Go Freelance or Go Home?
I have been planning a N Scale model railroad now for about 6 months. Originally I was planning on modeling the BPRR and BSOR from Buffalo to Gowanda / Salamanca. I figured this would be an interesting local shortline to model which would provide some interesting and fun operating sessions. Planning a model railroad takes a long time, and indeed I spent many hours working out track plans and trying to fit everything into the space I have allocated. I have a decent sized 19 by 33 foot room to use as a train room. So that will suit almost any project nicely.
Problem is that the more I worked on this project, the more impersonal it seemed. I felt forced to design it a specific way just because I felt like I had to stick to prototype. And in the end it left me with a lack of personality to the whole plan.
So I went on a month or so break from designing, and returned recently to working on the plans again with a fresh start. This time I am working on a fully freelanced system. A freelanced system is a model railroad which is fictional and has no basis in the real world. That being said at this point I am unsure what I will call my railway, and I think I will stick with stock paint schemes and roadnames for my rolling stock and locomotives.
My layout will be expandable. It will be built as a single track mainline with sidings on the far side of the track. The track bed which the track is nailed too however will be wide enough to easily be expanded to a two track system. Each town will have unique industries and different switching challenges to offer variety and interest to the layout when operated in 'club' mode.