Future Plans

The Big One is coming.....

So, in Rediscovering Joy I talked about tearing down an almost complete layout.... I'm not there yet, there is an emotional process to go through to tear down something I've invested so much time in, but I also have no desire to finish it off because I'm now ready to put together a full show layout that is transportable, and therefore shareable.

I'm going right back to my Lego Trains roots too, including a battery powered train on blue tracks that date from the 1970s and 80s. I still have the tracks but the motor and battery car have just been ordered from Bricklink. The plans are almost finished, I'll share pics in the next few days after a little more tinkering in BlueBrick.

Here it is!

Almost double the size of anything I've built, this will likely be my "last" layout, in that it's designed to be expanded in years to come. It comprises 16 modules, each 30 x 50 inches, or 3 x 5 baseplates (32x32). The grey and green was simply to help me see where modules were as I designed so that I could ideally keep stack connections at the edge of them.

Ultimately it will comprise 5 loops of track on two levels with one train running on each loop at any given time. The pics show the bottom level, the upper one and then both in position. There will obviously be landscaping, bridges and more to support the upper level.

I plan to build the battery operated loop first (blue tracks, left hand end), followed by the 9v electric on the opposite end, and hope to get them done by Halloween 2022. They can be displayed separately or together. All being well, building will start early in the new year. For now, it's time to take the old, unfinished layout apart....