101 Track Plans being superseded?

[markpierce]

One of the first soft-bound books from Kalmbach which I acquired (back in the 1960s) is the 52-year-old 101 Track Plans.  The plans are mostly dated (usually resembling a plate of spaghetti) although there are at least a half dozen which I believe still have high merit. 

I just learned that Kalmbach will be publishing near year-end the special magazine 102 Realistic Track Plans based on reprints from track plans from previous Model Railroader magazines.  "Realistic" depends on one's own perception, however, I expect that many of these plans will reflect more contemporary approaches to layout design.

Mark

P.S. -- Personally, I suspect Kalmbach will publish 101 Track Plans until at least its copyright expires, and the newer 102 Realistic Track Plans will only be published once. 

[dinwitty]

Wescott's book is invaluable, even just for ideas. I had a copy but couldnt find it so I rebought it.

 

[Midnight Railroader]

Wescott's book is invaluable, even just for ideas. I had a copy but couldnt find it so I rebought it.

 

Maybe. Anyone with beginner to intermediate skills would have trouble duplicating the ideas within in the real world, however.

[tstage]

And I think that "ideas" is the operative word here.

When I started building my first layout "way back" in 2004 , I glanced through the Wescott's 101 Track Plans to find a layout plan to use.  However, I found out that the more I looked through it, the more I began to realize that the plans just weren't "me".  I needed to come up with something that fit my choice of railroads and modeling interests.

I do agree with dinwitty though.  Wescott's compilation book still has merit for ideas and stretching our imagination.

Even some of the newer plans that I see in MR or elsewhere - although interesting - I find I don't usually care for for some reason or another.  However, I do find that there's generally some aspect about every layout or layout plan that I see - however big or small - that I inevitably end up saying to myself, "Hmmm...Now that's clever" and try to squirrel that bit of information away for some possible future use.

Therefore, I find that I can still glean good ideas from other people's layout, even though I myself would never build it that way in it's entirety.  That's what makes this such a unique and enjoyable hobby to be involved in.

Tom

[loathar]

I downloaded a lot of their track plan data base this weekend when they had their free for all. Most of them are specific to a particular room size and shape making them useless unless you want to copy a yard design from one or two.

[MRTerry]

Mark,

Thanks for your interest in 102 Realistic Track Plans. We're pretty excited about the product, which features the best plans from the last decade or so of MR with new introductions and more. It doesn't really replace 101 Track Plans - 102 Plans is a magazine, so it is only on sale for a short time, and 101 Track Plans is a book - but it is certainly in the tradition, which is why we gave it the name.

I can't predict whether we will ever consider releasing 102 Realistic Track Plans or a similar product as a book, but if we did, the book certainly wouldn't be priced at $6.95!

(Word from our sponsor, so to speak - you can purchase 102 Realistic Track Plans here:

http://kalmbachcatalog.stores.yahoo.net/model-railroading-model-railroader-magazine-special-issues.html

Thanks for reading MR,

Terry

[Autobus Prime]

Wescott's book is invaluable, even just for ideas. I had a copy but couldnt find it so I rebought it.

 

Maybe. Anyone with beginner to intermediate skills would have trouble duplicating the ideas within in the real world, however.

MR:

Could be, for some of them. LHW does mention in the text that commercial track components might need to be trimmed, and Atlas switches are no. 4.5 rather than the NMRA no. 4's shown. Some of those plans are certainly a good bit older than the 1956 original publication date. All of Bill Wight's plans would be pre-1950, sadly, because he was killed at 27 in the Speedrail accident. I wonder if that isn't a good bit of the reason so many of his plans were included in the book -- a sort of memorial. In fact, isn't the book dedicated to the Wight family?

Some of BW's plans in the book are a little lacking - it's hard to see much operation possible in the Lime Ridge, Hercules & Portland, although it's basically an industrial railroad and would do basically one thing over and over again, and furthermore it has a facing spur but no runaround except the twice-around loop. But some of his other plans are quite good, and I think he'd have been an exceptional layout designer, given a few more years of practice.

One thing 101TP does have over a collection of newer plans is a lot of variety, which makes it interesting to read. Some of the plans are spaghetti bowls, but even if you don't like those, you might find a few noodles or a tasty meatball.

Still, 102RTP will make good reading, so I will probably buy it. I imagine it's drawn from the online database, but I don't take the computer to the thinking room or the comfy chair.

[ereimer]

since i already have almost all issues of MR from the last 22 years i would't buy this if it was a $30 book . a $6.95 magazine on the other hand i' will buy , just for the new and additional info included .

 

ernie 

[steveiow]

I have this book,and whilst it may be considered dated,it is invaluable to me,because it gives me the US slant on track layouts which are a lot different than UK ones.

A lot of the plans are way to big for me but contained in them are some nice little gems-Tony's layout ideas or elements or whatever he calls them-combine these with what your model room can accomodate,mix and match and you could get a good design.

Was'ent there an article in a Kalmbach publication about chopping one of these plans in two and stretching it a bit,some time ago?

Steve

[markpierce]

Can we look forward to 103 More Realistic Track Plans in 2018?

Mark

[dmitzel]

since i already have almost all issues of MR from the last 22 years i would't buy this if it was a $30 book . a $6.95 magazine on the other hand i' will buy , just for the new and additional info included .

 

ernie 

I likewise may purchase the 102 issue - also for the supplement - but I am getting tired of Kalmbach constantly repackaging old articles and plans into "new" books and special issues. I'm a subscriber so the idea of dropping $6.95 for content I've already paid for is rather grating. Likewise, with the "free" RR's U Can Model booklet this issue will most likely be sealed in shrinkwrap, so no ability to thumb through before purchase to determine if there is enough new content for it to be worth my $$$.

That being said, picking up a copy only to find it filled with old and previously read content will just add to the feeling of being "taken" yet I don't want to risk missing any new content that may be worthwhile. Arrgh... the frustration of this new business model of unbundling everything - bugs me when I'm flying for work too (airline industry).

[Autobus Prime]

since i already have almost all issues of MR from the last 22 years i would't buy this if it was a $30 book . a $6.95 magazine on the other hand i' will buy , just for the new and additional info included .

 

ernie 

I likewise may purchase the 102 issue - also for the supplement - but I am getting tired of Kalmbach constantly repackaging old articles and plans into "new" books and special issues. I'm a subscriber so the idea of dropping $6.95 for content I've already paid for is rather grating. Likewise, with the "free" RR's U Can Model booklet this issue will most likely be sealed in shrinkwrap, so no ability to thumb through before purchase to determine if there is enough new content for it to be worth my $$$.

That being said, picking up a copy only to find it filled with old and previously read content will just add to the feeling of being "taken" yet I don't want to risk missing any new content that may be worthwhile. Arrgh... the frustration of this new business model of unbundling everything - bugs me when I'm flying for work too (airline industry).

dm:

To be fair, they've done this for years. Example: EASY-TO-BUILD MODEL RAILROAD STRUCTURES, published 50-odd years ago, was all taken from previous issues of MR and MODEL TRAINS. Nothing very new.

I do prefer this practice to the "GMR / Realistic Layouts / Track Planning" method of sequestering interesting content in an extra issue, when it would be quite welcome in the monthly. (Originally, GMR was supposed to be an extra-fare bonus, and I imagine the others were too, but three may be overkill; I think it's diverting too much from the monthly).
I haven't always subscribed, and there's lots of issues I don't have, so most of this 102 Track Plans book would likely be new to me.