Resources 1 - Time / Energy / Commitment

In Layout Design Process 4 - Railroad Modeling I identified that the layout design process can be broken down into three primary functional areas: Concept, Structure and Layout Detail.

Structure. Structure identifies the parameters within which the layout must be designed. It is broken down into two main elements: 3) resources available, and 4) layout planning to build the railroad. At the ed of the structure phase you should have identified the scale and size of your layout and a series of 'given and druthers' you wish to achieve in the track planning process. 

Under the element Resources Available, the following areas are considered:

1. Time / Energy / Commitment
2. Skills/Experience
3. Money
4. Space
   

Time / Energy / Commitment

Lance Mindheim, in his layout design blog, https://www.shelflayouts.com suggests that rather than let available space drive the planning process, the modeler should let available time drive the design. Lance believes that having time for layout construction may be the biggest factor when youre deciding how large a layout to tackle. Those with limited time due to pressing job responsibilities and competing interests will likely find that trying to build a several hundred square foot layout is ill advised.  Lance posits two specific questions:

    1) How much time does the modeler have to work on the layout?

    2) How long will the modeler have the layout?

In The Railroad Model Journey (http://modelingthewwsl.blogspot.com/2019/12/the-railroad-modeling-journey.html) I stated that I had a number of model railroad layouts in various sizes and degrees of completeness over the years. Some were incomplete by design, others went incomplete due to fatherhood and job responsibilities.

Rarely in the model railroad press is there mention of the time it takes to construct a model railroad. In the Model Railroad Planning 2004, Paul Dolkos wrote an article "How big should your layout be?" He discusses time, scope, availability of skilled help, money and maintenance. Paul introduces an 18' x 21- foot layout that Mat Thompson was constructing. Mat estimated that it would take 3400 hours to complete the layout. Those hours were based on: 

• Benchwork  - 300 square feet -  100 hours
• Track  -  600 feet  - 1 hour/foot - 600 hours 
• Turnouts -  50 turnouts and switch machines - 3  hours/turnout - 150 hours
• Scenery -  300 square feet  - 2 hours/square feet -  600 hours
• Structures - 10 large building - 100 hrs each - 15 medium buildings 50 hrs each - 15 small buildings 20 hours each - 2,050 hours
 

Imagine the estimated hours for another layout Paul Dolkos highlights - J.D.Smith's Southern Rwy Rats Hole Division - 1900 feet of track, 203 turnouts. Using the Thompson baseline, J.D. Smith's estimate would be ~5400 hours absent scenery and structures.

The WWSL

Now that my family is grown up and on their own, and I'm semi-retired, its time to commit to  to railroad modeling. No more PTA, scouts, car pooling, overtime at the office, and the myriad of commitments that comes with family. I will have the time to build out the layout. For my last layout I'm assuming it will have a lifespan of 8-10 years. That number isn’t something I pulled out of thin air. I'm 64 right now. Based on a variety of factors, I anticipate 8-10 years of productive retirement life. Im in my retirement location.  I anticipate the heavy lifting of layout construction (things like the benchwork, track, wiring) will be completed in 2 years.Everything else is 'gravy'!

I've estimated that i have about an hour a day and 6 hours a weekend for layout construction. I’ve found that plugging away on the layout a little bit every day is a good way to make fast progress. On weekends I’m able to get 2-3 hours done at one stretch, but during the week even half an hour before I head for bed speeds things along.

As I have already planned and constructed parts of the WWSL in previous configurations, I know that I have approximately 400 square feet of benchwork (150 hours),  200 feet of track (200 hours), and about 50 turnouts (100 hours), scenery (400 hours) for a total estimate of 850 hours less structures.

If you recall in my Long Range Goal's -  LTG #5: I want the layout to be completed to general standards within 3 years, and enjoyable for a total of 8 to 10 years. I want the layout to be affordable, utilizing my existing modules, locomotives and rolling stock whenever possible. I have a number of modules and backdrops already constructed and in storage. If you have been following my construction pages you will see that I have completed approximately 75 percent of the benchwork through judicious recycling and new construction and materials as needed.