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.