{"id":3075,"date":"2020-01-15T20:59:11","date_gmt":"2020-01-16T01:59:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/smallmr.com\/wordpress\/?p=3075"},"modified":"2020-01-15T21:00:15","modified_gmt":"2020-01-16T02:00:15","slug":"small-layout-challenge-2020","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/smallmr.com\/wordpress\/small-layout-challenge-2020\/","title":{"rendered":"Small Layout Challenge 2020"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

One of my favorite layout designs by Carl Arendt is Carl’s Imports<\/a>. Carl designed the micro layout to fit in a shoebox. Using what he referred to as an “intercontinental research project”, Carl determined that the optimum sized shoebox (male variety) was determined to be 13 x 7 x 5 inches (33 x 18 x 12 cm). He then designed Carl\u2019s Imports to fit such a box. The first article about the layout can be found at his December 12, 2013 article “Layouts in Boxes”<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Carl\u2019s<\/a>
Carl\u2019s Imports<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

It did not take long for several others to create their own designs based on Carl’s 13 x 7 x 5 inches (33 x 18 x 12 cm) dimensions. Carl added a unique area to his website just for this phenomena called Shoebox Madness<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Even though I like the idea of such a small layout, I was never impressed by the idea of keeping my hard work in a cardboard box. I had saved a few shoeboxes of the right dimension but never really got one going. I just did not like the box. They all had branding and were just ugly. I want to display my layouts if I can, and that means I want a certain level of cleanliness to the thing holding my layout.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Shoeboxes can be a bit ugly<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

As part of wanting to display my finished work, I also have the problem of unwanted guests. Specifically a couple cats my family has an emotional attachment with. The layout will need full protection as I have found these “fur-balls of destruction” can (and will) reach every spot I select. What ever happened to curiosity killing the cat?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
\n
\"\"
Here is reason #1 for a display case<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
\n
\"\"
Here is reason #2<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Over the recent holiday, I made several trips to the local craft stores with my family to support several holiday “projects”. While there I perused the aisle ways for ideas to support my model railroad addiction\/hobby, I soon came across display cases for sports memorabilia. Now I had seen these before, but they were always on the expensive side. I admit, I am a bit of a penny pincher (my wife prefers the term cheapskate). On this particular day I noticed that these cases were 60% off, bringing the to around $25. A bargain in my book!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a>
Football Display Case as purchased<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

I soon found two cases that could work as a stand-in for the old shoebox. They were a football display case<\/a> and a basketball display case<\/a>. On the package these cases only supplied the external dimensions which were close to the shoebox size. I took the dive with the helmet case and was soon home examining the exact internal dimensions of the box. It turns out the inside of the case was exactly 13 x 9 x 9 inches ( 33 x 23 x 23 cm ) slightly over shoebox dimensions but close enough (IMHO).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The case has a platform base that as a hole for the football to rest in. This ideal for wiring or other items that need to be below the viewing level. The glass top has a wood frame with a 3\/4 inch (19 mm) trim height. This allow for a foam or wood scenery base that will not stick up into the viewing area.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

My initial plan is model a industrial tram in the copper mining region of Michigan. The tram will deliver finished copper bars to the dock and transport other materials to a few other locations. My initial thought is to replicate the track arrangement of Carl’s Import but in reverse. The dock area will be stacked with copper bars much like the prototype. The tram will enter a warehouse through one door and use a sector plate to transfer the train to a second track that will run along the back. The rear track will have a turnout to provide additional spotting possibilities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Loading Copper, Houghton, MI<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Now as far as a challenge, I want to invite anyone reading this to challenge themselves to build a layout in a table top display case. The only limit I am putting on this is the case must be table top and fit the micro layout parameters set forth by Carl Arendt; \u201cMicro layouts are small model railroads, usually less than three or four square feet in area, that nonetheless have a clear purpose and excellent operating capability.\u201d<\/em> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I have seen these cases in all shapes and sizes. Some are very long, and some are larger than what I choose. One football helmet case<\/a> I found has outside dimensions of 11.5 x 15.6 x 11.6 inch (29.2 x 39.6 x 29.4 cm). It would be very interesting to see if someone could design a functional layout within the confines of a baseball bat case<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a>
Baseball Display Case – 39.25 x 5.7 x 2.7 inch (997 x 144.8 x 68.6 cm)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a>
Football Helmet Display Case – 11.5 x 15.6 x 11.6 inch (29.2 x 39.6 x 29.4 cm)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

I am not placing any other limits on what you can do. I will continue to post updates on this website of my progress and I would welcome anyone to post what they are doing. If we get enough feedback, I will open a page dedicated to this challenge. Please make sure to provide where you found your case and its dimensions for any layout design posts. I will close the challenge at the end of 2020, so there is time, but time flies when you are having fun!!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I look forward to hearing other peoples ideas on this challenge.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

