F
or a bit over 10 years I’ve been working on my HO scale
Bear Creek & South Jackson layout (see the 10th anniver-
sary story in the April 2014 MRH). It’s come a long way
in that time but only recently has it taken on the look and feel I
planned back in 2003.
The peninsula backdrop
Even though it’s still incomplete, the new backdrop down the
center of the peninsula has made an enormous difference in the
character of the BC&SJ. About 24’ (out of about 70’) of backdrop
was in place for the May 2014 op session, and the crew liked it. In
particular they noted how the aisles felt longer, they felt more iso-
lated from each other, and howmuch quieter it seemed.
Since then I’ve added another 24’ and the layout’s character is
definitely changing.
Up the Creek Column - 2
The aisles feel much longer
The isolation factor is greatly enhanced when the entire
layout isn’t visible at once
Crews in one station can’t see the next stations east or
west; no more cheating and heading for the next station
when you don’t see an opposing train coming
The ceiling-high backdrops provide acoustic isolation –
even with 15 people running trains at once, the May op
session seemed quieter than the April session
However, there are some drawbacks:
Crews running up the helix from main staging can’t see
what is on the far side of the backdrop before penetrating
it. Not good, but we handled this issue during the May op
session.
I find myself missing the whole-room view a bit
Lighting for photography will be more difficult
Under-the-benchwork fans are needed for air circulation
Skinny backdrops
I’m greedy when it comes to available layout space. When I was
planning the BC&SJ back in 2003 I optimistically allowed just an
inch for the peninsula’s backdrop thickness.
Had I been willing to build a stud wall down the peninsula, layout
construction would have been much easier. Two things kept me
from this:
I was building in the basement of a new home and I didn’t
know how much the cement floor would heave. I’ve seen
some floors with major and abrupt elevation changes.
Using a pair of 24’ long engineered floor joists lessened the
effects of the floor heaving.
2. Simplified BC&SJ track plan (2’ grid) - the penin-
sula backdrop is in blue.
2
MRH-Jul 2014
