A Return to Model Railroading...

It's been a few months since I've published anything significant on this blog. Not due to a lack of inspiration about what to write, but more to do with a general apathy regarding my hobbies lately and putting my effort into completing long overdue home improvement projects that were victims of procrastination. That pause was probably required to sort out my ideas and let cool my head from conflicting concepts.

That said, the last few months were also an occasion to explore a few ideas, many of them involving all kind of exotic themes which are usually not on my radar. The lack of hobby time also put forward the need for a small display or layout to fill the gap. There is nothing worst than stopping completely an activity with the ill-advised thought that there will be a "right" time to do it. However, learning from previous failed or successful attempts, I decided to take the best ideas and try to do something that would fill the gap on my office shelf.

A glimpse a what could be...

I've put forward a few general parameters to reach my goal:

1. It must be built on a lightweight module that can be easily moved around in the house and outside.
2. It must be dual power (DC and DCC)
3. Size matters and anything over 6 feet is too long for a module. You probably recall my theory where I explained that a scene about 6 feet long is large enough to fill your field of vision and create perfect immersion.
4. Trackage must be simple for ease of maintenance and trouble shooting
5. Generic locale with swappable structures that can be replaced over time to try new challenges
6. Be nicely finished and scenicked to be a good-looking addition to my office
7. Serves to experiment with scenery
8. Versatile enough to accommodate my large fleet of locomotives and cars

Certainly, there is nothing really new with these parameters, but they do reflect a desire to get better at what I'm doing and expanding upon previous iterations. With the St. Louis RPM and summer vacations close to my door, I won't be able to do that much on that layout until the end of July, but recycling an old module made it possible to start working on it efficiently. More to come about it!