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Pecan
Street is an 8 feet (2.4 m) long but only 6
inches (15 cm) wide HO scale switching layout, built
in two segments of 4 feet (1.2 m) length each. This
somewhat unusual size results in a total surface area
of a tad under 3.9 square feet, just squeezing it
into the category of a "micro layout".
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| The extremely reduced width for HO scale affords just
enough space for two parallel tracks, which is why Pecan
Street was planned and built as a so-called "tuning
fork layout" (albeit with a short extra siding
thrown in for some extra visual and operational
interest). |
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| The "tuning fork" layout concept was never
really seen as a switching puzzle - not by its original
advocate Chris Ellis (who published Model Trains
International magazine from 1996 to 2015 and first
introduced the label for an "ultra
simple multi-mode switching plan" in
2003), and certainly not by Lance Mindheim, who more
recently has promoted the "one turnout layout"
as a realistic track pattern for prototypical operation
in an achievable format. As a result, there are no
etablished rules on how to operate a "tuning
fork" as a switching puzzle, so I had to work out a
set of rules allowing me to operate the Pecan Street
tuning fork layout in that manner.
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How I operate Pecan
Street as a switching puzzle:
set-up, rules, and reasonings. |
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Views and snapshots ftrom
Pecan Street. |
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How
Pecan Street came together -
some things according to plan, some
definitely not. |
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A
rundown of what inspired and influenced Pecan
Street. |
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| Scale |
HO
(1:87) |
| Length |
2.4m (8ft) total,
made up of two 1.2m (4ft) segments |
| Width |
15cm (6 inches) |
| Track |
Peco Code 100,
medium radius "insulfrog"
switches |
| Control |
DCC |
| Locale
and era |
Flexible (East
Coast, 1980s to current) |
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Text and
pictures are (c) 2022-2025 Adrian Wymann.
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page created 8 March 2022
last updated 31 August 2025
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