Saturday, November 5, 2022

CN Monk Subdivision - Back to the Drawing Board

As work progress on Stanstead at a steady pace, I also learn or relearn lessons. The same can apply to the club layout, which provides me with some food for thoughts. Work will resume on Monk in maybe a month of so and I can’t help but revisit some ideas as the automation scheme, using Mini Panel, seems to materialize in a positive way.

 

The current Monk version is relatively linear and simplistic. It isn’t a defect, but exactly what I wanted. But when we are speaking of railfanning layouts, some liberties must be taken to create interesting vistas to stage the trains. Even a small layout such as Stanstead shows that a clever use of curved tracks and fascia can bring life to what should be considered minimalistic and maybe even plain.

At this point, the staging area of Monk has been completed and I’m happy to have had enough foresight to design something both simple and generic. It means I can almost build any track plan and scenery I want over the current yard without needing modification.

 

Chris Mears sketch that sparked everything

By pure coincidence, I stumbled upon an old plan for Monk that was based on a suggestion by Chris Mear to use a helix not to gain elevation but separation between scenes. The inclusion of that helix created a very aesthetic sweeping S-curve opening lots of scenic potential. I wondered if such an idea could be feasible given the lessons I’ve learned recently and how grades and curves can reduce greatly locomotive traction.

 

The track plan derived from Chris' sketch... still clumsy.

The helix serves three purposes. First, it provides a few more inches of clearance for the staging yard, which would be greatly welcomed on the layout. I wouldn’t mind 2 or 3 extra inches there for obvious reasons.

The revised layout with the old design under...

Second, it changes direction of a train moving on the layout. When you leave the Ste-Euphémie valley, your train is moving from left to right. However, when it exits the helix in Armagh, it appears to move from right to left for a while. This change of direction creates a sense of distance between scene and cuts the direct visual link between them. However, it doesn’t break the railfanning sequence because then disappear right under the spot where it will eventually reappear. This is, from a railfanning point of view, a comfortable proposition because you don’t have to move to get a good glimpse at all the action.

 

A cleaner version...

Third, it creates a time separation between scenes. A helix turn at 10 MPH, which is a speed I like a lot to appreciate a long train, 1:30 minute will elapse between the movement the locomotive disappears and reappears in the next scene. It may seem long, which it is, but if you break down the sequence, it also means the locomotive will emerge from the “time tunnel” only a few seconds after the caboose is gone from your sight, meaning you can seamlessly see an entire train moving and catch it up without waiting too much about 20 seconds later. Enough to install yourself at the right spot, by the grade crossing.

 

Ste-Euphémie Valley concept

Another aspect I revised on the layout is the Ste-Euphémie section which used to be Langlois Siding. This is on a grade and I think it’s wise to not have any operation occurring there. Instead, removing the feed mill adds 5 or 6 feet of mainline and spread the grade on a longer stretch of track. I’d like to imagine it as a valley on which the train is slowly climbing the grade up to Armagh. It would also be a perfect opportunity to showcase two typical National Transcontinental type of bridge: the large concrete culvert and the multi-span deck bridge.

 

I think such a long scenic mainline suits better the narrative of the layout and, incidentally, calling it the Ste-Euphémie valley is quite suitable since Euphemia means “who speaks appropriately/accurately” in Greek. At the end of the day, long trains need space to breath and to deploy themselves in front of the public. This is part of the modelling journey too.

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