A Long Time Coming.....November 2018 Update

It is remarkable how personal goals and aspirations can shift over the years; not just in general life but also in model railroading. This blog entry will attempt to analyze this phenomenon in relation to my CSX Chickamauga layout.

Six-and-a-half years on from my last blog post: The Chickamauga rests mostly unused and gathering dust along two walls of my train room. It seems that reality ultimately did not match the expectations I held in mind as I designed and constructed the layout. Here is a summary of why:

(1) The Chickamauga is an L- shape on 24” deep shadowbox modules; being HO scale this limits the layout to strictly a point-to-point operation scheme. Given the lack of space for any real staging yard, this amounts to little more than a switching layout.

(2) I ultimately do not enjoy switching operations as much as I projected I would. I often find myself wishing I could just sit and railfan my trains as they orbit a continuous loop through the scenery. Unfortunately, the floor plan of the room does not permit this arrangement.

(3) Due to a back injury that occurred several years ago, I have noticed in myself a subconscious effort to avoid standing in one place for long stretches of time. Unfortunately, since the Chickamauga is at armpit height relative to me, this means I must be standing to operate or view the layout for any considerable duration. The layout was constructed at this height to occupy air space over my bookshelf and other assorted furniture. Lowering is not an option at this time.

Almost seven years later, the Chickamauga still stands. The dream is still alive, although quite different from what I might’ve pictured just five years ago. Scenery is about 80 percent complete, there are no bare areas; every square foot has a basic coat of ground cover, trees, and backdrop detail. Most of the remaining work exists in the form of superdetailing; lineside poles, signs, chainlink fencing, etc. I am not making any progress at this time, in anticipation of a move to a bigger residence. There really is no need to add further detail at this time if I have to be standing to see it.

I don’t foresee any drastic changes in roadname, locale, or era in my future, so the Chickamauga will still fit into my future plans of expansion someday; provided the floor plan of my future residence will permit its L-shape to exist with minimum modification.  I will almost certainly lower it to desk/table height (32 or 33 inches sounds about right, confirmed by mockup testing), and I will most likely de-emphasize the focus on switching operations. I may go so far as to eliminate a spur or two; I may also eliminate the Tortoise machines of any turnout not connected to the mainline, along with greatly simplifying the switch panels that control them. I have learned that the inherent complexity is just not necessary, and will be even less so if switching operations are scaled back.

For now, my layout waits, silently and patiently…….for a larger space to call home.