Category: Operating

Divide et Impera! The scenic divider helps to cope with different scenes

arendthausen-carlsfeld-550-ii

You may find the idea of having different scenes on a micro layout somewhat strange.  But it is not! There is one great tool to use: the scenic divider. Above you can see a design for 530 x 50 cm (ok…in 1:43,5 that´s still a micro, isn`t it?) called “Arendtshausen-Carlsfeld”. You may have noticed my bow to the late Carl Arendt… The road bridge plays the role of a scenic divider, splitting the layout into a more scenic part (right) and a fiddle Yard on the left.

trubemunde-strand

Other plan, same story. Also in “Trübemünde Strand” – a fictious terminus somewhere on Germanys coast – the road bridge is helpful to seperate station and the “rest of the world”. The design bases on Carl Arendt´s “Amalgamated Terminal“.

brucke-mit-zwei-lok

brucke-nahaufnahme

Quod erat demonstrandum…”Krumme Fohre” gets a scenic divider mock up…it´s not the best road bridge ever seen, I have to admit, but it may illustrate the principle.
See you! Alex

It´s all about operating…the house of cards

Why do we build model railroads? For operating, aren´t we? Ok..there may be some model railroaders who only like to plan, to build and to regard their own creation. But, tracks are made for switching… Take “Sioux Falls” for an example (find more here, if you want). The first you need is a set of cards to represent your set of wagons. At “Sioux Falls” we play with five freight wagons. It´s not difficult to print five cards with the pictures of your wagons. Here we go… If you are a perfectionist don´t hesitate to design more elaborated cards. You will find a lot of prototypes in the internet. To be honest, the simple version works either…Ok, now riffle and pull out three of the five cards. That´s the order in which your train should appear. Considering that the five wagons are in random positions it may be a tricky problem to solve. Take your time to think over the next manoeuvers and you will probably avoid useless moves. Competitive switchers may set a deadline or compare the number of moves…you don´t have to, but you can, if you want. With the help of the photos below you can follow one switching session in “Sioux Falls”. It took about 15 minutes to complete the train. For more informations about switching puzzles visit Adrian Wymann´s superb website.

Let´s switch again!
Alex