{"id":1162,"date":"2017-10-06T15:19:16","date_gmt":"2017-10-06T14:19:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.stationstudios.ca\/trains\/?p=1162"},"modified":"2024-07-20T08:43:16","modified_gmt":"2024-07-20T12:43:16","slug":"inspirational-7-8-scale-railways","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.stationstudios.ca\/trains\/inspirational-7-8-scale-railways\/","title":{"rendered":"Inspirational 7\/8″ Scale Railways"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

My previous garden railway<\/a> (pictured above) provided me a lot of enjoyment over its four-year life. It was simple in design, quick to construct, easy to maintain and quick to dismantle when we finally moved. It was a great first outdoor layout for me but as I look to design and build the MQR, I am planning on setting my sights higher.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I’ve been a member of the 7\/8″ scale forum, The SE Lounge<\/a>, since 2007. Over the years, members have documented the creation and development of their layouts.  Here are three that have captured my imagination and will provide inspiration for the MQR design.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rich Chiodo’s Isle of Shoals Tramway<\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

If you are not familiar with Rich’s layout, I strongly encourage to go through all 23 pages of the post linked above. The IST is a wonderfully executed garden railway that fully captures British narrow gauge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Things I like about the IST:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

  1. The brick tub supporting and surrounding the IST is just gorgeous; it creates a nice edge which photographs well. However, Rich mentioned that it took a long time to construct. 30″ feels about the right amount of elevation to design for.<\/li>
  2. Rich’s design allows access to all parts of the layout.<\/li>
  3. Low track-to-scenery ratio.<\/li>
  4. Very simple track work: wide curves, little straight track, 5 switches in total.<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    Things I’d do differently:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    1. I would like to have the option to run both point-to-point and continuously.<\/li>
    2. I am on the fence when it comes to the “pit”. It is a sunken area in the middle of the layout where people can sit and enjoy the layout from a different angle.<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n

      Chris Bird’s Summerlands Light Railway<\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
      \"\"<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

      Chris has documented his layout extensively on YouTube.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Things I like about the SLR:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      1. Once again, a very simple track work: wide curves, little straight track, 6 switches in total.<\/li>
      2. Many small scenes that photograph or video well and make the layout seem much bigger than it is.<\/li>
      3. Because Chris has included a reserve loop, he can run the SLR in an out-and-back configuration.<\/li>
      4. The layout is elevated along the main operating side; looking at photographs, I would estimate the elevation difference to be about 15-18″.<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n

        Things I’d do differently:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        1. I’m unlikely to have tunnels on the MQR.<\/li>
        2. No passing loop on the mainline.<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n

          Rob Bennett’s Weston Railway<\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
          \"\"<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

          Rob Bennett is another well-known 7\/8″ scale modeler from the UK. As I understand it, his Weston Railway was originally at ground level but was elevated in the late 2000’s. I mostly seen Rob’s layout through the various YouTube videos<\/a> he has made.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

          Things I like about the Weston:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

          1. The two sets of spurs running off to the lower right give Rob the option of running point-to-point. They also serve as steam-up bays.<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n

            Things I’d do differently:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            1. The Weston is quite a bit more complicated in track design compared to the IST and SLR: I count 16 switches in Rob’s diagram. I expect the MQR design to come in around 10 switches maximum.<\/li><\/ol>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

              My previous garden railway (pictured above) provided me a lot of enjoyment over its four-year life. It was simple in design, quick to construct, easy to maintain and quick to dismantle when we finally moved. It was a great first outdoor layout for me but as I look to design and build the MQR, I … Continue reading “Inspirational 7\/8″ Scale Railways”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1116,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[21,14,10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1162","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-layout-design","category-marchlyn","category-other-model-railroads"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.stationstudios.ca\/trains\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1162","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.stationstudios.ca\/trains\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.stationstudios.ca\/trains\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.stationstudios.ca\/trains\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.stationstudios.ca\/trains\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1162"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.stationstudios.ca\/trains\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1162\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.stationstudios.ca\/trains\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1116"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.stationstudios.ca\/trains\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1162"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.stationstudios.ca\/trains\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1162"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.stationstudios.ca\/trains\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1162"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}