Less is more? Well, more or less.
How we populate our layouts can depend on the amount of time we have on our hands. Most of us get the track down and trains running as quickly as we can, stand back and think “now what, where do I start”?
A prairie grain elevator was a must for me and as a kid who was hauled back and forth across the prairies numerous times I noticed that those grain elevators could be out standing alone as in the above photo or surrounded by the structures of the town that was written on the side of the elevator.
I had a list of must haves and as I went along adding structures and scenery, I realized how appropriate it would be to add certain, larger and/or fine detail bits around those structures and other places, even though I was looking for a more remote, rural feel for my layout.
A roundhouse/turntable was the other must have and soon I realized how much space these things took up. So instead of trying to build a metropolis around my RH/TT I decided my must-have service facility would be a pusher station in the Rockies. Rocky mountain railroading was what I wanted, lots of scenery few inhabited spaces. Long single track runs, such as they can be on a model RR. It is coming together at a glacial pace and as I go I am finding some spots where more signs of humanity would fit in nicely without losing the remoteness I am trying to achieve.
Wapta Lake is where the continental divide is on the Canadian Pacific’s mainline, and a stones throw to the West is the small town of Field where once upon a time there was a pusher station. The very few structures that make up the town are just up the hill a bit and I do have just enough space to add those if I ever get that far.
Field, where the RH and handfull of other small buildings sit out alone, works for me.
So this brings us to you.
Do you want a train table loaded with as many structures and as much track as you can squeeze in?
Do you think about how your layout transitions to where it falls off the edge of the world?
Dose being realistic when it comes to knowing how much you will actually get done over time have anything to do with your plans as far as the number of structures you will be required to build?
The larger the layout, the more time you need to spend maintaining it and this definitely cuts into the time you have to do other things such as build structures and add scenery. How does layout size factor into your big picture?
Tell us of your wants and wishes and realities, nothing wrong with any of it as it is about the journey, not the destination.
