The Appalachian and Ohio Railroad fills my 1500 sqare foot basement. Careful placement of the furnace, water heater, and basement stairway allowed for entry into the middle of the basement and full usage of the space available. After working in HO scale for 27 years I changed to O Scale, wanting to develop a visual and sensory experience for the model operator. O Scale’s massive size (eight times the volume of HO) seemed a realistic choice for this endeavor.
To take advantage of O Scale’s inherent qualities, that of size and easily seen detail, the railroad is designed as a series of vignettes connected by rail. Each area is developed with the viewer/operator in mind, drawing the person into the scene for a trackside experience. The size of O Scale is utilized to create this feel by having the tree-covered mountains extend beyond the ceiling and the structures of the industrial city of Millport reach above eye level. The trains, and the operator, are dwarfed into the valley or the brick canyons. In a couple of places the operator actually steps into the scene, being surrounded by the railroad on three sides as the equipment roars past, struggling up grade. To keep the mountains and the large structures from competing, the city area is entirely separate from rural.
Other, more common design principals were also utilized:
- The use of view-blocking backdrops to enable a “scenically pure”, walk-around, linear design where trains pass through a scene only once. North is always to the viewer’s right.
- A feeling of progression, as if moving from one geographical location to another, more distant one. Thus Millport and Willow Creek, the most distant towns, are separated both visually and by walking distance.
- Adequate aisle space, especially in operationally intense areas was a priority.
- Avoidance of duck-unders.
- A staging yard for the unmodeled portions of the railroad.
- Minimal straight track. Even my yards have gradual curvatures.
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