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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.
The
following pages reflect the fact that Pecan Street is
still very much "slow work in progress".
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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 switches |
| Control |
DCC |
| Locale
and era |
Flexible (East
Coast, 1980s to current) |
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Text and
pictures are (c) 2022-2023 Adrian Wymann.
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page created 8 March 2022
last updated 28 September 2023
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