One of my favorite layout designs by Carl Arendt is Carl’s Imports. Carl designed the micro layout to fit in a shoebox. Using what he…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":3158,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"Small Layout Challenge 2020 - Lets design a micro to fit certain style of box!","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[19],"tags":[71,70,69],"class_list":["post-3075","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-small-layout-ideas","tag-microlayout","tag-modelrailways","tag-modeltrains","wpcat-19-id"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/smallmr.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/challenge.png","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4e6yk-NB","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":6348,"url":"https:\/\/smallmr.com\/wordpress\/shoebox-layout-ideas\/","url_meta":{"origin":3075,"position":0},"title":"Shoebox Layout Ideas","author":"Marshall Stull","date":"October 2, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"In Episode 47 of the Cartel Conversations Podcast, the hosts, Ian Holmes and Tom Conboy, introduced the 2024 Micro Model Railway Cartel Challenge. For 2024 the challenge is to build a shoebox layout. For those who are in the dark, the late Carl Arendt featured this type of layout in\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Small Layout Design Ideas"","block_context":{"text":"Small Layout Design Ideas","link":"https:\/\/smallmr.com\/wordpress\/category\/small-layout-ideas\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/smallmr.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/IMG_5427.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/smallmr.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/IMG_5427.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/smallmr.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/IMG_5427.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/smallmr.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/IMG_5427.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":108,"url":"https:\/\/smallmr.com\/wordpress\/consider-the-small-layout\/","url_meta":{"origin":3075,"position":1},"title":"Consider the Small Layout","author":"Marshall Stull","date":"October 14, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"NOTE: Many of the sample layouts featured in this article were borrowed from\u00a0Carl Arendt's web site. Links back to appropriate page on Carl's site have been provided. Among North American Model Railroad Hobbyists, there is a\u00a0predominant\u00a0thought that a \"real\" layout is one that fills a large space such as a\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Small Layout How To Articles"","block_context":{"text":"Small Layout How To Articles","link":"https:\/\/smallmr.com\/wordpress\/category\/articles-on-small-layouts\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Carl Arendt's Squarefoot Estate Railway, G scale in one square foot","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/smallmr.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/10\/sqrfoot1.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":500,"url":"https:\/\/smallmr.com\/wordpress\/carlarendt\/","url_meta":{"origin":3075,"position":2},"title":"I Miss Carl Arendt!","author":"Marshall Stull","date":"September 14, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"I miss\u00a0Carl Arendt! His writings on small and micro layouts at\u00a0http:\/\/www.carendt.com\/\u00a0changed my view of Model Railroading forever.\u00a0 Over several years I had attempted to build a few different layouts and all ended with a semi-constructed \"plywood central\" that did not satisfy or keep my attention. Each time I would get\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Layout Spotlight"","block_context":{"text":"Layout Spotlight","link":"https:\/\/smallmr.com\/wordpress\/category\/layout-spotlight\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"I miss Carl Arendt!","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/smallmr.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/peek240.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1792,"url":"https:\/\/smallmr.com\/wordpress\/jim-saccos-city-classics-display-layout-modelrailroad-train-layout\/","url_meta":{"origin":3075,"position":3},"title":"Jim Sacco\u2019s City Classics Display Layout","author":"Marshall Stull","date":"June 16, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Many suppliers of Model Railroad materials build display layouts to show how their products will look\/work on a layout. Many times these layouts are not much more than a static display. If they run, they do not have much scenery or are no more than a loop to allow equipment\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Layout Spotlight"","block_context":{"text":"Layout Spotlight","link":"https:\/\/smallmr.com\/wordpress\/category\/layout-spotlight\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/smallmr.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/FaceBook_CityClassics.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/smallmr.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/FaceBook_CityClassics.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/smallmr.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/FaceBook_CityClassics.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/smallmr.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/FaceBook_CityClassics.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/smallmr.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/FaceBook_CityClassics.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/smallmr.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/FaceBook_CityClassics.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":398,"url":"https:\/\/smallmr.com\/wordpress\/layout-composition-and-design-concepts\/","url_meta":{"origin":3075,"position":4},"title":"Layout Composition and Design Concepts","author":"Marshall Stull","date":"September 22, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"This post marks the one year anniversary of the Small Model Railroad web site. The first post \"I Miss Carl Arendt!\" was a tribute to Carl\u00a0Arendt who had recently passed away. Those of you who have read the site know that his site and views on the hobby changed my\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Small Layout How To Articles"","block_context":{"text":"Small Layout How To Articles","link":"https:\/\/smallmr.com\/wordpress\/category\/articles-on-small-layouts\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Carl's Sap Line","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/smallmr.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/10\/sapline.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/smallmr.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/10\/sapline.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/smallmr.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/10\/sapline.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/smallmr.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/10\/sapline.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":3387,"url":"https:\/\/smallmr.com\/wordpress\/2020-design-challenge-update\/","url_meta":{"origin":3075,"position":5},"title":"2020 Small Layout Challenge Update","author":"Marshall Stull","date":"May 25, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"It is amazing how some ideas take on a life of their own! When I posted the original article on the challenge, I was hopeful a couple people might take interest. Although I have personally been too busy to work on my own display case layout, others are moving full\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Layout Spotlight"","block_context":{"text":"Layout Spotlight","link":"https:\/\/smallmr.com\/wordpress\/category\/layout-spotlight\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/smallmr.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/95893520_2976685685745857_1668162291289292800_o.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/smallmr.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/95893520_2976685685745857_1668162291289292800_o.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/smallmr.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/95893520_2976685685745857_1668162291289292800_o.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/smallmr.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/95893520_2976685685745857_1668162291289292800_o.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/smallmr.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/95893520_2976685685745857_1668162291289292800_o.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/smallmr.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/95893520_2976685685745857_1668162291289292800_o.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/smallmr.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3075","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/smallmr.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/smallmr.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/smallmr.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/smallmr.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3075"}],"version-history":[{"count":16,"href":"https:\/\/smallmr.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3075\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3159,"href":"https:\/\/smallmr.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3075\/revisions\/3159"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/smallmr.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3158"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/smallmr.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3075"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/smallmr.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3075"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/smallmr.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3075"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}