Something different

I thought long and hard about which of my "visions" to post to mark a return to posting sketches after this extended hiatus. I could have posted something fairly conventional, a slice of modern railroading perhaps. But no.

I decided to make you think. I want you to see that there's so much inspirational stuff out there and when you find it, well who knows what can happen.

This is a sketch of Victoria Station on the Great Orme Tramway in Llandudno in North Wales. The Great Orme Tramway is a 3' 6" gauge funicular (cable operated) railway, built in 1903 for the purpose of taking people to the top of Llandudnos scenic feature, The Great Orme. Some more images can be found on this google image search page. I've travelled on the line several times while holidaying in North Wales. It's a trip I'd recommend anyone to take. It only costs a few quid and takes about half an hour to get to the top. The views from the train as it climbs up the steep hill are quite something.

At first glance it doesn't look much, just a single line terminus (or SLT in micro layout parlance). The distinctive cars appear from between the two buildings, arrive at the station, pause to let passengers on and off before returning offstage between the houses.

But what would separate this from the normal is the fact that this model of a funicular railway would run in the same way as a real cable railway. The line runs at a steep 40 degree slope pulled by a cable. You could wind the train down on the cable by hand or you could operate it by a motor. Really clever people could set it up to operate automatically.

The site is incredibly compact, only about 150 feet from buffer stop to the gap between the buildings, which in OO/HO scale is about two feet. The whole location could be easily modelled in a space the size of an APA box.

Of course, the Great Orme Railway is not the only cable operated railway in the world. San Francisco immediately pops to mind if you're more in mind to be inspired by American prototypes.

It might not look much as a layout, but I bet you that as soon as someone sees a train running up that 40 degree slope they'll stop and look and then take a closer look at all the other details that you've put in the model.

Do it.

Think different.