As hinted at in yesterday’s post, I’m salvaging much of my current S Scale layout, based on the Niagara St. Catharines & Toronto Railway. I’m not abandoning the prototype – far from it – but rather refocussing my efforts in a different direction.
I have been unhappy with a number of aspects of this project and recently realized that I was building the wrong layout. So, my plan is to clear the benchwork back to the car barn and start over. I’ll recover turnouts, rail, and plywood – and the new layout will be less complex – so I expect the rebuild will go quite quickly.
My plans for my next NS&T layout are well underway but I’m not yet ready to share them publicly. However, my goals include less track… a higher scenery to track ratio… more suitability for one-person operation (with options for guests)… and more rural setting. Fortunately, the NS&T offers plenty of suitable examples I can draw upon.
I also plan to make use of at least some of the structures from my Port Rowan layout, and employ broader track standards so I can also run my S scale CNR locomotives and passenger equipment when the mood strikes.
I’m starting from the end of the long peninsula. I’ve already recovered the track from the Niagara Street scene and am working on Eastchester Yard.
Admitting that one has made a mistake on a layout is always difficult – especially when one is so far along in the construction.
But once it’s obvious, I’ve always found it’s better to tear up and start fresh than to keep pushing ahead in the hopes it will all work out for the best: It never does.
