2. A Brief Visit To a Parallel Universe
The Reading Central
As I'd envisioned it for a long time, my "forever layout" would showcase my two favorite railroads, the Reading and the Jersey Central, wending cheek-by-jowl through the endless urban industrial sprawls of northeastern New Jersey. I'd spent nearly half of my life living within eyesight of the Reading, so it should come as no surprise that it's significantly influenced my modeling. And the CNJ was considered a "sister" railroad.
Originally I was going to model both railroads at a time they still existed, but I struggled with the problem of how to include everything on my one-hundred-plus-item wish-list in an 11 by 15 foot space—which, I'd come to realize, is not as big as it may sound. Then one day I was struck by an intriguing what-if scenario: pretend Conrail never happened. Instead, before the events that gave rise to Big Blue, some of the lines that eventually comprised it had already coalesced into a few "mini-Conrails."
In this new parallel universe I'd created, the Reading, CNJ and Lehigh Valley had merged to become the Reading Central Railroad, in much the same way as the intertwined B&O, C&O and WM formed the Chessie System in the real world. Plus, for a little extra seasoning, I imagined the Lehigh & New England and the Lehigh & Hudson River had previously merged to become the Lehigh & Northern, which was then rolled into the RCR like spare change.
Carrying this admittedly silly concept even further, I'd even imagined the RCR eventually "modernizing," and adopting a new herald—obviously inspired by the Penn Central (which would not have come to be, at least in the form we now know, in my alternate timeline).
Sure, the RCR is a railroad that never existed, but for whatever reason, the idea seemed more appealing than representing real railroads in settings that never existed, since locales such as Jersey City couldn't be rendered convincingly on such a small layout. It's also conceivable that, under different historical circumstances, the Reading Central could have formed. Who knows? So many events in railroad history occurred seemingly by chance, while others were planned and never came to pass. It all made for an intriguing scenario...
Uncertainties
Life is always full of uncertainties, but I've always assumed I'd have an opportunity to build one last permanent home layout. For a time it seemed my plan may be at risk, as my efforts to build my home faced grave difficulties; I was forced to question my assumption, and accept the possibility that it may never come to pass—or, at least accept that it may be drastically reduced in scope.
At any rate, when at last I'm finally able to start my last layout, my operating budget will be significantly curtailed. Worse, physical limitations are increasing by the day; I no longer have the fine motor control I once had, which seriously impacts my ability to model at the level of precision I once had—and had expected to maintain. Today, even normally simple tasks, such as assembling a basic plastic kit, have become serious challenges. I wouldn't even attempt anything like my animated excavator or a working nano-layout.
These realities forced me to completely re-think the layout. The Reading Central would have been, if completed as I'd envisioned it, as close to my "dream layout" as practical. But it would also have been incredibly ambitious. The plan below illustrates the density and complexity of the urban industrial theme I sought. Plus, not shown is the lower level, which was to be a narrow gauge mountain line. Honestly, I began to doubt I'd live long enough to come anywhere near completion, even assuming I had the funds to build such a beast... not that 100% completion was ever my goal—I've always maintained that it's the journey, not the destination. All the same, I'd like to at least come close.
