Reverse Running commentary
I
was listening to a
recent Scotty Mason
podcast,
Model Rail-
road Hobbyist
columnist
Mike Rose was talking to
Scott about some drastic
changes he had made to
his layout recently.
Scott was shocked by the
sweeping changes, and
Mike responded by saying,
"We need to not have any
sacred cows when it comes to our layouts. By being open to redo-
ing most anything if it needs it, the entire layout improves."
A sacred cow is an American idiom referring to some idea, per-
son, or thing that is not open to examination or consideration for
change. If it’s “sacred” then just forget it – you can’t change it, so
move on.
Mike’s point is good –
nothing
on our layouts should be held sacred
and nothing should be beyond being re-examined.
As we do the hobby, our skills naturally improve. Sometimes we
can look at some part of our layout and see how it might be done
better. Well, then, entertain the idea – and see where it takes you!
Look at your layout piece by piece. Think about your skill level
when you started, and what you can achieve now. Is there one spot
Reverse Running: Stepping outside the box with a contrary view
by Joe Fugate
No sacred cows
that has always nagged at you? Has a friend suggested improve-
ments and new techniques? Now is your opportunity.
On my own layout, I'm looking at the main staging and thinking of
completely rebuilding it with sectional modules at the workbench.
The area is more than 80 inches off the floor, or an apparent 65
inches high when standing on a 15-inch raised floor. There's not
much working room between the tabletop and the ceiling.
To make matters worse, there's furnace return-air ducts enclosed
in sheetrock over one end of the staging, leaving about 7" of work-
ing space above the tabletop.
When I built this staging, it was the last area to go in and frankly, I
was in a hurry to get the layout ready for op sessions. I was never
completely satisfied with the trackwork in staging, and I’ve always
excused it by telling myself, “Hey, it’s staging for crying out loud, so
it’s hidden trackage. It doesn't need to be great-looking trackwork.”
The one big problem is this trackwork may not look superb, but it
also did not run as well as it could, either.
I’ve also thought, “Well, it’s done, and it does function. Re-doing it
will be a lot of work.”
Well, maybe. Every time there’s a derailment in staging I’m re-
minded this area could be better. That adds up to a lot of negative
mental energy over time, which can cut seriously into your layout
enjoyment.
Mike’s reminder that we should not have any sacred cows on our
layouts is a good one. Time to
get off the dime and replace
that staging, I think!
MRH-Jun 2013
