The DataBeaver's Domain

Model railway - Layout

Much of my fun in the model railway hobby comes from building layouts and finding routes for the trains to run on them. When I get bored with a layout or want to have more space and longer routes, I take it apart and build a new one. Märklin's C-track with its sturdy base and robust connections is ideal for this kind of frequent rebuilding.

The design of each layout reflects my interests at the time, as well as the growing capabilities of the control software. The first few were basically just interconnected loops, perhaps with a siding or two added as an afterthought. Lately stations and a proper railyard have made an appearance as well.

Home layout mk. 1

The first layout designed with my software. It was built on two tables in different rooms, with a wall in between.

Home layout mk. 2

This was exceptionally a smaller layout than the previous one. I got a roommate who claimed one of my railway tables, so I redesigned the layout to fit on the remaining table. First experiments with track circuits were carried out on this layout.

Home layout mk. 3

After moving to a new apartment, I had both tables available for the railway again. This time they were arranged in a fat "L" shape. The layout was fairly boring, consisting of a double-track loop with a third track at one point. This was the first layout with full traffic control coverage.

Home layout mk. 3.1

An expansion to the previous layout, adding a bridge and some crossovers. It was planned right from the beginning, but construction was delayed due to lack of funding.

ModelExpo 2010

I wanted a more complex layout to present at ModelExpo, so I designed a new one, taking into account the size of the tables available at the fair centre. It had a five-track railyard and a two-track station, which I unfortunately didn't get to use much due to some inadequacies in the layout, deficiences in the software and the short length of the fair that prevented me from fixing these.

Home layout mk. 4

While designing the layout for ModelExpo, I started to feel unsatisfied about my current home layout. In fact, this layout was designed first but when I learned about the available table sizes, it was deemed unsuitable and I decided to build it at home instead. At the time of writing this, building the layout is pending on first building suitable tables for it.