Mosslanda: Defiance or distraction…
I should be building Cwmbach, my long standing N scale shelf layout. Instead, you’re reading about the latest in a long line of Mosslanda based projects, this time set once again in North America…
From sketches, to mocking up inlaid track to ‘testing’ the track plan on my bench things have moved at pace - which is usually a good indicator of a scheme well formed. I hate building baseboards though - thank goodness a Mosslanda is usually fairly straight forward! In this case, some 9mm ply and a sheet of white backed hardboard, simply cut with the trusty jigsaw and glued together - the result, above, sits where Night Shift has previously, above Denton Road (whose resident class 90 is just visible!).
The overall feel is about right, just a hint of the road on the left, and the vertical variation with the longer low structure in the centre. I am going to experiment with a wing that covers the structure on the right, with an opening (as per Fancy Another Beer), and make the structure on the left a touch taller, perhaps 5mm or so… the top of the view will be slightly constrained by the lid and lighting pelmet too, so it’s getting the right feel to the resulting letter box composition.
You’ll no doubt have noticed the open end, a deliberate choice despite the narrow baseboard. I wanted to be able to get a somewhat more ‘end on’ view, similar to how you might first come across the operation in reality - here the rather wonderful Scaletrains GP30 is paused between switching just beyond the gates… my mind is already sketching in the structures and composition.
Adding track to a Mosslanda always brings home just how small a space we have to play with - especially with a turnout. The naked version above was ‘tested’ for sometime to check it was all working with all my locomotives! The wonderful thing is I feel happy that this scheme actually gives the CP Rail Alco, the Rio Grande GP30 and the Santa Fe GP20 all a home - I am really looking forward to playing with this layout…
Yesterday evening wrapped up with the first efforts of in cereal boxes. I’m not working to scale drawings or plans here, this is a more artful approach, adjusting composition as if sketching in card, rubbing out and adjusting things until it begins to feel right.
Sketching in cereal boxes, whatever next!
Until next time, more soon…
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This is great, James!
ReplyDeleteThere are a number of projects, not least the US N, that I have the itch to do something with, but aren't in my mainstream of stuff and are thus unlikely to result in a full-blown layout.
I think what I need to do is screw my Mosslanda to the garage wall above Schinkendorf. There's certainly some 9mm ply kicking around, and probably something suitable for the back board if I look hard enough...
Simon.
The danger is, once you start on a Mosslanda you see potential for orhers… and they multiply! Currently three here - and a fourth shelf arrived in the summer but I’ve not found a spot to screw that one up yet!
DeleteThe Mosslanda is now firmly secured the garage wall...if nothing else, it'll stop me tripping over it!
DeleteThat's good progress!
DeleteHi James, I've just picked up some 9mm plywood this week to start building Penpont goods. Defiance looks like it will be a good project, I'm really looking forward to seeing it develop. I've dug out my copy of small layout design (construction ( to give me some inspiration! I like the fact that you are building it with your heart and not your head, just seeing what works.
ReplyDeleteTake care.
Thanks Tom. That pencil sketch a few weeks ago is still vividly in my mind and photos of the prototype are helpful - but no dimensions, just a sense of what I’m trying to create here! Good luck with your project!
DeleteWell, this all looks very interesting.
ReplyDeleteThank you Ian - progress indeed. At close of play the lid is made, I need to fathom out where to fit power and control sockets next - then it can be wired up and tested…
DeleteHi James. Thanks for this latest post and for sharing the additional details and photos. It has clarified quite a lot for me.
ReplyDeleteChris M’s “pointless” version of the scheme really caught my imagination, and I’ve been exploring how that version might work. As part of that, I’m finding it very helpful to follow how your original “with point” scheme is developing and to learn from the decisions you are making.
If you’re happy to share a little more, could I clarify two details from this and your previous posts?
- Will the unloading shed accommodate a single wagon? From the prototype video, I initially thought it might be two wagon lengths. Looking at your latest photographs, however, a single-car shed would leave considerably more visible space outside. On your version, it would also preserve that feature of the prototype of the length of diverging tracks visible before they enter the shed.
- At the other end, are you envisaging a shunting lead long enough for the locomotive and two card? I was thinking of your earlier description: “Operation would be arriving with a car and swapping it out for a second, or swapping in one for two.” The second part made me wonder whether the lead would need to hold the locomotive plus two cars. If that length were provided by a fiddlestick, would the whole train—locomotive and two cars—be able to move off-scene onto it?
There’s certainly no urgency to answer since I move glacially! The concept has genuinely inspired me, and I’m enjoying exploring Chris’s version of the plan while following and learning from the development of your scheme.
All the best,
Andy
Thanks Andy, all great questions. I guess you’ll just have to wait and see!
DeleteHeh heh...now that is a great answer James! 🙂 Thank you for replying.
DeleteAll the best
Andy