I've got some planning books with real spaghetti bowls of track, designed around commuter operation. I never could understand why a little plastic person would take a train to go somewhere only a few flights of stairs or a brisk walk away, if you know what I mean. But it really does make for interesting trackwork to see trains crossing over tracks and under bridges, etc. And these plans are designed as point-to-point with intermediate station stops and a long, twisty mainline in between. I'll have to dig around a bit and see what ideas get sparked.train97
Its not so much the plastic person as the train carrying him. For me, its what i've been exposed to as a child. I can clearly remember the Northeast Corridor in Metuchen NJ, where alot of my family lives. There are almost always sets of NJ transit Arrow III cars, ALP44s/46s, and any number of Amtrak toasters. I've even seen an E60MA once, and until very recently, that E60MA was the biggest locomotive i'd seen yet. The commuter equipment is part of the landscape, and particular things can send a clear cut message as to the setting of the railroad.
just remember that i need continuous running, and although I have cab cars, i need broad curves to truely run them "push/pull" in a point to point system. I'll probably be able to resolve the problem by adding weight, but i know others have trouble keeping their longer train on track. My longest train gets to about 8 cars (although at that point only my E60CH can handle it), and while i've gotten it to push reliably for a little bit on my layout, I really need bigger curves to try that.
As for lighting, well, there was a neat set of articles in Railroad Model Craftsman about constructing sections of railroad to be light and portable (but not necessarily like modules getting moved all the time, just built with the option that should it become necessary to move, you could). They were basically boxes with one side cut out and no top. Iain Rice is a big proponant of this idea.
sounds good, i'll have to try it.