Fall 2011 Journal 44 $8.00 US Offi cial Publication of the Layout Design Special Interest Group, Inc. Features Sectional, Modular and Portable Layouts Sections Designed to Move – and Do! .....................4 by Doug Harding Modules for Home and Road .................................11 by Wolfgang Dudler, MMR Trenance: Compact English Terminus .................16 by Nigel Mann 4 Free-moN LDEs at X2011 West ..............................24 by Stephen Williams What Would you do Differently? .............................26 Ideas from Phil Gulley, Robert Hoffman, David Parks, Jim Providenza and Jim Radkey News and Departments New Ways to Help and Enjoy the SIG ......................3 by Seth Neumann, LDSIG President Taking it on the Road ..................................................3 by Byron Henderson 11 LDJ Questions, Comments and Corrections ..........31 Tulsa 2011: Exploring Design Ideas ........................32 by Dave Salamon 2012 Meeting Plans: Bay Area, CA; Tulsa, OK ......33 X2011W – Learning, Layouts and Outreach ...........34 16 Layout Design SIG Membership The Layout Design Special Dues*: $25.00 USD; Canada $25.00 Interest Group (LDSIG) is USD; Foreign $35.00 USD. Journal an independent, IRS 501(c) * One membership cycle includes four The Layout Design Journal (LDJ) is the (3) tax-exempt group af- issues of the Layout Design Journal. offi cial publication of the Layout Design fi liated with the National Please make checks payable to the “Lay- Special Interest Group, Inc. Model Railroad Association (NMRA). out Design SIG.” Canadian and Foreign Opinions The LDSIG’s goal is to act as a forum for payments must be drawn on a US bank, The opinions expressed in the LDJ are the members’ exchange of information paid using PayPal, or be via an interna- solely those of the original authors where and ideas, and to develop improved ways tional money order. No foreign checks, they are not otherwise credited. The for hobbyists to learn the art and science please. 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For all other organizations, permission issue list is available online at: Lititz, PA 17543 to reprint material from this publication www.ldsig.org/publications [email protected] must be obtained before it can be used. We hope you enjoy this special “sampler” of the Layout Design Journal. Full issues of the printed magazine are regularly mailed to members. Visit this link to join or renew. Sections Designed to Move – and Do! Midwestern-themed HO layout thrives in new spaces by Doug Harding Knowing that I have moved my Iowa Cen- The prototype remains the same tral layout numerous times, our editor, Byron Through all of these moves, I have modeled Henderson, asked me to write an article about the former Iowa Central (IaC) portion of the my moveable benchwork design. First an in- Minneapolis and St. Louis (M&StL). I have troduction: I am a United Methodist pastor, used modeler’s license to alter actual his- which means I move, sometimes frequently, tory. In my history, the Chicago Burlington and I seldom have control over the housing ar- & Quincy (CB&Q) acquired the Iowa Cen- rangements with each new assignment. tral Railroad in 1906. This was soon after the Layout rooms: Ideal – and not CB&Q began consolidating its other railroad Any model railroad layout I built had to be holdings in 1904. I imagine that the CB&Q moveable and it had to be fl exible to fi t in a saw the Iowa Central as a direct link to its sis- wide variety of settings. Most of the time I ter railroads in the Twin Cities: the Northern have had a basement – and I mean a real base- Pacifi c and the Great Northern. ment, not one of those faux California base- By altering history and transferring ownership ments I call a garage. Where I live, we need of the IaC to the CB&Q, my version of the IaC the garage to park the car out of the weather has become a stronger property with vital con- (or so my wife insists). nections and much bridge traffi c. The basements in some homes have been ideal This altered history also allows me to make for layouts; others weren’t fi t to keep rats. In use of CB&Q equipment, including CB&Q one location a spare bedroom was the best I decals, along with M&StL items. I am also could secure. My layout, the Iowa Central, planning to resurrect the long gone IaC herald has resided in spaces ranging from a 10’X 11’ and update it for use on home road equipment. bedroom to a 28’X 60’ basement where the I also have the freedom to use non-prototypi- laundry was upstairs (i.e., lots of space for the cal steam engines (hard to fi nd for the M&StL, layout). and limited for the CB&Q), as the “modern” Currently there are forty sections totaling over IaC power. This prototype freelancing also al- 450 sq. ft. of bench work. Depending on the lows me to enhance the traffi c patterns and on size and arrangement of each new basement, line industry along this north-south line mak- all of these sections may not be used and some ing it a prosperous and profi table line. may be stored. Building on real locations I model major locations of the original main- line of the Iowa Central, which ran from Albia to Mason City. The following towns or loca- tions are built on the layout, from South to North: Albia, Bridgeport (Iowa Southern Util- ities Power Plant), Eddyville, “Peoria Junc- tion”, Oskaloosa, Grinnell, Marshalltown, Roland, Eldora, Ackley, and Mason City (see schematics at right). Some “towns” occupy a single section, others spread over multiple sections. I didn’t make any effort to keep the main lines in a particular location from section to section (as on a truly Even long-time sections are occasionally rebuilt. At Doug’s previ- modular layout), they fall where they may. ous home, there was more room for Ackley, so Doug built a new Peoria is represented by staging tracks that version, shown here, to better refl ect the prototype. run below and behind Albia. The Chicago & 4 Layout Design Journal www.ldsig.org Ackley 8th St. Industrial Eldora 2004-2006 Marshalltown Keosauqua 2010 - Sectional construction allows Doug’s layout to adapt to a variety of new spaces as seen in these three sample fl oor plans. Workbench Decker Meat When it’s time to move to the next assignment, the integral backdrops help form a de facto “crate” with one section upside-down over another. The photo at bottom right shows the layout “kit” of 450 square feet of layout awaiting unpacking. Not to scale When it’s Time to Move Staging Like the military, I am allotted so many pounds for moving, and must Rockwell City 1997-2004 pay for any overage. Let me just say Albia Yard I am already over my limit, so any- thing that cuts weight is a high prior- Wabash Yard ity in construction matters. Albia I have learned to “crate” the sec- Oskaloosa Eddyville tions by fl ipping one up over the Roland Grinnell Marshalltown other. The backdrops then form the Staging sides of the crates while the wooden behind grids form the top and bottom. To do Decker Meat Mason City Yard 8th St. Industrial this, all railroad and scenery material must be glued in place or removed and packed separately. The ends Ackley of the resulting “crate” are enclosed with pieces of Masonite, cardboard, or even ¼” foam. A 1x2 cross brace across the end keeps the crate from twisting. A cou- ple of drywall screws run through the top of the backdrop into the frame- work of the other section makes this a tight, easy to handle “crate”. Screw holes in the backdrop are not a concern, a carpenter taught me a long time ago that a tube of caulk (or spackling compound) will hide a lot of holes and gaps. I’ve had professional movers ask me who did the crating; they thought it was a pro job. They found the crat- ed sections very easy to handle and move, and were surprised at how light the sections were. -- DH LDJ-44 Fall 2011 7 Modules for Home and Road Silver Valley RR HO/HOn3 modules meet specifi c needs by Wolfgang Dudler, NMRA Master Model Railroader #452 When my son Benjamin moved out of the Adding dual gauge house, it left an empty room in the basement. Silver Creek was the fi rst module; a start in My wife told me, “Better a railroad than an- HOn3. I gained the experience of adding a other storeroom”, so I took the opportunity for third rail to make the through path on the Sil- a new layout in a new gauge for me. By spring ver Creek an HO/HOn3 main line. The Silver 2009, I had built my fi rst HOn3 stub switch.