Reading MRH from my model railroading armchair, The One Module Approach reminded me that starting small, and working through ALL of the steps might help me get revved back up and past my mental blocks.
Back in 2004, Byron Henderson devised neat switching layout which combined satisfying operation possibilities with and achievable plan. Inspired by San Jose, CA, the layout features a can company, an oil dealer, packing plants, and an interchange:
Similar industries also existed in my current San Francisco prototype, so I spent a bit of time adapting the track to represent Illinois Street. I decided to compress the layout depth to 12", but I kept the 72" length:
As of this weekend, I've gone ahead an printed out a full size version of the plan, and started "play testing" with rolling stock and a locomotive. It was a bit reminiscent of playing "Thomas the Tank Engine" with my son a few years back, but it was an excellent way to clear the cobwebs in my head.
In my case, each job starts with the switcher and three cars on the Santa Fe lead— in real life this represents the connection to the China Basin yard. The length runaround track and capacity of the Southern Pacific interchange provide the constraints on the switching puzzle. After completing any switching work, the consist returns to the Santa Fe track.
