Shelving the Layout
The Wetterau Food Services Micro Layout baseboard will turn 10 years old in 2024. Construction of the layout was completed in February of 2016. It is hard to believe the completed layout is already 8 years old as well.
Sadly, the layout has spent most of its life stored in a Rubbermaid storage container. Its last train show exhibition was back in June of 2019. I did set it up back in January of 2023 in my house, but that was temporary. The layout was out for about two weeks, then it went right back into its container.
This Christmas season, I have made the decision to shelf the layout. Now, that doesn't mean it is going into the trash bin, but it does mean I am setting up a shelf in my layout room to display and operate the layout as part of my Owensville Terminal OASIS District layout!
I am currently in the process of setting up a shelf in the layout room that will make a connection with my OASIS District switching layout. There is only one trivial problem with connecting the two layouts. The WFS is based on a prototype location that is nowhere near the location of my fictitious Owensville Terminal Railroad. No problem, since I can alter reality and move the WFS from Desloge to Owensville, Missouri. My layout, my reality!!
The operating premise will be basically the same for the WFS, although I am going to change things slightly. The original set up for the WFS features the grocery warehouse along with a spur track that leads to a glass container factory (hidden staging). The warehouse set up will remain the same. The hidden staging tracks that ducks under the over pass will also remain, but they will no longer connect to another industry. It will now represent a siding track that reconnects to the main out of view. I can use it to store empties and use it as a fiddle track. Cars can be fiddled on and off and/or stored on this hidden track. The main track will now connect to the OASIS District section via a curved staging track that will be removable when the two layouts are not being operated. The following track plan shows the set up for the two layouts...
Here is the operating scheme I envision for the two layouts. The OASIS District feature an industrial yard that serves several industries located in Owensville. It receives inbound cars from an interchange track (bottom of track plan) and transfer runs from the staging track (area in gray). The yard crews will conduct transfer and switching operations at Owensville, then they will head south to switch the grocery warehouse located several miles away. This local will pick up and set out cars as needed at the warehouse, then return to the industrial yard with any cars that need to be transferred back to the main classification yard of the Owensville Terminal Railroad (offline location). This operating scheme could easily keep two to three people busy with lots of switching opportunities to boot.
Construction should go quickly and I hope to be operating the WFS again on a regular basis as a home layout. The layout is not going to be permanently attached to the shelf, so it can be packed up and exhibited at train shows as well.
I want to give a special shout out to Mike Kieran for making the suggestion to use the WFS as part of the Owensville Terminal OASIS District Layout. Thanks, Mike!!
I will be posting shelf installation updates as progress is made. Stay tuned!
