Inspiration Continued

It has been just over a week since I returned from attending the Mid-Atlantic RPM 2022 (MARPM) in the Baltimore area. As the summer worked its way into fall I had to finally decide whether to attend MARPM or the Mid Eastern Regional convention in North Carolina the following week. Besides the significantly closer location, I chose the MARPM largely because of the opportunity to visit some "bucket list" model railroads and to meet (or at least see) some of the authors of blogs that I regularly read. 

Paul Dolkos's Baltimore Harbor

MARPM 2022 provided excellent clinics, a chance to see some excellent modeling, and the opportunity to visit some outstanding model railroads. The clinics and tours proved helpful in being able to add visuals to my backdrop clinic and fine-tune some of my planning notions. Perhaps the most practical takeaway was taking photos (with permission) at several railroad tours that I will be able to utilize to illustrate techniques mentioned in my backdrop clinic. In addition to inspiring me to improve my somewhat dog-eared clinic, the addition of the visuals may inspire future viewers to try the techniques. 

Visible and sceniced staging on Mat Thompson's Oregon Coast

Among the clinics at this year's MARPM, one appeared to fill a niche in my long range planning for the 4th Subdivision.  In what appeared to be a last minute addition to the clinic list, Travers Stavac presented a version of the Layout Design SIG's clinic called Make Only New Mistakes. He gave an overview of a recommended approach to designing a model railroad. I gathered several ideas from that clinic. First of all, their approach is to flip the priorities from a "normal" approach starting with detailed track planning to one with conceptual planning getting the biggest slice of attention while details get the least initial attention with a structural segment holding down the middle.  One suggestion for the important conceptual segment is to develop a "plumb line" or short written concept/vision statement that captures the intended purpose, theme, and personality of the railroad. All design decisions should not stray far from this so-called plumb line. A couple of concepts from the structural segment include basing design on signature traffic and/or signature scenes as well as developing "savvy standards." Finally, from the details segment a concept that stuck with me is having "logical lineals." In short, this means that the lengths of trains, passing tracks, yard tracks, and spaces between active switching are all interrelated. 

Clinics and tours also provided reinforcement for a notion central to my planning the 4th Subdivision. Paul Dolkos presented a clinic on staging that suggested that staging should be accessible, if not visible at least not be a "dark hole." He showed an example (Chuck Hitchcock's Ottawa Junction) of a recent track and operations plan with the staging as a visible part of the railroad. In addition he presented a series of alternatives to traditional staging such as using sector plates, cassettes, or car floats. Several of the railroad tours incorporated examples of visible staging including Mat Thompson's seen in the photo above. 

Having been inspired, the next step is to apply myself to some actual work and develop some perspiration. My next post may not be more than a to-do list, but that will at least be a first step. 

Inspiration

Iain Rice book image from Amazon

Inspiration, for me, comes from several sources. One is from model railroad authors; I am by nature a reader. One such very influential author was Iain Rice, who I learned passed away on October 8. His book, Small, Smart, & Practical Track Plans, was the first book I purchased when I returned to the hobby as an adult. My interests and approaches to model railroading (fixations with backdrops and smaller/compact design) are probably most influenced by his writings. In my analysis of what I hope to achieve with version 2 of the 4th Subdivision, I find that I am echoing Iain Rice's comment from one of his Kalmbach books:

 "My own goals in layout design have always put realism and atmosphere alongside interesting operation at the top of the want list."

Iain Rice c.1948 -- October 8, 2022

Also on October 8, I attended the Garden State Division's Fall Meet. Even though they are a different NMRA region and division than the one to which I have been assigned, their meeting in Hope, New Jersey was quite close. One of the features of their meeting was having several model railroads open in the afternoon after the meeting. I had the privilege of visiting Ted Pamperin's C&O and Tony Koester's Nickel Plate railroads. Both were excellent and inspiring. As mentioned above, I am a reader, so I was well aware of Tony Koester's work, but Ted Pamperin's amazing New River Gorge depiction was new to me. Clearly, visiting other layouts is an important source of inspiration. 

Visiting Tony Koester's railroad with train bulletins posted at each town provided an aha moment (an important form of inspiration). Not only did his railroad provide examples of backdrop and interchange techniques, but his quality fascia and valance presentation also provided a solution to one of my operations planning conundrums: How will train movement/authority work in my initial one-town TOMA section of Nooksack? The answer: the initial Nooksack section will follow yard limit rules and a posted train bulletin will give the timing of any first class trains. With a broad conceptual plan, but no real track plan for the rest of the 4th Subdivision, I can create a train bulletin for Nooksack without having the data to create a full timetable for the balance of the railroad, before I have a detailed plan for the rest of the railroad. 

I fully expected to learn more about, view in person, and gather photographic evidence of the junction/interchange and backdrop techniques I had read about in Mr. Koester's books and articles, but the truly inspiring part of my visit was the unexpected solution to a planning conundrum based on a small atmospheric detail posted on his valances. 

Before I switch to perspiration, the other half of the unstated formula, I expect to post about another example of inspiration. Last week I traveled to the Mid Atlantic RPM meet where I experienced more in-person inspiration from the clinics and railroad visits of the first RPM that I have attended.