As I wrap up my career and start preparing for my next chapters of life and their new adventures, it also is a good time to make a change of scene. Accordingly, I'm in the process of closing up my affairs here and looking for my next home. That means the current model model railroad layout has to go - most likely into the dumpster, which is the final place for most layouts. To many modelers, demolishing a layout and starting over is their dream come true. Being a member of that class, I welcome this opportunity.
The Cascadia Union Terminal Railway and its surrounding environs has proven to be a viable concept and a fun one to model. I love its passenger depot-as-switching hub, its self-contained local freight jobs, its Pacific Northwest aesthetic, and the fun it offers as a freelanced model. It also is a concept with many lives, all easily adapted to a new home. A new layout for an existing concept is the opportunity to fix the things I don't like about my current layout, re-visit my wish list, and work out a plan to maximize both. Accordingly, it's time to begin planning "Cascadia 2.0."
Although I don't have a new home yet and don't know the space I will be using, this is an opportune time to begin the process of sketching out ideas for the new layout. These ideas will capture the things I liked, things I wanted to change, and add fresh new ideas and what I learned from my first layout. Building a layout is a learning experience - the true college of model railroading. I have been advised many times that 'your first layout is not and should not be your last.' Practice makes better, and not being wedded to the first layout is freedom to create that never gets old. And one should not be afraid of leaving behind old ideas (and people) to gain new perspective and opportunities for growth as a modeler-operator.
How to use this series: These are ideas that can be used by any modeler to create a better layout. They are distillations of my experiences as a modeler, experiences designing and managing a model railroad operation, operating good and bad layouts with different crews and everything in between, and ongoing historical research on prototype railroads and model railroading through its publications.
So, here we are looking at the horizon with the chance to write a new map. This new series, entitled Cascadia 2.0," is my notebook of design ideas for the new layout, incorporating different approaches to everything from concept and operations to design, construction, modeling and running a new model railroad. As a notebook, Cascadia 2.0 is descriptive more than photographic. Wherever I can, I will have visual images, but reading is required to follow the story. It assembles and lays out ideas for building a high-quality model railroad with fun, credible operating opportunities.
Comments
Post a Comment