The Lengthy Lineage of Little Layouts, Part 3: Noitcart Traction, a Micro before Micros

'Track Plan' of the Noitcart Traction 'layout'

As I worked on the lunar loco I thumbed through all the pages of the April '78 issue of Model Railroader in which it appeared. Near the back I stumbled across a 2-page article called Noitcart Traction by Eric Bronsky, the legendary traction modeller. 

Noitcart Traction is closer to a typical humorous April article than Cerny & Hayden's both in style and content, even though it's about an actual 'layout' that actually runs. I draw your attention to it because one might think of it as a micro-layout before there were micro-layouts.

It's simply a long strip of O-gauge track for running Mr. Bronsky's fine-standards O-scale traction car. It's noted that the layout "...rests upon three separate planks of 1/2"-thick plywood wide enough to accommodate the single track and line poles." and "The three roadbed sections butt together like sectional track. All six line poles, the wire and all, are stuck into a block of Styrofoam for storage." 

No dimensions are given for this portable 'layout', just a drawing that says it's drawn to 1" = 1'-0", so I got out my ruler and made some measurements. What I find is that when it's assembled it's about 108-3/4" long by 3-3/4" wide. That gives an area of about 2.8 sq. ft., well within the micro-layout range.

Mr. Bronsky clarifies that the 'layout ' isn't just a test track: "What little scenery I had room for is best described as "changing roadbed", but it is sufficient to keep NT slightly above the test track category." It's true, the car runs through street track and varying natural ground cover.

A minimal traction 'layout' indeed, and a micro-layout ancestor.