MRH $500 Contest - 1
C
onceptually we tried
to put ourselves
in the shoes of a
potential new modelers and
remember what it was like for us getting started.
One thing that jumped out at us right away was the fragmenta-
tion of the hobby into different subsets and schools of thought,
A starter layout you can build for under $500
– By Chris Di Paolo & David Gallagher
MRH $500 contest
HONORABLE MENTION
A traction layout for beginners: If you’ve never considered
modeling an electric prototype, here’s a way to start ...
so we made the decision that we should treat the layout as a
teaching tool and design it in a building-block fashion while try-
ing to provide for maximum entertainment after building the
initial layout, thus satisfying the immediate gratification itch
of folks. Without that immediate payoff, we felt that the new
modeler might lose interest and not continue to develop the
layout and grow in technical skill.
With that in mind we specifically targeted the age group of 14
to 25 year olds in terms of who we were designing for. Why?
Because if we could design a layout that this age group could
build with little to no experience, limited funds and limited
space, then anyone with more experience or skill and more
space for a layout could also build it and get into the hobby.
Looking at that age group, we assumed very tight space restric-
tions – they had to keep it in their room at home, apartment
or dorm. So, this meant we had to design a compact, sturdy,
and transportable (in terms of the physical box) layout with a
boatload of expansion capabilities, essentially trying to “future
proof” the layout so it could grow with the modeler. From a
technology perspective, this meant that the layout had to be
“DCC-Ready” and also ready for computer control as well (we
include tablets and smart-phones also).
I think you will find we achieved these goals, and have a layout
that is “out of the box” because of its ease of initial build and
potential future expansion.
When one looks at this layout initially, they may say, “oh, it’s
just another figure 8” and they’d be missing the point. The
“main line” of our layout is the two-track reserved right-of-
way that ducks under our small town park/fountain. This line
is straddled by two lanes of roadway and is the “gateway” to
expanding this layout to other sections on both sides of it.
MRH-Aug 2013
