Okay, to answer the eternal question "Just what does Lee mean by 'temporary', here's a simple explanation...
Back when I was renovating the room in the attic, I built a smallish 3' x 8' layout so I could run trains and work on scenery techniques. I dubbed this the "Temporary Rig."
It was a fun project, and provided a nice bed for photo scenes, and even a movie or two...
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All the while, I was rewiring, installing lights, sheetrock and insulation. I was also working on the dream layout plan...
The grey areas are yet to be built.
I also began construction of some sections of the layout out in the garage while the renovation progressed. As soon as the room was finished, I started installing chunks of layout...
Meanwhile, elsewhere in the house, other work had begun, necessitating certain offspring to be relocated to an interim accommodation...
As you can see, to live in the train room requires that a certain amount of indentured servitude be provided to the landlord...
Anyway, in order to make the layout sections that were installed "work" I had to create a modified track plan that allows for a couple of loops to closed, therefore providing for limited operations.
Once I was satisfied that this could work, I expanded the temporary loops slightly, and made better provision for the operations I was attempting, such as the passing siding on the low line, and a couple of more industrial tracks.
As you may have noticed, building scenery is my favorite aspect of the hobby, so even though the track plan is in fact temporary, I can't live with blue foam and plywood. So, again, I'm using the temporary section of the layout as a test bed for scenery techniques, a back drop for equipment photos, and a place to switch a few more cars in the local. I expect it to take about 2 more years to be able to move Andy out of the layout room, and another 2 to 3 to complete the benchwork and track of the full layout design.
SO that's what I mean when I say temporary... it doesn't mean it won't get finished, it just means that it won't be around when I get to the point where I can replace it.
So, is this the start of my layout blog, then? ;D
Lee
