Post #2

I have finally made a start gathering together the bits and pieces required for the tramway layout. The addition of overhead wiring makes another layer that has to be completed. Should I switch to cable tram modelling and forego the overhead? It is also true that now light rail systems have been built without overhead wiring. Sydney and Newcastle are two examples but there is a certain fascination with the effort that is gone to getting the overhead up and working.

Look - no overhead

When you think about it, not having overhead means - cheaper, quicker and nothing to break and damage/repair. But overhead is part of the fascination of model tramways.

Newcastle trams - no overhead, just battery.

The copy of the 'Interurban Era' has arrived and I have been through it at least once rekindling my photo memories from long ago. Certain photos stick in your mind, mainly ones that have lots of detail in them.

I have also been looking at many Youtube videos from the 40's, 50's and 60's to try and absorb details that can be squeezed into a layout. The good side is that many of these films have survived and can still be appreciated. Sadly the means that they were filmed in really lags behind what we are spoilt with today for film recording. Films recorded in 8mm and 16mm were really the only format available in the past and just any mobile phone will give you crisp 4K resolution results. But we have to be thankfull with what we have got. I think we faired better with still 35mm colour and black and white photos from the long ago. I often see photos from the past that were taken on glass plates and the quality is brilliant and have sharp results. And not forgetting that many blemishes on old photos can now be modified using photo editing programmes such as Photoshop. There is also the ability to colourise black and white photos.

If people living in the past could have seen the future they would loved to have had our technology in video cameras, phones etc but we envy them in wishing we would have lived in their era to see what they witnessed every day, imagine riding Pacific Electric to work everday. Next project - build a time machine.

While I am hunting and gathering bits and pieces, I am thinking what type and size of layout I should build. Although I have plenty of room for an empire I am just considering a small layout something around the 8' x 4' size. I reckon I can fit a lot in that size. It may come down to a 7' x 4' size.

What I will try and fit into my empire are features that I feel give variety into the build, such things such as:

• Double track in roadway
• single track in roadway
• reserved track
• a crossing loop in the reserved track
• a combination of single and double arm trolley poles
• a depot/trolley barn
• a balloon loop
• reversing loop for single poled trams
• a freight track and building
• a run through passenger terminal
• and try to incorporate a few grades so it is not all flat

Looks a tall order to fit onto a small board but the beauty of a traction layout are how sharp curves can be and therefore squeeze more in. These trials of curve radius have yet to be made.

I enjoy designing layouts and have come up with the following plan which looks ambitious but features most of the dot points above. It is always different drawing up plans with a pencil or on a computer but until it is all laid out onto the actual board then that is the real test to see if it all works. I roughed out the following plan on paper then drew the rest on a computer programme. So this could be the plan or very likely there will be more changes. The dots represent where motorised point/switches will be, all the others can be sprung

Plan 1

 Well that's it for this post, more next time