Givens and Druthers — the annotated version

I have listed the “Givens and Druthers” of the N scale layout I have in the planning stages on a separate page in summary form.  Some of these are arbitrary (especially the druthers) but about some I have no real choice (like space).  I figured people who read that list might wonder why I’ve made some of the decisions I have, so I decided to place an annotated version of them here.

Some Definitions

In Model Railroad lingo, Givens are the things that for the most part must be true of your railroad.  This doesn’t mean you have no choice in the matter, but they are things that are, either because of the lack of choice, or for some other reason, non-negotiable. For example, if you are just a fan of O scale, and refuse to model at any other scale, then a “Given” is O scale. You could change it but you refuse.

On the other hand, Druthers are preferences — basically a “wish list.” These are things you want to be true, or wish could be true, if you had your way (your druthers).  However, you recognize that sometimes compromises must be made, for reasons like space, budget, practicality, spousal anger, etc.  Therefore, while you are unable (or unwilling) to bend on the Givens, you can, and may have to, bend to at least some degree on the druthers.  For example, one of my “druthers” is a tunnel of some sort, but at the moment that doesn’t seem to work with the rest of the layout I have come up with.

Before a couple of weeks ago, I had never heard of Givens and Druthers, but I found that listing them was a really helpful exercise. It allowed me to see the consequences of my decisions, and explicitly list all the constraints under which I was working (some, like my arbitrarily imposed budget, voluntary, and others, like space, not).

And so, for my Givens and Druthers:

Givens

Layout area — 70″ x 30″ max.
Why? Nothing larger will fit in my spare bedroom, and in fact, it’s probably too big but I refuse to go smaller.

“Benchwork” — must be temporary and movable at need.
Why? I live in an apt. and am very likely to move in the next couple of years — more than likely before I have time to even finish the layout.

N scale
Why? You can do about 2x as much at this scale, and the tightness of the HO turns at 30″ max width is not desirable.

Freestyle — no prototype
Why? It’s not likely I’d be able to model any aspect of a real railroad in the narrow space to my satisfaction.  A fictional railroad can be anything I want and won’t annoy me with its “innacuracy.”

Timeframe — early-mid 1950s
Why? This is what I call the “transition” era (I have no idea what it’s formally called). Diesel engines were ascending to primacy here, but steam was still in use. This allows me to use both kinds of locomotives on the track without being too anachronistic.  (Realistically I should probably be modeling late 1940s for a more transitional period, since by the mid-50s much of the changeover had happened, but I was able to find many more 1950s scenery items in the various online stores and thought it would be less painful to model the 50s.)

Track type — Kato Unitrack
Why? I wanted a bed-based track for this layout for two reasons. (1) I’m a beginner, and although I have no problems connecting non-bed track (did it as a kid without issues), I have no experience making beds by hand, and will feel less pressure to do so ASAP if the track comes with beds. And more importantly (2), as I said above, I’m probably not going to be here permanently, and I hope to get away without gluing the track down, so I can pick it up and move it when the time comes. Harder to do that if I have glued or nailed Atlas track to a cork bed, glued ballast to it, etc.  I chose Kato because the bed type I started with (EZ Track) was cheap and caused poor running of the starter engine. Plus it had too few track options.

Turn radius — 12 3/4″ max
Why? The largest Kato Unitrack turn that I can accomodate on my track is just under 13″. Any more than that would put the track bed right up against the edge, and that’s no good.

Electrical — DC
Why? Mostly expense and familiarity. I’m just getting back into the hobby, and have never done N scale. I’m used to HO and DC. Let’s change one thing at a time. When I get a more permanent (hopefully larger!) layout and more engines and rolling stock, so that I need to have multi-engine control, then I’ll worry about swapping over to DCC.

Operations — Continuous running with some mild switching options
Why? I like watching model trains run, kind of the way one watches fish swimming around in an aquarium (and get the same sense of relaxation from both).  I enjoy being able to switch from one siding to another or from an inner to an outer loop, so I want a few options for switching, and I’d like to have some spurs or yards in the middle just to add interest. But I don’t want to spend the whole time switching. I like to set it and watch, and then just interfere occasionally to switch the train over or back it onto a spur.

Expense — Outlay limit of $75/month on the hobby
Why? Because if I don’t force this limitation on myself, I know I will spend hundreds of dollars in a rush to get everything I want. This forces slow patience on an otherwise impatient person. Plus it protects my wallet.

Build complexity — moderate or less
I’m not really sure what to call this category, but the bottom line is that I live in an apartment. I have no workshop, no “cleanup” sink in the basement (because there’s no basement), no place to do “building” or any of that.  Everything will have to be constructed in situ (on the layout directly), or on either my dining table (with suitable protection such as newspaper) or for things that emit fumes, on a small tray table on my balcony.  My tools are limited to whatever fits in a small tool box. I can’t go out and buy stacks of 2x4s and plywood sheeting. I have no circular saw or belt sander to work with wood. Heck just storing the 36×48 and 70×18 extra pieces of foam cut off the 4′x8′ foam board sheet for future use is a major hassle.  Even something simple like cleaning paintbrushes has to be done with care and in a certain way lest I end up having issues with the landlord over messing up the apartment (and possibly losing my security deposit). Therefore, I have to build modestly.

Druthers

Some interesting terrain features.Although I’m modeling a rural/farming area, I’d still like some hills, some rocks, and other features, not just a flat grassland. A totally flat layout is unappealing to me. On the other hand, I have no desire to model a RR going across the grand canyon either.

At least one tunnel. I like tunnels. I think it gives a sense of “movement beyond the layout” when the train vanishes and then reappears. However, because of the givens I will have to make my peace with the fact that the tunnel probably won’t made the whole train disappear at once (a tunnel that large would eat up too much real estate on the layout for my taste).

A water feature. I don’t need rivers or oceans but I’d like a small pond or lake somewhere on the layout. I wouldn’t mind having a fishing boat and some fishermen as well. This is mostly to add interest.

A small town in a rural area with some surrounding farms and livestock areas. I’m not sure why on this one other than that it I’ve just kept popping up in my mind’s eye to do something like this as I’ve stared at the oval of track over the last few weeks.

A small amount of industry just for interest. I’d like to have maybe two grain industry structures, probably on spurs, that I can back a few grain cars up to just for interest.  I know it won’t be very realistic, but if I make long multi-track sidings to the industry areas I won’t have the space to model the small town area, and I want both.

A small train station/depot. A combination freight/passenger station would be best, so I can run either type of train on the track, but if not, then a passenger depot will do.  The freight train will just pass it by when it’s running.

Ability to eventually (perhaps after a switch to DCC) run both a deisel and steam engine at once, passenger and freight at once, on the same layout.  I recongize this may not be truly realized until I move and make a larger layout

Coming soon: I have 3 books on order, so my “Reviews” page should receive an update soonish.  The books are about layouts, scenery, and industry, so they should help me finalize my layout.  I hope to post the new layout here right after that.