Kurve: Thoughts on Scenery

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Kurve: Scenery outline

When I planned the arrangement in the garage, module "Kurve" was intended as a temporary filler module that would eventually be thrown out and halfway through its lifetime would even see a substantial reconfiguration. Hence I planned to keep it flat, maybe paint it brown and call it a day.

However -- as usual -- once the module existed and I connected it to the Untergroeningen module my brain brought earlier thoughts back to the surface. Which areas of the module would be untouched during the reconfiguration? Can I do something "interesting" with the extra space I created by accident? Do I really need to keep this a straight track and a curve as in the plan? ... Can I arrange tracks so that the module fits both locations, and reconfiguration becomes unnecessary? Since it is still a throw-away module what new techniques can I try with it?

After an hour moving tracks around on the module and playing with the track planning software, I came to an arrangement that brings all ideas together with some compromises.

Kurve: Arrangement in Phase 1 of Welztalbahn Extension

I introduced a turnout. That allowed me to create two spur tracks to the sides of the module. During Phase 1, Spur 1 will be used as loading track of a sawmill, while Spur 2 is the mainline track connecting to Untergroeningen (shown on the left in the photo above). In Phase 2, Spur 1 will become the mainline track completing a 180 degree turnback curve from staging to Gaildorf/West. If this paragraph doesn't make sense to you, dear reader, take a look at this post from October that gives an overview of what I'm planning to do here.

Kurve: Arrangement in Phase 2 of Welztalbahn extension

I really liked the wide curve that I had planned for Kurve in Phase 1. I even named the module for it. The compromise is to use a 55cm radius curve instead of a 61cm radius curve, and combine that with a tight 42.5cm curve to forming Spur 1. The turnout sits at a 15 degree angle to allow a visually appealing curvature of Spur 2 to the left edge of the module with a large radius curve. 

From a scenery perspective the module is rather flat on the left-hand side and develops into a hillside on the right-hand side. A cut, flanked by step sides maybe with rock outcroppings and bushes, carries the track into staging.

While the track connections on the module edge will follow the FREMO-Puko norm, the radius of track is much too tight to be useful in larger arrangements, not that anyone in my vicinity is building Maerklin compatible modules with single track mainline -- if you do, we should talk! However, maybe I will find additional uses for this module. In any case, this is a good opportunity for experiments.