New Direction - Stage 2

This stage is the biggest change to the original design to accommodate the charge of direction outlined in the previous blog on Stage 1. The major change is the inclusion of the Spicers Creek passing loop that was not going to be modeled and the moving of Drill Creek to the opposite wall

The other change not shown is moving the staging to the courtyard and this will be discussed in detail later. But in principle will involve the use of two four [4] meter staging yards mounted on lifting trolleys mounted on 40 mm od pivots. This will be outline latter but to say the availability of cheap workshop lifting equipment from China had made this idea possible.

Spicer's Creek Loop
A previous blog on Spicer's Creek showed snap shoots of the station diagram. The design only creates a basic loop only. A cut down cattle pens will be included along with locomotive watering and a PC1 shelter. This will be cut from a ModelFxs PC2 station that will be combined with another to create a AC4 station for Goombla. To operate a steam era layout of the 1960's loop sidings are critical to achieve practical operation.

Drill Creek
Drill Creek has incorporated the lot PC2 Station, Watering, Cattle Pen, Loading Bank and SO8 Grain Silo. The line will exit to staging at MaryVale through the wall of the garage.

Goombla
The design of Goombla was outlined in the previous blog the most important part of the new design. The train will enter from external staging representing Golgong using a narrow shelf that is just scenery. The entrance will be hidden using row's of heavy foliage as was the exit from the original Spicer's Creek Modules. It has been carried to the front edge of the Spicers Creek Station Module to help operators feel that these modules are extension visually of that module.

Joining Stages
The loops that join all the modules at the rear are also external and located between the rear fence and wall of the shed. This is lost space that is never used and helps save precious space to allow a series separate scenes [stages] to existing in their own right. In modeling curves are extremely difficult to scenic and serve to define the distance between any two scenes creating a real sense of small distances between model areas and are best done away with.

Stage 2 shown below:

New Direction - Stage 1

In the many months since the last post and public showing I have had a lot of tine to consider the layout design. The arrival of the Garrett from Model O has caused a slight change for the layouts final design concept.


Stage 1 - A new start

After a recent visit to Goombla to show my wife the source of all the crazy stuff the decision was made to construct this as the next scene for the railroad after completing the last module for Spicer's Creek. 

This was partly a result of discussions with the Geoff and Ben Small about AD60 Garrett's and the emotional stimulation it would create in O scale. That discussion lead to talk about the W44 Concentrate Train that was moved over the western mountains by the AD60 Garrett's. This route required many changes of locomotives and double heading and this lead to the talk of  "What if  the Mary Vale to Golgong line had been completed ?"  as one of the reasons for building the Mary Vale extension was its direct access to the ports in Newcastle while offering superior grades, so it is logical any dispatcher would route its traffic using this route.

With Model O release of the ore cars my fate was sealed we had to run the ore train so it was back to the drawing board [CAD System]. The recent attendance at the AUS 7 march convention lead to thinking about a new design.

The actual design popped into my head in my sleep that night and was still there the next day.

Stage 1 is no real change other that deciding to build Goombla module over Drill Creek but the real change is in the Stage 2 that may or may not be built.

Stage 1 shown below