve shot things from every conceivable angle. I switched eras on the LAJ and had fun with that but have no interest in doing so with the spur. Crap. Crap. Crap.
Self-awareness is the foundation of a great design. We need to know what we want the layout do for us if we have any hope of coming up with satisfying plan. Unfortuantely, very few of us, certainly not me, know our true interests as well as we think we do. Complicating things is that our interests change over time. Do I want to “have” a layout or do I want to “build” a layout? I tend to get into mission mode and lose sight of the fact that I want both. By pushing to finish the layouts, I’ve essentially worked myself out of a job.
It’s important to me to have a layout that sustains prototype operations. Complicating things is that sometimes I feel like operating, but often I don’t. If I were a diehard operator, I wouldn’t have a problem and could just run the Spur weekly for years. That’s not the case, though.
I strongly suspect the days of the spur are limited. I’ve already decided on the replacement, BNSF’s north end of The Harbor Subdivision, probably no surprise to anybody. I took the new plan into the layout room to visualize the sight lines. As I looked at the Downtown Spur layout, all of the work, the great times associated with it, I realized I…..just…..can’t….pull the plug yet. Which brings me to the dilemma of wallowing in this no man’s land.
Shown above is the conceptual sketch for what I’d likely do for a new layout. It represents BNSF’s Harbor Sub. from Harbor Junction to the terminus at Malabar Yard, about a mile and a half to the south.
Looking at the new layout, I’m placing a strong emphasis on sight lines and vistas, especially when you walk into the room. A primary goal for the layout is to feel transported, to be in LA. I’m okay with it serving as 3D art for long periods of time. As far as operations go, I now realize that frequent “formal” sessions with friends that share my interest in industrial switching just aren’t realistic. The interest just isn’t there locally, at least not on a consistent basis. That leaves solo sessions. Few people will consistently run solo for hours at a time. The above plan will easily support my attention span of 45 minutes.
If and when the time comes to take down the present layout, the question becomes how that will unfold. I would certainly sell it if somebody would assume the responsibility of dismantling it and hauling it off. However, having such a person appear on the horizon seems unlikely. The bulk of the labor hours are tied up in the structures. I have no stomach for doing the ebay thing to sell those off. I would certainly sell them individually or in groups to somebody that was willing to drive to Maryland to pick them up. Again, past experience leads me to believe this is unlikely as well. What I’ll probably do is pitch the bigger structures and pack away a few of the smaller ones that are my favorites. Stay tuned.