Page 131 - 38. MRH13-04-Apr2013
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Reverse Running commentary
I
n his now fa-
mous book
published in the
1970s,
The Mythi-
cal Man Month
,
Fred Brooks (who
worked for IBM)
talks about project
concepts appropri-
ate to the then-new
computer software development industry.
One of those concepts - plan to throw the first one away - also ap-
plies quite well to model railroad layout building.
The idea is that you learn so much on the first project that you re-
ally should throw it out and start over, using the second attempt
as the keeper. We covered this "expect the first one to be throw-
away" in MRH issue 1's now classic
Reverse Running
column,
"Chainsaw Layouts".
With a chainsaw layout you go in knowing full well the layout
you're building is not a keeper – it's a training ground that you
don’t let yourself get attached to.
While the chainsaw layout concept is a good one, there’s value in
taking it a step further: consider deliberately incorporating reuse
into your construction techniques. Some parts of a layout take
more time and money, so why not build reuse into the picture
Reverse Running: Stepping outside the box with a contrary view
by Joe Fugate
Planning to destroy your layout
from the beginning? No need to trash everything when you start
layout project number 2.
For example, turnouts are one of the more expensive parts of a
layout's infrastructure. What might you do to make sure turnouts
can be easily reused?
Many experienced modelers let turnouts "float" between the con-
necting track sections that are fastened down. Only the rail joiners
hold the turnout in place mechanically. Don't solder the rail join-
ers, just make sure all rails have feeder wires.
Another reuse trick is water-soluble ballast binder like white glue.
To pull up turnouts later you just soak the ballast with wet water,
then let it sit for an hour or so while the ballast softens. Next, slide
the rail joiners off the ends of the turnout, clip the feeder wires,
and use a putty knife to pull the turnout up intact.
Soaking the turnout later in a tub of warmwet water (water with
a few drops of liquid detergent added to break the surface ten-
sion) will make it easy to remove any remaining ballast.
Similarly, don't fasten structures or bridges in place permanently.
With a few chainsaw layouts under your belt, and keeping in mind
methods that allow easy removal of components on the layout,
you will build up quite a collection of reusable components. This
will give you a huge leg up on future layout projects.
Even though the chainsaw layout concept is a good one, don't
take that so literally that you throw everything away. Preserve
your successes and use them to give you a head start on that
next chainsaw!
MRH-Apr 2013
