Mackinac Northern - a Z scale T-Trak layout

[keeper]

Looking at the maps above, I changed the plan another time...



Thomas 

[keeper]

Hard to decide....



Thomas 

[wazzou]

The bottom one could provide a little opportunity for some street running on that spur.

[keeper]

The bottom one could provide a little opportunity for some street running on that spur.

Yes, that's true. I thought about a track directly beside a road, but street running might be another thing to think about.

Thomas 

[nickelplate759]

The bottom one could provide a little opportunity for some street running on that spur.

Or two industries on that spur - one on each straight segment.  Not uncommon.

[keeper]

This is how it looks like today:

https://www.google.de/maps/place/46%C2%B021'04.8%22N+85%C2%B030'23.3%22W/@46.3513269,-85.5070102,199m/data=!3m2!1e3!4b1!4m14!1m7!3m6!1s0x4d49722bd2cdd00f:0xf62fba570880532d!2sNewberry,+Michigan+49868,+USA!3b1!8m2!3d46.3549984!4d-85.5095586!3m5!1s0x0:0x6e967921f05c728d!7e2!8m2!3d46.3513263!4d-85.5064632?hl=de&authuser=0

I think it is the location shown in map 5 which Lucas provided (lower right).

https://www.loc.gov/resource/g4114nm.g041281917/?sp=5

This is something I have in mind for the lower left corner, only that it is mirrored. The road would be directly beside the track and the end of the layout.

Thomas 

[keeper]

I turned a wooden box upside down and installed the command station onto the bottom along with the voltage reducer.
The power pack for the command station is inside the box.



Thomas 

[keeper]

The second quad module. The siding is for a grain elevator.



Thomas 

[keeper]

With this module the roundy-round set-up will be closed.
It will require some sugery to implement a stream.



Thomas 

[keeper]

Is that too much?



Thomas 

[keeper]

Sorry to flood you with track plans....



Thomas 

[keeper]

Oh, by the way, I haven't got a name for the layout so far. As I mentioned at the beginning, the tracks on the layout south are based on Newberry, MI but the rest is as it is.
Originally it was DSS&A land. I have so far CNW and MILW power....
So I'm open for suggestions.

Nothing new on this end. The only idea which came to my mind is 'Newberry Northern'...
I know, nothing exciting.

Thomas 

[Ed Kapuscinski]

Walk us through your thought processes on the track plans.

Explaining your thinking to people often helps make decisions even without their input.

[keeper]

Sure, why not. Therefore I needed to colour the plan/tracks so that it is easier to explain.

Up to post #23 the plan was very simple. More or less the tracks that are existing today.
Then I found a few old photos with more tracks which looked interesting. Lucas posted some old plans (1917) showing lots of track.
Of course all this doesn't fit on T-Trak modules but I tried to fit in some of the tracks so that running trains is more interesting. At the same time
I tried to avoid too much track.

So here it is, the latest plan:



Let's start from top to bottom.
The blue lines mark roughly the different modules.

• The grey track is mostly scenery 'somewhere in the Midwest'. Just a bridge over a small stream and a siding with a grain elevator.
• The purple track is just a divider between the scenes.
• The yellow track is loosley based on Newberry in Michigan's UP. The difference to the older plan is that it contains the siding to the north of the depot. That siding still existed in 1978.
• The orange track is where there has been a big industry in real life, the Charcoal Iron Company.
• The green track represent the second stage of the layout. This is where the town will be placed and one or two small industries with a rail connection. To the left might follow a small stagging yard (not scenery).

Thomas 

[milw12]

The new plan was posted as I was typing this, but this is a response to the naming inquiry:

Would the layout need a name? It's a reasonable approximation of Newberry, Michigan, so "Newberry, MI" wouldn't be out of line. A little digging shows it was on the DSS&A's Mackinac Division, which is an excellent as it's an uncommon name an immediately brings to mind northern Michigan.

-DSS&A's Mackinac Division- Newberry, MI

-Something along the lines of Mackinac Northern (or Mackinac Central, Mackinac Lines, etc)  could be specific enough to set a locale but generic enough so all three railroads could be at home. Granted the CNW and Milwaukee served the western end of the peninsula.

Just some ideas. However, I am working on a "Mason City, IA" layout based on, well, Mason City, Iowa, so I am known to keep things simple

Lucas