Life, again

[Pruitt]

Roughly fifteen months ago I posted this topic: http://cs.trains.com/mrr/f/88/t/259080.aspx

I thought to update it, and as I read through the replies all the way to the end, I was horrified to discover that I neglected to respond (I sure thought I had)! At the time I DID read what everyone wrote, so please accept this very belated thanks for your well wishes, condolences and very helpful (and comforting) thoughts.

So here's where I'm at now.

Retirement in about 2 1/2 months. I'm excited - I feel like I'm coming to the end of a  l-o-n-g  prison sentence. Freedom is just around the corner! 

I'm still not sure where I'm going to move - only that I'm going to leave South Carolina behind. But I've narrowed the search to New Jersey (most likely place, as I haven't been able to sell the house. I'm also very reluctant to do so...), Wyoming (probably Cheyenne) or Tennessee around the Bristol area. I've been to Bristol a couple of times in the past year, and really like it. Decent taxes, relatively inexpensive housing, and a generally comfortable climate.

But as I say, probably New Jersey will be the destination, in about four months.

In anticipation, I've spent a significant amount of time redesigning The CB&Q in Wyoming. Drum roll...

- Like the earlier version it's a double decker, but the upper deck is much more attenuated than the old layout's design.
- When building the short-lived South Carolina layout, I discovered I liked the large Laurel yard I had room for there. I found a way to incorporate a slightly reduced version in my new Cove Road design.
- I dropped the Lusk staging area completely.
- No new Behemoth Helix!
- Several towns along the CB&Q mainline were - very reluctantly - left out of the new design.
- I may actually be able to get this somewhat down-scaled version of the layout to the point of hosting operating sessions before I croak!

So here's the new track plan. Keep these things in mind when viewing:

- NP staging is located under Lander and Lovell. It's not shown for clarity.
- The blue mainline is hidden under Cody on the upper deck, so not shown. It connects from the end of Lovell back to the line just above it in the plan. It's also not shown here.
- Towns are shown only as passing sidings. Industry spurs will be added later.

Lower level:

 

 

And the upper level:

[riogrande5761]

The first question that came to my mind was, how can you design a track plan when you don't know yet where you are going to live and what dimensions of the space will be?

[Pruitt]

riogrande5761

The first question that came to my mind was, how can you design a track plan when you don't know yet where you are going to live and what dimensions of the space will be?

Good question. The answer: I think the odds are pretty good that my house in New Jersey will be the destination. I do know the dimensions of that space very well.

I got tired of just staring at the walls waiting for time to tick by, so I started doing something that might be of use in the future. If I go back to NJ, I'll start layout construction relatively quickly. If I wind up elsewhere, then at least I kept my planning skills from getting too rusty.

[riogrande5761]

Ah, ok.  So you have two homes.  Nice!  One in S Carolina and one in N Jersey.

Just a quick glance at the track plan and you've got a lot more space available than I do in my new 3 level home in Virginia - should be lots of nice operational ability there.  I'm envious.  I moved in late November and need to dig out my graph paper and start working on a plan as well, the main of it will be in a 15 x 27' room with additional space off one end of it in a step over extending 5 more feet and another 12 feet after that.  Gotta work with what we got!

[GraniteRailroader]

riogrande5761

The first question that came to my mind was, how can you design a track plan when you don't know yet where you are going to live and what dimensions of the space will be?

At least in my case, knowing the available space in the new house that we're building has helped tremendously. 

The portion of the basement that the layout is going in has been slightly modified to have additional beams under the floor joists to allow for no vertical columns in a 22x36 area. 

[SeeYou190]

riogrande5761

the main of it will be in a 15 x 27' room

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I only have 11 by 22 feet to work with for my final lifetime layout. Happily, for my goals I have found it is just enough space to make it happen.

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I would love four times as much space. 22 by 44 would be great, but yes, you have to work with what is possible.

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Congratulations on the retirement!

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-Kevin

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[Pruitt]

riogrande5761

I moved in late November and need to dig out my graph paper and start working on a plan as well, the main of it will be in a 15 x 27' room with additional space off one end of it in a step over extending 5 more feet and another 12 feet after that.

That's a pretty respectable size. Should my NJ house actually sell in the next couple of months I would expect my layout to wind up in a smaller space than I have there.

SeeYou190

I only have 11 by 22 feet to work with for my final lifetime layout. Happily, for my goals I have found it is just enough space to make it happen.

Congratulations on the retirement!

-Kevin

Again, a pretty respectable size. In some ways, I think my large space is a curse. It will take a long time to get something as large as I've planned fully operational, and even partially scenicked. But since the space is available, I just can't help myself - I have to design to fill it. Probably a character flaw.

Thanks for the congrats, Kevin!

Here's a photo montage of the construction of my previous layout in New Jersey:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gw12mN2nD88