> I find visible yards a design feature i'm not interested > in devoting space and other resources to.
David: Not at all a heresy. In fact, much as Ed and I have lampooned some of the foibles of the Layout Design groupies, this is one of their hot buttons. Indeed, your notion is far more in vogue than you might realize. Layouts need neither be focused on yards, nor comprised of a series of endless micro waypoints for the local. There is indeed a minor trend toward recognizing the realism of operating singular, non- yard locations...and more layouts following this sort of theme. Consider Bill Schleicher's layout as an excellent example...an example you may know from recent RMC exposure and through the web at: http://users.ntplx.net/~branch/). Bill is one of the chief folks behind Branchline Trains (custom painted runs of factory models and now producing its own HO models). Bill's layout focuses on NYO&W at Livingston Manor. Though not a yard per se, it is almost as big and busy as some of our model adaptations of larger yards. The Manor hosted helpers and served as one of the turn-around points for locals coming into town from either direction. At one point, the Manor was also one of the terminus' for the summertime resort trains - running a record number of sections (36 or so on one Labor day) of these trains especially on the big weekends like July 4th and Labor Day. O&W fans also enjoy the rather heavy overhead traffic that ran through this location from Scranton - coal, merchandise, and especially "beefers" - reefers full of meat - on it's way to New England through that nexus of northeastern prototypes - Maybrook - one of the busiest marshalling yards in the East. Finally, there were remnants of a once vibrant milk traffic into New York. And all this action and variety Bill captures through a single, reasonably sized location....oh, he did add Roscoe just up the line as well to give a sense of "going somewhere". He could have picked other locations on the road...like Campbell Hall or Walton, but picked this for its particular flavor and variety. He picked well in my view. A great sort of location to focus on for a small, but very successful layout. Look for his work (http://users.ntplx.net/~branch/) in the Railroad Model Craftsman article devoted to his layout and the scratchbuilt locomotives and cars of Mal Houck last spring. Great work! Recommend the NYO&W society is as great a set of modellers, a great bunch of guys, an avid archivist, and an excellent roast beef dinner (annual dinner). These are great modellers and a clever layout. With their thorough understanding of what the railroad actually did at the modelled location, Bill manages through selective omission and even more selective spots modelled 1:1 - to lend his scenes the sort of authenticity so many aim for. Bill lets the visitor's eye fill in the rest. Wow! Similar locations exist on many Railroads...and frequently modellers capture a slice of these on their layouts...but seldom do they focus strictly on turning this side dish into a main course of its own. Partly this is due to the fact that most locations of this sort seem inevitably to have either morphed larger into yards or languished back into brush. Many roads seemed to have had these locations...but inevitably photographers seemed to have gravitated either to where the action was thicker or to locations closer to their homes. Phil Hastings and a few others ventured further. If perchance you've already found one on your favorite prototype...be happy and build before your resolve weakens. Skip Change your membership, change your message settings, use our CALENDAR, view shared files or photos, view the list archives, GO TO http://groups.yahoo.com/group/S-Scale/ Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/S-Scale/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
