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Layout planning and construction
A: Before planning - What should you consider, what
do you need to know at least?
A 2: The requirements, your skills, your lifetime, your rooms
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Now you are somewhat infected by the
model railway virus.
Now it's time to question whether you should give
in to the urge or say goodbye to the idea.
If someone came to me and
asked:
"I want to start the hobby
of model railways.
What do I need?
What do you advise me to do?",
I would ask the following questions:
- How much time are
you willing to invest in this?
Time that you take away from your family and friends.
Time that you used to spend on sports, videos and games.
Time that feels like it shortens your days, weeks and months.
How much time do you have left in your life?
Is it worth it?
- How much money can
you fork out without your budget suffering?
How much of a hurry are you in, or do you have the patience to wait for
bargains?
- Do you have the
space in your home for the kind of installation you want?
Do you have the possibility to work on wood without getting dust all
over the place?
Can you set up a permanent workshop for repairs and maintenance of your
models?
Do you have enough cabinet space to store the models, their empty boxes,
materials and supplies?
- Do you have the
patience to endure tedious fiddling?
Are you meticulous enough for your work to stand up to the scrutiny of
outsiders?
Is it in your nature to be disciplined and diligent in finishing even
the most unpleasant work?
- Do you have the
dexterity, the fine motor skills to handle the tiny components?
If you have hardly been able to get an M3 nut onto the screw and are
comfortable with a 19 mm spanner, then you will fail with the usual M1
screws.
- Did your previous education include the
basics of electrical engineering? If not, are you willing to learn it?
- Can you imagine
winding tracks with ups and downs in your mind?
A planning program can help you - if you are a virtuoso with a computer
mouse and keyboard...
- Can you run through
sequences of movements in your mind's eye, see through cause-effect
links, even several at the same time?
- And are you so
interested in the world of railways that you want to get to know it
beyond the realm of model railways?
If you answer these questions positively, then
we can talk further and think about the design of the layout.
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