I downloaded this when I saw it here on CTT’s site.
I was surprised at how many useful tips were packed into it. The layout is 8’ x 4’, but many of the ideas can be used for much larger layouts. I recommend reading it. There may just be a tip or two many of us had never thought of before.
The text detailing the work is well-written, and the diagrams are very clearly drawn.
There are a few suggestions I think would improve its ease of use.
- Add a table of contents. Anyone attempting to build this layout will want to get to the particular section they are currently working on quickly.
- Identify the sheets of stone-covered insulating material in the layout framework diagram. I was wondering what they were. Homasote? Why are they cut so small?
- Add pictures of the plastic ties being cut, used, and then cut again. It would clarify exactly how they were used.
- Add pictures of the actual connections made. (Solder, lugs, tape wire nuts, etc.—What methods were used and why?) Show how busses are used and how the wires between the uncoupling/unloading track and controller were extended.
- Add a list of materials used for each major step. Alternatives or substitutes could be listed also due to preferences or unavailability.
I know this supplement isn’t supposed to be an in-depth, comprehensive volume. However the suggestions for improvements I listed came to mind as I was reading it. I believe this supplement is mainly aimed at newcomers to the hobby. I’m sure many would have the same questions I had. We wouldn’t want those who are attempting to build their first layout to be discouraged, because they don’t understand one or two things. I think it would be better for the supplement to be as useful as possible to help keep newcomers interested in forging ahead. Don’t you?
I really like your suggestion about substitute materials. I never will forget reading Linn Westcott’s writtings about hard shell scenery and zip texturing as a young teenager. I called one building supply store in the town where I lived asking about Hydrocal (for the hard sheel) the guy said he didn’t even know what it was and hung up on me. That was a soul crushing experience for a kid.
I’ve moved around during my lifetime, and I’ve found there are many items with colloquial names. Sometimes the locals don’t understand when they hear the common names used elsewhere:
- Soda, soda pop, pop, and Coke can all be used to order a soft drink that isn’t necessarily Coca Cola. In some areas, asking for a Coke may get the reply, “What flavor? We have Orange and Strawberry.”
- Gypsum, Sheetrock, or drywall may get blank stares in different places, but using either of the other terms will probably get them to understand.
- I was stumped when I moved to Sheboygan, Wisconsin and someone mentioned the bubbler was just past the office on the left. It turned out to be a water fountain!
It’s the same way with a lot of the products people use while building layouts. Sometimes the alternative names are slang, while other times the name brand is so common it comes to be used as a generic term like Kleenex.
Too bad that person on the phone didn’t mention Hydrocal is a type off plaster. Then I’m sure you would have been able to find a supplier. With today’s internet, it’s much easier to find specific products. However sometimes a product is needed quickly. In those cases it’s nice to know when similar products can be substituted instead.
I second the motion for clarity in directions. When I was working, I would call these “regional differences”. The soda/pop was the most common but there are some parts of this great USA where a grocery bag is a sack.