Tony Koester ed. Model Railroad Planning 2002

     Tony Koester ed. Model Railroad Planning 2002 The theme for this issue is the 4x8, and as usual, Iain Rice’s design catches the idea and inspires thought and dreams. One of his plans has an up-and-over point-to-fiddle-yard line draped around a harbour; the other shows a squished oval surrounding an inlet with wharves on each side. In both, the centrally placed water acts as scenic divide. Although one sees the whole layout at a glance, the water separates the layout into two scenes. Such a design is about the only way to make a 4x8 layout work visually, the size is both a limitation and a challenge.
     Small locos and short cars, plus careful design and construction of the buildings, will produce an outstanding layout in a small space, and Iain Rice shows how it can be done. The other plans are more ingenious, but only the On30 plan by Chris Webster accepts the limitations of the 4x8; he too uses a scenic divider to create two scenes. 1/4" scale requires larger structures, but again, if carefully designed and built, the overall effect should be convincing. The rest of the issue continues the trend to overall design. “Planning” is becoming a misnomer, the articles clearly show a bias towards design, with scenic, operational, and civil engineering problems all being handled in terms of a single unifying concept. *** (2003)