The New York Southern is designed in Third PlanIt (3PI), a model railroad oriented computer aided design software program. In fact the conceptual design of the house itself was also done in 3PI. This allowed me to provide reasonably accurate diagrams and 3-dimensional renderings to the 1:1 architect and builder. Further, both the "house" drawings and the layout drawings started from the same notional basement design. The first basement drawings were simply "wrapped around" an early version of the layout plan itself. Design of the layout actually began about two years before a formal contract was signed to build the house. But because the layout and house designs were tightly linked to the same basement concept, I had great confidence that the layout would ultimately fit. And it did.
There are many "adjustments" made along the way, but having eveything in digital form allows quick, accurate decisions and tradeoffs when these changes come along. For example, when a structural column showed up in an unexpected location, a quick check showed that a critical track curve would no longer fit. But reversing the direction of the main eliminated the problem. Many details are worked out in 3PI as construction of the layout proceeds. Lumber is ordered for each phase based on material estimates within 3PI. Important measurements of the as-built layout are frequently compared with the design and most dimensions have come out remarkably close. Where significant discrepancies are found, either the design is updated (preferred) or the construction is corrected as required. As a result, the design is evolving as the construction proceeds. But, by keeping the design up-to-date, the impacts of real-world changes during early phases can be seen on future phases. Thus the inevitable changes along the route do not create ugly surprises down the road. Further, at the end of the line, there will be a reasonably accurate set of drawings reflecting the true, as-built, layout. These will be useful for future changes and maintenance.
This section presents drawings and design notes, primarily generated directly from 3PI or MS Visio. Thumbnails of the plans are shown on this page, but clicking on most of these smaller images will bring up a large PDF version. The PDF can be enlarged, downloaded, and/or printed for serious viewing. In fact, that is how I generate large scale (e.g. 1:16, 1:1) construction drawings - using FedEx Kinko as my "printer". The first two diagrams below are traditional "track plan" style drawings. Following that are 3-dimensional renderings of how the layout will look as construction progresses. Keep in mind that the design of yet to be built phases is still very fluid, or in the case of scenery and wiring, non-existant.
