Decision
Build a small test layout before a full-room layout
Westgate Hollow Yard is a deliberately small OO gauge goods yard for proving the control system and practising, ahead of a larger full-room layout.
- Status
- accepted
- Decided
- Affects
- Westgate Hollow Yard
Context
This was decided around the time work on PicoDCC started. Its first commit was 2024-04-27, which is the date used here.
The end goal is a larger full-room layout. Getting there means building a control system from scratch (a command station, sensor nodes, an orchestrator and a throttle) and a lot of hands-on work: baseboards, track, wiring and scenery.
Decision
Build Westgate Hollow Yard first: a small OO gauge test goods yard, used to
- verify the control systems on real track with real locos and sensors,
- try out scenic techniques, and
- practise generally before the full-room layout.
Consequences
- The control system gets proven on real track before it has to run anything bigger.
- Scenic techniques get tried out on the test layout first.
- Westgate Hollow is a stepping stone, not the final layout.