Randy's Layout
Home Up

 

The Room
Main Yard
Test Track
Splines

NY Signal drawn by 3rd PlanIt

TrackPlanning.com

NY Signal drawn 
with 3rd PlanIt by Walter Griffin

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I've decided on a theme that's personally interesting but rather unusual. Ayn Rand's book Atlas Shrugged played a large role in my life; I first read it when I was 17. The protagonist was Dagny Taggart, who effectively ran the Taggart Transcontinental Railroad from her position as vice president. Dagny, John Galt, Ellis Wyatt, Henry Reardon, Francisco D'Anconia, and a host of other entrepreneur/industrialists moved to a valley in Colorado that provided the natural resources they needed to knit a small, interdependent community.

My layout assumes the group has continued their life in Colorado, but Dagny has sold the Taggart Transcontinental to the Union Pacific which now operates the main line through the valley. Dagny now owns The John Galt Line, a branch line servicing the community and interacting with the UP.

OK... I know this is very fanciful, and I'll never find a prototype timetable. But I do like the thought of this fantasy, and I really enjoy model railroading because of how it allows each of us to explore facets that attract us personally. So please enjoy my layout, and all the changes it is sure to undergo.

Entering the roomThe first phase was entering the room and fixed obstacles. There was time for a bit of layout. The Main YardNext, I started to refine the main yard. I did some switching in 3D to try it out. Then I revisited the helix.
The test trackChange in plans. I'd like to get what's left of my old layout running again so I can test a new idea. SplinesSpline construction offers strength and beauty. Here are some ideas on how to build splines quickly and easily.
 

 

 

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Last modified: September 30, 1999