CSI Track Planning Technique #1: Chalk Outline on the Floor

The track planning methods of the Druids are not that pleasant in mid-November. So, I returned to the basement and switched to the CSI school of track planning: Atlas code 100 and chalk outlines on the floor.

I like to play with real pieces of track and think about what I'm trying to accomplish.* I realized that although my track plan had some fun to it, it was still too railroady. Which is ok for a model railroad, but my goal is to have a layout / diorama for my buildings and streetcars that builds on what I liked about the old Lost Ocean Line, and eliminates its problems.

I don't run streetcars much. In some ways I treat them as just another interesting element of the whole, so I don't want to over emphasize them, especially with complex trackwork that eats up building and scene space. With the loop and passing track I have a simple operational story: city to suburbs to seashore and back. I'm not interested in a streetcar system's support buildings and infrastructure, so they aren't a part of this layout. I'm interested in maximizing urban and open country scenes where streetcars have a presence, so something had to give. In the future I can always add a switch or two to the bypass or the loop's left side if I want to change the concept or story. But, again, there's lots of space for model buildings and those scenes, which are the things I like most.

Dimension-wise, it's roughly 7 feet wide and a maximum of 44" deep. One thing I didn't like about the previous modular set up was it was too large when fully assembled: nearly 14 feet long. It couldn't remain assembled all the time, and I felt that I'd be on a treadmill making model buildings just to fill space on it, and not for the enjoyment of building something that grabbed my attention. I have more buildings than can be accommodated on this layout at any one time. Shelves can handle the overflow.

I need to think about this plan some more, but it's heading in the right direction.

*I find that I can only do a certain amount of planning or design with pencil, paper, or software, and there always comes a time when I have to think by handling and manipulating actual, physical objects. In that mode I often come up with very different ideas, and if things go well, I get a good feeling about the project at the end of the exercise. I'm never going to survive in the meta-verse :-)