My givens, druthers, and a detailed room drawing.

Givens:

1. The primary fun will be found in the construction and experimenting with new techniques for track and scenery construction.
2. The railroad will be designed for operation by a single person but should be capable of supporting a small operating crew of 2-3.
3. Aisles shall be a minimum of 24″ for a short distance but mostly 32”.
4. The bench-work shall be fabricated in a manner that facilitates relocation; i.e. 30″ max width to clear doorways
5. Digitrax DCC system with JMRI interface.
6. Visible mainline radius shall be at least 24″; hidden mainline radius shall be at least 22″; spurs, industrial tracks, etc. radius can be 20″.
7. The minimum switch angle shall be #5. #6 switch angles shall be used wherever practical.
8. All switches shall be remotely controlled on valance and optionally with DCC. No manual ground throws will be used.
9.  

Druthers:

1. Continuous run connection for display running.
2. Hidden staging.
3. Bridge scene opposite bar.
4. HO scale. (may conceder N)
5. Open to the idea of complex construction, helix, mult-ideck, Lift or swing gates.
6. Track will be code 70 and 55.
7. Layout will have a finished appearance upper and lower valance.

Hey Joe,

I understand where you're at. I have a spare bedroom in my new house that I also use as an office. I'm planning an around the walls layout as a chainsaw. Living in Colorado, there are many possibilities nearby for modeling. What I decided on, was to use the Coors Brewery as inspiration for a freelanced layout. The entire layout will be based just on the brewery. The idea is that the main line will run from and back to staging on the lower deck. One train a day brings new in bound cards, and removes outbound cars in the yard. 

If you Google map the brewery, you'll see that it has its own small yard, and about three sets of multi siding tracks, as well as many places to spot cars. They also have a small fleet of switch engines to move the cars around. Main line running is fun, but switching is what I enjoy, so that is what the Operations is about.

I'm not a beer drinker, but I've been known to make and drink mead, which is basically fermented honey, so a large meadery is the industry for the layout. I've watched the train that services the brewery as it passes through the next suburb over from where I live. It's amazing the variety of freight a brewery uses. One Sunday morning I saw a large electrical transformer roll by on a flatcar.

If you can find a relatively large industry, and you enjoy switching, using the space to model that one industry may be just what you want. You can have as many trains through a day as you like, to get your main line fix, but you can also settle back and move cars around the layout all day too.

I vote for the G.R. & I

Having grown up in and lived in the Fort Wayne area there was a lot to the G.R.&I. that has been obliterated over time.  The line left the PRR at Junction Tower (Swinney  Park), crossed Jefferson Blvd and a few hundred feet north crossed the Nickel Plate branch to Bluffton IN.  Once the line crossed over Main street there is a large feed mill that has been partially torn down.  The majority of the structure is still there. I photographed it in the late 70's and there was a covered loading area for part of it.  There was also at one time a Lumber company just west of Leesburg Rd along with a fuel company that had rail service. Shortly after that the line crossed the Nickel Plate main to Chicago with the Wayne yard just to the east..  Going further north the line serviced the Dana plant at State St. on the east side and Pressed Seal Gasket on the west side of the line.  At Butler road just north of those facilities there is a neat wood trestle that supports a steel deck bridge over the road.  Once the line crossed Goshen Rd it went into the large industrial area that was located in the northwest portion of Fort Wayne.

I know that the City of Fort Wayne has old aerial  photos from the 1950's  (1" = 100') I spent some time looking at them when I was employed as an engineer for the city ( work related research).  The city offices recently moved the Citizens Square at the corner of E Wayne St and S Clinton St.  The engineering department is located there and you should be able to find the aerial's there.

I knew a guy years ago who modeled the G.R.& I. he used the PRR paint scheme on his rolling stock, keystone included, but had GRI lettering on it.  It really looked sharp.  Just something to consider

good luck with your plans

Don

Ken,

You present some valid points.  A free lanced layout may be the best compromise considering that I’m not sure I have the space needed to convincingly model any of these prototypes.

Don,

For me the GR&I is the most interesting and easiest to access and research.  It is only about 20 miles from home.   I also think that it would be the most challenging to try and fit into my available space.  If I was to pick the GR&I I would probably go for either Conrail era and concentrate on the segment between Junction Tower and Nickel Plate (NW or NS depending on exactly which decade I choose) crossing at Runnion. Making the industries along Leasburg road the main focal point.  Modeling the interlocking at Junction and or Runnion would also rate high on my rathers list.  The down side to this plan would be that most of the above is gone and I would be limited to working from whatever photos I can find.

The other GR&I option would be to concentrate on the Segment north of the Spring Street bridge.  This could include the Dana plant, Press Seal, the trans loader behind Press Seal (an excuse to have a FTD Trackmobile),  The Butler Road trestle,  and the industrial park at the north end of the line. This option is appealing to me because it is all still in place and in use, for the most part. My only fear with this is that it might just be too much railroad for my space.

Contributor Matt Weldon has a number of nice modern photos of the line on railpictures.net

To Help visualize my space I have included some photos of it. 

Joe,

Very interesting project. You seem to be leaning towards H0. Do you have a favorite car-type, or industrial theme based on your time period? My best advice would be to clear the space, lay some Ramboard floor protection down, tape some clear plastic painter's sheeting to the walls and hang from the ceiling, and bring in some inexpensive clamp work lamps. Light the place up and then study the new project location. A tape measure set to the maximum radius and swung around will give you lots of ideas. Build a simple three-track staging yard based on the longest cut of cars you intend to operate and move the thing around your new room area. You will have fun and will know what to do next.

Rob R

Rob,

Good idea. I have been working the GR&I concept using screen shots from Bing maps and pasting them together in Photoshop. Sort of a string of LDE's. The next step is to do a scale drawing to see if it will really fit. 

Joe,

Have you given thought to a small industrial line like the Flats Industrial Railroad?

http://maps.google.com/maps?q=Flats+Industrial+Railroad++1757+Columbus+R...

Mike,

I did give the Flats a look. I went there about a year ago and photographed the line but it doesn't meet my operational goals. I think it would be a neat subject for a small portable layout. Something along the lines of Tim Warris's CNJ.

A quick sketch of the GR&I from Spring street north. Drawn to scale, 24" min radius, except the line to stonehard, and # 6 turnouts.  What does everybody think??