Mock-ups are great!
I like mock-ups. They are an inexpensive way to test the fit and feel for planned structures. They also help give the layout some purpose early on, so you aren't simply spotting a car at an empty space. My first mock-ups were crudely hacked from scrap pieces of foamcore board using dull blades. I made guesstimations when deciding how tall to make them. After operating the layout for a while, I had determined what adjustments I needed to make.
I also used foamcore sheets for the backdrop, but wasn't terribly happy with the results. The joints were too obvious, and the notches for clearing the upper shelf brackets weren't clean. If only there was some way to easily create an overlapping joint...
While websurfing, I came across the line of tools from Foamwerks. One of the tools is a rabbet joint cutter. Aha!
It's amazing how the right tool makes a job easier. With these tools, I can make nice crisp edges and corners. It's also amazing how well a sharp blade will cut foamcore.
Here are the pieces cut to replace the lumber distributor building.
Here you can see the rabbet cuts on the roof and side pieces. For now, I'm simply taping the pieces together. The rabbet joints result in a surprisingly sturdy structure, even when just using tape.
Here we see the new mock-up in place. After operating for a while, I discovered that I needed to extend the spur in the foreground to better fit the gate at the other end. After looking closer at the prototype, I realized I could locate the right loading door closer to the end wall, which let me shorten it enough to accomodate the siding. The original mock-up was also too short, being only about 20 scale feet tall. The typical height is closer to 30 feet.
The warehouse building really shows off the nice crisp corners created by the rabbet joint. Like the lumber building, the original warehouse mock-up was only about 20 feet tall. The new mock-up is 30 feet tall. I also adjusted the door spacing to accomodate 60 foot cars. They are small post-it notes so they can be resized or relocated easily.
The plastic products manufacturer had the most significant changes. The original mock-up was shifted more to the right with semi-trailer loading docks on the left. That meant boxcars had to be spotted in the middle position between plastics cars for loading.
The new mock-up is located all the way to the left, eliminating the semi-trailer loading dock. That puts boxcars in the left spot for loading. Since this building would probably have been originally built as a multi-tenant warehouse, I added 3 doors. However, the current customer only uses the leftmost door.
I also made some changes to the street. The original plan had a 24 foot wide street, but that seemed way too narrow. Google Maps has a measurement tool that is accessible from the right-click menu, and sure enough, almost every street found in an industrial park is 40 feet wide. I don't have that much room to work with, and while the narrowest street I could commonly find was 35 feet, I finally managed to find one that was only 30 feet wide. It also just happens to run beside the prototype for the lumber distributor on the layout!
With the extra width, I'll also be able to easily hide the joint between the modules.
I'm quite happy with the results so far. I think I'll be able to use these mock-ups as the base for the final structure if I use the photo image technique.
Craig
