Solarpunk City - A glimpse of the future!

[MattWallace]

Yup, it's that time of my life again where stuff starts to calm down so I decide to start yet another model railway that is almost certain never to be completed.

 

This time around, I've been challenged by one of my kids to build a cityscape based on Solarpunk aesthetics and ideals.

 

"But what is Solar Punk?" I hear you ask, and rightly so - the best way to describe it is like this

 

Quote

A world in which existing technologies are deployed for the greater good of both people and the planet.

 - BBC, https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-57761297

 

So instead of the desolate wastelands and Victorian technology of Steampunk, or the soaring cities and high-tech of Cyberpunk (Bladerunner etc), Solar punk is about using what we have to improve the planet for everyone, not just self-gain.

 

It also has an amazing Aesthetic, and lends itself really nicely to model railways as it's fairly anti-car and pro-mass transportation.

 

My favourite example that I've found so far is this one from Batagilab85:

 

My plan at the moment is to get a basic elevated track running, then start to add in buildings etc.

 

The track and supports will all be 3D printed based on my own designs, and I'll eventually scratch-build the trains and rolling stock, but for now the only N-gauge loco I have is a very much not solarpunk GRBf cl. 66, so that will have to do! 

 

Wish me luck...

[MattWallace]

And here's the first look at what the elevated track section will look like:

 

 

The slots on the roof will hold solar panels, with the holes in the sides holding wind turbines to generate energy from the passing train like the ones in this article.

 

The holes at the bottom are to allow water-runoff, that will over spill into channels to take it away to a grey-water processing plant.

 

The whole thing will be raised 80mm above the baseboards, with plenty of room underneath for scenics etc.

[MattWallace]

I love having AuDHD - it really hyperfocuses you on a topic to the detriment of the dinner that is currently burning in the oven, but I've found these pods at Heathrow T5 and now I want to integrate something similar into the layout!

 

 

Probably rail-based in my situation rather than the road stuff, although it could be interesting to try and model this using a Faller system!

[stewartingram]

So are these things 'accessible' for me to view or ride, or some extortionate 'travel fees' involved, or necessary ticketing rules involved?

[MattWallace]

9 minutes ago, stewartingram said:

So are these things 'accessible' for me to view or ride, or some extortionate 'travel fees' involved, or necessary ticketing rules involved?

Absolutely no idea, they just came up on my search results when I was looking for "cars of the future" or something along those lines!

 

£7 per person per journey according to a quick search: https://www.thistle.com/heathrow-terminal-5/heathrow-pods

 

Nice to have as a prototype though!

[The Pilotman]

16 minutes ago, stewartingram said:

So are these things 'accessible' for me to view or ride, or some extortionate 'travel fees' involved, or necessary ticketing rules involved?

They connect Terminal 5 with the POD Parking car park on the airport perimeter. 

Edited October 22, 2023 by The Pilotman

[MattWallace]

First test print of the elevated track sections.

 

The "branches" are part of the "organic supports" generated by the 3D printer software, but they tie in quite nicely with the aesthetic, so I may keep some of them!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Obviously the track needs a slight adjustment to fit, but that's easily sorted!

 

Edited November 7, 2023 by MattWallace

[MattWallace]

More progress and a slight modification to the base so that I can feed the power wires as well as making sure that the track fits properly:

 

I've then printed out two of these (just over 7hrs each!) and used some wooden blocks from my kid's old BRIO set to mock up the pillars:

 

 

 

 

I'll try and get to painting these soon, then work out what I need to build next!

Edited November 7, 2023 by MattWallace

[MattWallace]

A few months have passed, and I've been "time poor" so haven't been able to do much on this, however I've taken a detour into DIY Baseboard frames that are strong, lightweight, and can be easily stored.

 

The results seem to be pretty good.

 

I've got a 3D-printed panel at each end with slots for 2-pin (track power) and 4-pin (MERG CBus) magnetic connectors, and I'm using 3mm ply for the top.

 

One of the biggest issues that I have is storage space, and I've always intended this to be a modular layout, so I'm taking that to the extremes here.

 

Each module is 10cm high  to fit any electronics/point servos/etc. underneath, and the size of an A4 sheet of paper on top.

 

This presents its own challenges, as it means I can just about fit a cross-over junction onto a board but not much else, however it also means I've got a tiny part of the layout to build each time and I can treat each board as a diorama.

 

I've realised with this first set of panels that I should have also placed holes for location dowels, and I need to decide on a way to hold the boards together, but this is hopefully going to mean I can store everything easily on my shelves in the garage and get more than just track laid.

 

The panel itself looks like this, with tabs at each side for gluing/bolting things in place, and the two slots for the magnetic connectors:

 

 

I've purchased some A4 sheets of 3mm ply from Amazon and I've cut them into two 10cm-high strips for the sides, then glued a second full sheet on top, before printing out the layout from XTrkcad in 1:1 scale and laying it on top:

 

 

 

 

 

As you can see from the final picture, a matching set of PECO Streamline Medium points takes up the entire module, but now that I know that, I can play around with it!