I've been modelling a lot lately... the bug bites again has we say and having a small module right by my modelling workbench makes it perfect to keep the inspiration going on. Be it telegraph poles, farm implements, asphalt shingles roof or building and weathering countless grain hoppers, each of these projects are small and fulfilling.
I've also learned a lot about myself and my relation with layouts. As much as the QSSR was just a fancy idea to make something generic as possible, the more I interact with it, the more it turns into something familiar. First, it was that old feed mill from my home town which has been a staple of my layouts since 2000. Then, it was the track plan... the rolling stock and the motive power.
Yet, today, it struck me that the scene was eerily similar to that famous Richard Manicom photo of Langlois station on Monk Subdivision shot in 1963. How couldn't I had made that connection before just baffles me, but it is there, in plain sight. This is Monk subdivision, or should I saw, a slice of it. Even the small and unassuming station isn't that far from reality. I'm am certainly at that particular point in my modelling life where everything is converging fast into something very simple and coherent.
Yesterday, another realization came upon me when I took a few early 1950s green CNR passenger cars and coupled them to a locomotive. I ran them slowly on the module, back and forth and just looking at the train running back felt great... It kind of convinced me that my initial vision for Monk as a staging platform was probably right on the spot for my need.
An interesting lesson out of that is the module gives a sense of purpose and accomplishment, a vitrine for my modelling work. It also serves well my needs for switching which are real but not to the point of design a layout around them in a complicated manner. I'm laid back with my approach to switching, just a few cars and a track or two. The module is, in some way, a device to separate the close and personal switching chores from running main line trains. This is more than enough for me! It also helps to experiment a lot with what I wish to implement on the large layout in terms of scenery and rolling stock.
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