An idea for a modular roundy-roundy

You mean this ??
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Four_Seasons_(Vivaldi)
or

[user=465]Stubby47[/user] wrote:

Did Vivaldi write "Mind the Doors" ?

:roll::roll::roll::roll::roll::roll::roll::roll::roll::roll:  Philistine ! 

I thought Vivaldi made ice cream.....................:roll::roll:

Now what you could do is mount the whole lot on a revolving frame and match the speed so that the train appears to stay still as the scenery flashes by. :hmm

[user=339]Ian Morton[/user] wrote:

Now what you could do is mount the whole lot on a revolving frame and match the speed so that the train appears to stay still as the scenery flashes by. :hmm

Ian that suggestion rang a bell, I recall seeing a narrow gauge layout years ago that did that.  A rummage around on google came up with this - http://www.belfieldhall.co.uk/belfield/bher_2.html

It talks about the rotating baseboard at the bottom of the page.

Now I'll have to think up something even dafter :roll:

More recently I have seen the  Bellfield Estate layout on Carl Carendts Micro web site .

It just shows how difficult it is to come up with something new and different in model railway layout concepts.

[user=6]Petermac[/user] wrote:

I thought Vivaldi made ice cream…………………:roll::roll:

 

No! No! No!     -   Viv Aldi was the wife of a well known owner of a supermarket chain.:pedal

[user=373]Wheeltapper[/user] wrote:

[user=6]Petermac[/user] wrote:

I thought Vivaldi made ice cream…………………:roll::roll:

 

No! No! No!     -   Viv Aldi was the wife of a well known owner of a supermarket chain.:pedal

There's somethnig about these supermarket owners - did you hear of the singing one - "Lidl Richard" ? :roll::roll:

One thought about a Four Seasons layout:  What happens when the winter schedule differs from the summer schedule?  Will you have to stop and park the train in a tunnel and leave it there for a couple of months?

I'll get my coat…. ;-);-);-)

I do remember the Bellfield layout, it having been mentioned in the model press some years ago, and my intention is NOT to replicate this idea…

I don't recall seeing a layout showing more than one season, especially using the same scene more than once. Yes, there have been layouts with snow (one particularly memorable one is an 'N' gauge layout, north of the border, with one section covered in snow) and ones like Briasn which show the same location at different times, or the same scene in different scales.

I'm looking at each module being at least 2'6" suqare, giving a 5' square layout when assembled. At exhibitions, it would need to stand on its own, to allow the four modules to be seen equally - not sure how exhibition managers would view this idea (electrics, etc). If I add a central operating area, it will be quite small, and not really much use, as apart from a pair of controllers there will be nothing to do in there, so I'm considering either placing the controls on the outside (perhaps behind a curtain flap), or using something like a Dynamis to allow control from the viewing side.

(Question - if a Dynamis unit is moved out of range of the base station - does the system stop working ??)

If I don't add a central area, it makes each board quite large, and so harder to transport and move manually, even if I make them out of foamboard.

It's not easy, this modelling lark, so many decisions…

[user=465]Stubby47[/user] wrote:

Question - if a Dynamis unit is moved out of range of the base station - does the system stop working ?

You can set the system so that it doesn't time out when the handset is out of range.

Aha, thank you. Just need to buy a Dynamis and some chips then and I'm all sorted. However, not sure that a sound loco would be a good idea on a small layout, you'd hear it all the way around!

[user=339]Ian Morton[/user] wrote:

Now I'll have to think up something even dafter :roll:

 

Developing this idea even further - how about a Time Travel Version ?

The four sections would be basically the same  landscape but from a different historic period , for example Pre Grouping , Big Four , British Railways  and one of the Modern service providers.. There may also be  the possibility of using period trains  appropriate to each time period by using four seperate circuits with only an identical  section of track  from each of the circuits being able to be seen by the public on each board . It may be tricky however to give the illusion that it is one train travelling around the layout from one time period to the next but it ought to be possible to synchronise the public viewed movements of the four trains to give this impression.

Might just work            :hmm

Or you could just have a circle of track and run a train around it ..............................................:cheers

Replying to Richard's idea, I had thought about hidden loops, so a train could disappear and be replaced by another. But with two main lines, the point work and construction of said hidden lines would add far too much complication to what is essentially a scenic exercise - the trains are intended to be almost incidental.
Hence Petermac's comment is far nearer my original idea.
But thanks to all for your input, even Ian, all the discussion helps fuel my thought processes.

"Polbraze" ???  Is it an anagram Stu or what ?  It has been pointed out that I miss things easily so, if it's obvious, please let me down gently !!! :???::???:

Polbraze is my RMweb 2010 Challenge layout. My first layout was a boxfile called Porth Byhan, which is Cornish for Little Harbour. Polbraze means Big Harbour.
However, as you'll find with my layouts, nothing is done in a straight forward manner. In this case, the main baseboard of 3' x 2' extends by about 13" on the left and front edges to make a viewing area approx 4' x 3'. The extensions are on fold down panels, which with the back & right side backscenes, form a large box. The lid of the box ( imagine a shoe box and lid concept) will also form the deck for the fiddle yard cassettes to sit on.

So, no, you've not missed anything, just those members on here and RMWeb will have possibly seen my thread there and I didn't think about explaining on here too - my apologies.
A search for Polbraze on Google will lead you to my blog on RMweb, with more details and some photos.
If you've any further questions, ask away.
Stu