STOP PRESS!!!
STOP PRESS!!!
While I consider the possibilities of On30, a new temporary trackplan has been produced. Work is now underway to build this plan (right - click on plan for a larger view) to provide sufficient operating interest while my future in On30 is evaluated. This plan allows for both a three-station Dutton Bay plus room for a good start on my On30 layout, "Blinman". Now read on for what I thought I was going to do...
The permanent trackplan of the Dutton Bay has been
through many changes. From a simple, single level
arrangement with two peninsulas (left) through a
two-level plan with two helixes (below), to a quite pleasant
looking double-decker with just a single helix (down),
all were rejected for one reason or
another. The design criteria was to model the line
from Kelvin into Port Dutton, and back out towards
Anunaka, at least as far as Warunda (see the
map). The earlier
plans were discarded either because the aisle width
was too narrow (3 feet seems a good minimum to me)
or the baseboards were too narrow (running tracks
for long distances on 6" boards makes realistic scenery
hard to build).
Other factors involved in rejecting
earlier plans were: difficulty of construction
(particularly with two helixes and two levels); an
inability to use existing modules; the layout height
compromise inherent in two-level layouts; lighting
the lower deck; difficulty in producing a "phased"
construction approach; and my preference for a "pure"
layout, with just one line passing through each
scene in a logically consistent direction.
My next "breakthrough" came with this plan (below right).
I believe all of these issues were addressed,
at the expense of some hitherto important features.
Layout design after all seems to be as much a question
of managing the compromises as anything else.
The major problem was that
the track plan no longer matched the
map which was so cleverly
worked out. Instead, the line ran from a
fiddle yard through Kelvin (for salt and gypsum),
Warunda (interchange with the 3'6" gauge SAR) and
Wepowie (a simple imtermediate station) to Port Dutton.
A line then ran beyond Port Dutton to the Dutton Bay
Jetty, and a branch runs back from Mount Dutton Junction
to the fiddle yard. Examination of the map shows that
Warunda and the SAR interchange had been moved from the
Port Dutton-Anunaka line to the Port Dutton-Kelvin-Kalanda
line, and what appears to be Kalanda now assumes importance
as the (unlikely) primary source of traffic. That Fiddle Yard
represents the "rest of the world".
Finally, after some more playing around, I came up with what is now my current plan, shown below. By moving Kelvin to the other side of Anunaka I have immediately repositioned all of the stations in their correct location on the DBT Map. There is some complexity in the construction, with a helix needed to get the track down below Anunaka. This also introduces some hidden trackage, but I have decided that the benefits of trackplan which matches my "map" makes it all worthwhile.
In order to minimize the hidden trackage, I have planned for Wepowie to be located just 8" below Port Dutton. That's hardly a two-level layout, but does at least allow for some additional operation and visibility of trains on the Port Dutton-Kelvin sector.
Construction wil be phased as follows:
Phase 1 will see the framing for the Fiddle Yard, Kelvin and Warunda erected. I will use the existing fiddle yard while the new one is being built, and will use Anunaka in place of Warunda until the interchange station is constructed. This is the current situation
Phase 2 will see the framing on the opposite "long" wall being built, Warunda completed and positioned, and then Anunaka will take the place of Wangary whilst that module is completed.
Phase 3 involves the remaining wall and the island peninsula. Once again Anunaka will be used as a temporary terminus
Phase 4 sees Kelvin being moved to position, on the opposite side of the peninsula to Anunaka. Wirrandra will then be built in its position on the lower long wall.
Phase 5 will see Port Dutton replacing Anunaka as the headquarters of the Dutton Bay Tramway. Anunaka will then be placed into long term storage, available for occasional exhibition use but generally will be retired after a long and successfull life.
This way the model remains operational during most of the construction period, allowing me to "run trains" if I feel so inclined, instead of having to wait possibly years for the rest of the railway to be built.
Last updated 8-Feb-02
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