Thanks for your last comment Iain, I’ve not come across Schrodinger's Cat theory before. Wow...get your head around that one.
I'm currently reading Phillip Pullman’s 'His Dark Materials' it’s all about parallel universes and could not resist the mention in my last blog entry. It just seems to fit where I'm going with this project. Don’t we all, if we cannot find a prototype that fits our needs, invent a little history that could exist in an alternative universe? Just need a Subtle Knife to open a window and there it is.
Boscarne Wharf/Junction would make a perfect starter layout for me as it has minimal buildings. After some failures many years ago at scratch building buildings I'm very nervous about an Engine Shed layout. So much could go wrong with all the required structures. But as space is a big issue a smaller layout it has to be. Wanting to keep what ever I build as part of the overall project I’m struggling to think of another layout that would be worth while building that is smaller than Boscarne Wharf/Junction on this proposed branch.
My first thoughts with Grogley Junction were to keep it as real as possible and not over blow the ‘what ifs’. With this new “what if” I’m a little nervous that the project is drifting away from reality a little too much. I can hear the purists barking already. This sounds like I’m searching for a reason not to build this Engine Shed. Trouble is I’m getting to really like the idea. A small but busy Engine Shed backed up with a couple of carriage sidings and single track main line behind, all situated on the banks of the river Camel. It will be a real test for my track building skills as I’ve already included a 3-way turnout and a turntable but I’m now thinking a single slip might be needed. Oh dear what I’m I getting myself into?
Just need to stop planning and get started, though they do say that ‘the devil is in the detail’.
3 comments:
"I’ve not come across Schrodinger's Cat theory before. Wow...get your head around that one."
Unfortunately like most thought experiments it falls apart when you try it in practice. The last time that we shut our cat in a box, you could very clearly tell whether it was alive or dead ;-)
"My first thoughts with Grogley Junction were to keep it as real as possible and not over blow the ‘what ifs’. "
I think that the trick with any "what-ifs" is to follow prototype practice. If you do this, then it *will* look right. Do some good research, get the proper components, not just generic ones, and you're away...
"It will be a real test for my track building skills as I’ve already included a 3-way turnout and a turntable but I’m now thinking a single slip might be needed. "
Having just rattled together my first P4 piece of pointwork in probably 15 years, all I'll say is take it one step at a time and you'll be fine. Yes, a slip inherently has more components, but you only deal with one at a time.
There is an S4 Society Digest sheet on building more advanced track, and I'm sure that it takes you through these things step by step.
Flymo
Flymo speaks truth. But this thought experiment of yours is a good one- you are exploring all the possibilities so that when you arrive at something that is right for you, you will carry it through to the finish. Flymo also follows the wise David Jenkinson adage, namely, get the details following the prototype by observing and recording reality and the atmosphere will follow.
I've built plenty of strict prototype models and enjoyed the experience, yet for me, the fun is in using my imagination and creating something where I can play at being the Quantum mechanic. It's believable, hopefully, because the architecture and infrastructure follows the rules...everything in my model universe conforms to our observed reality. As Flymo says, just chill and do what gives you the most pleasure...you will manage the pointwork and everything else. But will it exist simply because you have imagined it, and will the reality be different for the rest of us? Only time will tell...
Schrodingers Cat? I thought some of my posts were obtuse. Seriously though. I'll be waiting with interest to see the trackplan and to see if it comes in under 14 square feet...
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