1. First Generation Obsession
Maybe it's some kind of second-childhood thing that happens at a certain age, like a form of late-onset midlife crisis. In my case, it's a sudden obsession with first-generation N Scale model trains, inspired by the work of a like-minded modeler I admire. Of course, this would only happen to someone born early enough to have enjoyed that era of modeling in their youth. The layout is very much a descendant of my first permanent N Scale layout, the Newport & Rock Falls, hence its name. Drafted on 26 March 2019, the preliminary track plan looked like this:
Subsequently I reworked the plan to include as many first-gen kits as possible, as well as to cram as much track into the space as I could. Without question, the result is an extremely "model railroady" design which, I'll freely admit, was deliberate. Indeed, it fully embraces the absurd, with such things as an unloading crane and a bay barely large enough for one tiny barge, all to justify a rolling lift bridge.
After nearly a year in suspended animation, it saw renewed activity in February 2021. Consequently the layout has gone through a great many changes, which should come as no surprise to my regular readers. I now have a new ground rule: whenever I embark on a task, I ask myself, "Is this fun?" If the answer is yes, then I do it. Otherwise, I find a more fun way of doing it. It's as simple as that.
Despite appearances, it is possible to "operate" the layout, if desired; above, the green rectangles are freight cars illustrating the capacity of each siding, and black rectangles beside the track are Rapido-style uncouplers.
Unitrack Option
If you like the plan, here it is with Unitrack.
Ingredients:
- 6 x 20000
- 4 x 20010
- 6 x 20020
- 12 x 20032
- 5 x 20040
- 1 x 20070
- 15 x 20100
- 3 x 20101
- 5 x 20110
- 4 x 20111
- 2 x 20171
- 8 x 20220
- 4 x 20221