Experiments

Three A4 test layouts (from r to l): hand bent 9mm gauge loop; HO gauge loop; 9mm gauge loop using rail bender.
Yes, that's E. L. Moore's Yard Blacksmith Shop on the middle one.

You may have noticed that posts are way down this year. As well as working on the Mt. Lowe layout I've been doing some experimenting, but haven't been posting about it. Ok, well, the Moon Mail Madness diorama was an experiment I eventually posted about, as well as some thoughts I had later on the subject of dioramas and little layouts, but not so much on other layout related stuff.

Sometime in late winter or early spring this year I got interested in building a little loop layout on an A4 sized area, which is rather common in European model railway 'circles'. I wanted to give it a try. In the previous photo, and the following one, you can see my first attempt (it's the layout on the right): a 9mm gauge loop, curved by hand, and Transfer Taped to a thin stack of foam sheets cut to A4 size. I also ballasted the track.

I was also experimenting with layout heights.

Locos run alright around the loop, but the loop itself seemed like I used the outline of a lumpy potato as the guide to bending the track. I assure you I didn't! I first drew a track plan in my Leuchtturm1917 notebook (it's A4 size), pinned a piece of track down, and tried running a loco over the loop to see what would happen. It worked just fine! 

Using a Leuchtturm1917, 215 x 315mm, notebook as a track planning & testing tool!

But, I didn't like the shape I obtained by just hand bending the track. I figured if I was going to be serious about developing layouts with sinuous track plans I needed to buy a track bending tool, so I bought one of these Rail Rollers.

The YouTube channel Narrow Gauge Shop has a number of videos showing how to use a rail bending tool, and I watched just about all of them. The video above is one particular example that I found quite helpful, but I recommend browsing the channel as it's full of informative and interesting stuff.

Lumpy potato no more! An A4 loop of 9mm gauge track bent with a rail bending tool.

Even after my first attempt at track bending with the tool, it produced some quite decent results. As you can see in the photo above, not bad radius conformance, and there appears to be no residual stress in the rails that has to be fought against during installation as there was when I hand bent the track - that's what makes it lumpy.

And here it is!

I was also doing some experimentation with base thickness as I talked about in an earlier post. For this second attempt at an A4 loop I made quite a tall base from foam scraps. At the time I was inspired by the mid-century styling of the Clairtone stereo products and I started to wonder about building a little A4 layout whose base resembled some sort of wood grained piece of audio equipment from the 70s: a pair of wood gain ends with black wood sides, retro-styled control knobs and toggles, and so on. 

Definitely not pretty in pink.

It could still happen. For now though, I simply painted the sides black because the pink hurts my eyes!

The E. L. Moore inspired layout experiment in bending 16.5mm gauge track.
This is the middle layout in the opening photo.

After those tests with N-gauge track I tried my hand at bending some HO-gauge track to fit on an A4 area. I had in mind an E. L. Moore themed display making use of his Yard Blacksmith Shop. It would be some sort of Flyer and Coach repair area with a loop of track for testing rolling stock. That 'wooden' circle is a stand-in for a small turntable which allows repaired rolling stock to return to the mainline. On a 'real' layout I'd have a functional turntable - I think I could somehow squeeze one in. 

A first attempt at a more sinuous track plan for a wilderness retreat layout.

By this time I was feeling confident in using the rail bending tool and decided to try something a little more adventurous with 9 mm gauge track. In the back of my mind I have a layout idea for a wilderness retreat with a narrow gauge line that connects a house with a wood lot and a dock, with the basic track plan being something of a bent dog bone. 

Although I'm happy with the overall shape, the centre section needs to be a bit longer for what I have in mind. If I go forward and turn this experiment into a layout I'll explain why in a future post.

Experimenting with Taronna designs using salvaged Alta Vista TC modules

All this experimenting got me thinking again about the Exploratorium and a post from 2022 on how the principles it promoted for exhibit design could easily be applied to layout design. In their exhibit design pamphlet that I reviewed in that post I took their list of 10 exhibit design principles and substituted 'layout' wherever 'exhibit' appeared to see if the resulting modified list made sense. It did. Looking at it again though it seems to make more sense to substitute 'micro-layout' for 'exhibit', 'fellow modellers' for 'staff', and 'viewers' for 'visitors'. Here's what the new list, a list of micro-layout design principles based on Exploratorium exhibit design principles, looks like:

1. Basic research - just plain tinkering around with something for the fun of it - is an essential part of the micro-layout development process.

2. Micro-layouts are designed and developed by people who are interested in the phenomenon to be displayed.

3. To some extent, all micro-layouts are collaborative: many people make suggestions and contribute ideas.

4. The first stage of micro-layout design is the construction of a full-scale working prototype.

5. Micro-layout builders are responsive to comments from viewers and fellow modellers, testing layouts at many stages in their development and allowing reactions to shape the layout.

6. Micro-layout builders pay attention to aesthetic nuances, noticing what is fun to do, what is beautiful, what is intriguing.

7. Generally, micro-layout builders try not to restrict a viewer’s choice.

8. Ideally, viewers should be able to see the inner workings of a layout and make discoveries about how the layout works.

9. Most micro-layouts are set up on table tops, so that viewers can gather and use the micro-layout together.

10. Micro-layouts are often constructed of inexpensive materials, scrap, and found objects (or junk).

The fit is pretty good. These ideas don't seem too bad for micro-layout planning.

Another salvaged Alta Vista TC module awaiting experimentation.

Planning, design, experimentation, are all bouncing around in my mind these days. My 'ultimate' Toronto streetcar layout hasn't escaped their clutches :-) I've been mulling over how to proceed with that layout, the so-called 'Taronna' layout, for quite awhile.

I have in mind a small coffee table sized layout featuring Toronto landmarks that have significance to me, streetcars, a below grade subway station, and a bowling alley! It would be a huge project. I came to my senses recently when I realized it could take 3 or 4 years to build - maybe more knowing me. I want to build something much more doable on say a 2 year time horizon, but still try to incorporate the things most important to me. 

So, in the spirit of tinkering and experimentation I've pulled out the modules I salvaged from the misguided Alta Vista TC layout and have begun playing with them to see what I might come up with design wise for Taronna. I want to see if moving models around on the modules triggers any ideas. I've drawn little sketches of a possible layout, but I'm thinking maybe the full-size 'sketch' approach I took with the Moon Mail Madness diorama is the better way to design it: basically, applying Principle #1 of the Exploratorium guidelines.

3rd and last salvaged Alta Vista TC module waiting in the wings for design duty.

Well, that's the report from 30Squares Labs. I'll let you know if anything catches fire, but until then we'll crank up the time machine and go back to when the King of Spain was living in Taronna, er, Toronto: