Swiss Cheese

[Sir Madog]

A Swiss friend of mine is building a layout based on the BLS in his basement. He has started out to build the famous Blausee-Mitholz station, as close to the prototype as possible. However, he was very unhappy with the plan for the rest of his layout and has asked me to come up with some fresh ideas.

 

This is the old plan:

 

 

It is a simple roundy-rounder, which will get boring to operate after little while.

 

The objective of the layout revision was to include a hidden staging yard and the famous Kander viaduct to add operational and scenic interest to the layout.

 

Here is, what I will be suggesting to him:

 

 

Baseboard construction will be challenging, as the layouts is meant to be build in sections, so it can be taken apart and moved to shows.

[eastwestdivide]

Is Schattenbahnhof fiddle yard (shadow station)?

and herausnehmbare = removable

[Kenton]

Not to my liking - too much roundy roundy with very little shunting opportunity or variation.

I think I would have incorporated reversing loops on the lower level to double the length of run (change of direction)

 

But then again not the sort of layout I would ever anticipate building or liking - each to their own though, and what you have presented is a big improvement with at least the opportunity of some exchange of trains in the FY.

[Sir Madog]

Is Schattenbahnhof fiddle yard (shadow station)?

and herausnehmbare = removable

 

... you have guessed it!

[Sir Madog]

Not to my liking - too much roundy roundy with very little shunting opportunity or variation.

I think I would have incorporated reversing loops on the lower level to double the length of run (change of direction)

 

But then again not the sort of layout I would ever anticipate building or liking - each to their own though, and what you have presented is a big improvement with at least the opportunity of some exchange of trains in the FY.

 

Personally, I am with you on that one. My own layout is a narrow gauge D&RGW branch line in the Rockies, with plenty of shunting and no continuous loop. However, the chosen prototype and region does not see much shunting operation, as most of the trains just run past this station, which has been degraded to a mere halt in the meantime. The interest in this layout comes from landmark buildings and landmark scenes, paired with an incredible amount of detail - the bloke goes to the extent of taking rock molds on site to capture the correct texture.

[Kris]

I would have considered a folded dog bone approach to give end to end running and a continuous run. This would give two effective fiddle yards which could be automatically controlled.

[PaulRhB]

I would extend the hidden loops round to the left hand side if clearances will allow for longer freights that just pass through. If it's intended to be a showcase for running trains then it should work quite well. You wouldn't see much shunting at stations like this so operation is fairly limited in that respect but prototypical. Swiss operation is really based around major yards and stations, here it would maybe be car transporters or odd vans?I think the main design aspect not apparent is how high the boards will be. Use the depth to get as much impression of the mountains as you can and it should work well.

[Sir Madog]

Thanks for all the comments on the plan. I have had a lengthy discussion about the "folded dogbone"-idea with my friend, but we both discarded it, as it would eat up too much space. I had to adjust the plan slight due to those few missing inches (actually about a foot) on the left side. There is an object in his room we thought it could be moved, but it just can´t.

 

This is the final version of the plan:

 

 

The upper part of the layout (with the station) is already under construction - here are some pics of the excellent model work my friend is doing:

 

 

There will be a backscene based on photos taken at the original location.

 

[Kris]

The sections that your friend has already completed look fantastic.

[Sir Madog]

Thanks, Kris - I will pass your comment on to him!