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After reading the “Furlow bashing” topicI know this might be a potentially controversial question, but I’ll risk it anyway. Does anyone know of any resources, internet, print, or otherwise for whimsical model railroads? I’ll let you know where I’m coming from and the reason I ask, just in case that’ll cut down on any potential backlash. I’m currently in that nebulous phase known as “thinking about building a layout” with no real firm timetable on when construction will begin. I’ve read a lot of books, and have been subscribing to MR for about 3 years now. I’ve come to the conclusion that prototypical accuracy or operation isn’t my focus. I think the aspect of modeling that I’m being drawn to the most is the details that can be added to a layout. My family is another consideration in all this as well. My wife and my 4 year old daughter love model trains as well. We’re frequent visitors to the Twin Cities Model Railroad Museum. So, we’d like to build a family layout that will be fun for everyone. My current thought is to have a layout that is half city/urban area and half “fantasy land” for lack of a better term. Actually, I think it would be two 4 x 8 layouts joined by a smaller section maybe 2 x 3. I’m still trying to figure out how much of the basement I can appropriate for all this. The layout plan that is my favorite at the moment is the Carbondale Central from one of the Kalambach books. The appeal there is a simple track plan and the potential for adding lots of detail. I envision adding a track around the outside that will connect the “real” space to the “fantasy” space. We have the Hogwarts Express set, so it would be fun to try and design a hidden train station on the real side that lets the train cross over into the other half of the layout. Something that I thought of the other day, is that the train comes out of a tunnel at the edge of the “real” layout, crosses behind a corn field where a baseball game is in progress (ala “Field of Dreams”) and then passes into another tunnel to emerge in the “fantasy” space. On the “fantasy” side I think the general scenery will be a generic English country side sort of thing. Some of the items on the list to include in that are Hogsmead Station, Thomas the Tank Engine (we have that set as well), the lamppost from the “Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe” (along with the lion and the kids), maybe some dinosaurs hidden in the trees, etc. Anyway, I don’t mean to offend the purists. I enjoy looking at the prototype models that are features in the books and magazines. I have an immense amount of respect for the skill and dedication that that sort of layout takes.
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