staging visible to viewers through the model

[TonyMay]

I realise that there's somewhat of a necessary suspension of belief for models, but how many well constructed layouts exist where the audience from a normal viewing angle can see into the tunnel or under the bridge, where instead of a line continuing more or less straight into the hill, there's quite an apparent traverser or fan of points, or a severely sharp curve that wouldn't be presnet on the prototype?

 

A related issue is that with bogie stock, the stock do not exit as if they were carrying straight on but begin a "death lurch" to one side.  You could have a 76ft mk 4 coach (305mm long in 4mm scale) immediately attempting to negottiate a radius 2 curve of 438mm radius, meaning that the by the time the rear of the coach enters the tunnel it has already lurched several degrees askew.

 

The "obvious" solution is to have the hidden from view by placing the staging/sharp curves away from the "point of exit", but this eats into space, which we know is already limited.  Or by placing buildings, trees, etc, to block the view.  Also, trying to make the exit as small as possible would seem to be logical, and trying to arrange the entrance/exit line to point away from the viewer so he can't look down the track.

 

Is this an issue that people have considered in depth, and if so, what specific approaches have people took?

[big jim]

there was a layout at the crewe show that had the track to the fiddle yard dissapearing 'stage left' under a wide over bridge but there were a set of unconnected dummy lines heading off to the end of the boards in the cutting, it looked very effective indeed and you were hard pressed to see the lines going off to the yard, so much so that when i first looked at the layout and saw a train shunting towards the "open end" i nearly alerted the operator he was about to dissapear off the end of the layout before realising the train was getting shorter as it went under the bridge!

 

the area behind the dummy tracks (above the fiddle yard exit/throat) was devoted entirely to scenics with rows of terraced houses, station front etc so no space was lost

[PaulRhB]

I suppose it all depends on how you maximise the scenic area, ballasting the track for the first few inches into the yard is one option with the lighting also keeping it lit the same. On my G scale the scene carries on beyond the curve off the back so the boards carrying the track to the back are painted black to designate off stage. Many N gauge layouts hide sharp curves at the ends in tunnels and as you note some have the curves a tad too close to the tunnel and you see coaches pinging off to the side as the vestibule lurches round, others have it just far enough in but you know there must be a sharp curve as there's only a few inches to the end of the layout. Cassettes sitting just beyond the bridges are another telltale sign but is it better to accept that or making the trains a coach shorter? Just where do you have to suspend belief? I think doing it on the transition to the hidden part is better and less distracting than 'on scene' where the compromise stares at you.

Personally I prefer a backscene to be high enough to separate the layout view from the FY view, I'm quite happy to allow people to see it I just don't want it in the same field of view as it tends to look cluttered and therefore distracting to the eye. I know a lot of small layouts operated from the front do have it open to the front including a couple of favourites of mine but it's just not for me 

[Baby Deltic]

On my exhibition layout (Sumatra Road) the fiddle yards are at 90 degrees to the back scene. The line enters curved tunnels at each end which have brick tunnel walls for the full length and are fully ballasted throughout, so even if you could see into them, there would be ballasted track and brick walls disappearing into darkness.

[34theletterbetweenB&D]

...A related issue is that with bogie stock, the stock do not exit as if they were carrying straight on but begin a "death lurch" to one side.  ...Is this an issue that people have considered in depth, and if so, what specific approaches have people taken?

My choice is to have the scenic break a foot forward of the end of scale radii, so that the visible coaches are on near straight (actually scale half mile radius) track by the time they are on view. This also enables the side walls to be close fitting for the first foot of the scenic breaks, blocking the view of the below scale radii. The compromise is the loss of a couple of feet from the scene, but the appearance of the moving trains on scene is so much better.

[298]

Suspension of disbelief is fine if you're looking off scene, but one negative of some layouts is the lack of space between the yard and scenic area to accelerate the train up to line speed.

[TheQ]

The Section of my layout I'm planning as an exhibition /portable has a station (Collingbourne MSWJR / GWR)  where at both ends the railway runs over the road bridges in otherwise open country side. Quite how I'm going to hide the transition to a fiddle yard at each end I'm not sure, other than going straight through a painted sky / countryside, back / side scene.  unless anyone else has Ideas?

[Wherry Lines]

How about some tall trees? 

[TheQ]

How about some tall trees?

 

Actually I took another look at Collingbourne Photographs just after writing the above, and at one end there are some trees that may help disguise the exit. However the other end is a problem in open country side. It has me wondering wether for exhibition purposes I might have a short alternative end to the layout turning it into a branch line terminous, instead of a through line . This would remove the need for one of the fiddle yards and considerably shorten the overall display size.

[Stubby47]

Shepherds has an overbridge partway along the goods loop, which I'm using as a scenic break at one end. However the bridge was vastly over sized and thus leaves a large underbridge view beyond the tracks. I'll be extending the ballast & shrubbery into the FY. 

At the other end the line passes between some tall, straight trees, so suitable model ones will be utilised.

 

Between the Shepherds section and the Treamble section will be a short off scene line, but both scenic parts are in a cutting. More greenry will help.

 

I also have a 12" wide information board at the front of the layout, which keeps viewers from getting a good view along the tracks.

 

Well, that's the theory...

[PhilJ W]

My layout has a traverser that covers three 'exit' tracks, the end of the traverser is ballasted and the sides and base of the traverser area I have painted matt black as well as the traverser itself.

[shortliner]

On my East 149th Street Erie Terminal, the exit onto the extended Locolifts was through the framework of a float bridge - I went to Morrisons and bought a sheet of their silicone cake baking non-stick material, cut a piece slightly larger than the exit, cut ¼" vertical strips to about ½" from the top, and stuck it behind the hole in the backscene. Rolling stock and locos went through with no problem, and being black, it blocked the "thru-view" very well, springing back into position after the train had passed through

[LNER4479]

Grantham's newly installed (and still being sceneried) tunnel mouth has a foot long, lined straight stretch before curving round through 90 degrees. I appreciate all might not have the luxury of such space to do this but it does help to create the illusion.

 

 

I got the inspiration for this idea from Stoke Summit where the entrance out from Stoke tunnel was similarly arranged. It lost a foot from the scenic section but I think was worth it.

[avonside1563]

On Black Country Blues at one end the line drops into a cutting and then the tunnel, this is also helped by the industrial line crossing the mainline on a skew bridge to the front of the layout  to further hide the tunnel mouth. At the opposite end it exits through a road bridge which is part hidden by a building to the front of it.

 

 

[Stubby47]

On Black Country Blues at one end the line drops into a cutting and then the tunnel, this is also helped by the industrial line crossing the mainline on a skew bridge to the front of the layout  to further hide the tunnel mouth. At the opposite end it exits through a road bridge which is part hidden by a building to the front of it.

Conversely, when driving BCB, the ability to see into the FY means the operator can see if the loco is moving and how fast - this feature is only available from one end as from the other direction there is no such view, and I found this was greatly missed.