Arapahoe & Sheridan Railroad
Theme: Fledgling railroad under pressure from larger roads
Setting: Colorado, "Front Range"
Time Period: 1915 - 1925
Scale: 1/72
Gauge: 2ft
I'm intending A&S to be a micro layout, suited for standing on top of an end table in a 1 bedroom apartment. My initial thoughts towards the track plan lean towards continuous operation, with perhaps a turnout or two thrown in. I'd like something where I can set the trains in motion, and leave them working for guests or family to see. My goals for the layout are two fold: 1.) create the micro on a very limited budget, making use of already available materials as much as possible, 2.) create a reasonably detailed 2-ft gauge line which fits in the available space.
Because the layout won't have a lot of locomotive power, because space is limited, and because a budget will be enforced, I've made up a new scale/gauge combination: 72n2, or 1/72 scale, 2ft narrow gauge. There aren't any manufactures producing products for this size, and I can't find anywhere on the internet where someone has tried it, thought I'm sure many have.
So why make a new scale/gauge combination? Easy: I want to model a 2ft gauge line, and I want to do so inexpensively, which means I need access to affordable locomotive mechanisms, trucks, wheels, and couplers. It turns out in 1/72 scale, N scale track is really close to 2ft gauge (it's about 1.5 scale inches off, but oh well). That means I can use Kato 11-105 or 11-106 mechanisms to power the rail critters.
Even though there aren't any rail manufacturers producing 1/72 products, 1/72 is a scale that's used by plastic model manufacturers, meaning I can still have access to some selection of commercially available products. As a side bonus, 1/72 seems to be the scale of choice for many manufacturers of "plastic men" meaning there is a ready supply of figures.
The downside of course is that anything I want outside of that I'll have to scratch build. Oh well, perhaps I'll save some money doing that?
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