Yep, I'm fully into the "creativity is the point" school of thought -- I love nothing more than discovering the off-center bits and pieces, whether physical items or the odd idea/inspiration, and developing them into a tangible presence on the layout. While I enjoy just running the trains through their paces (and showing off my 'toys' to visitors!), on reflection I seem to derive the most satisfaction in helping the seeds of inspiration sprout into a full instantiation of the original thought. A for-instance:
- As one of my all-too-regular obsessions, I decided I *really* wanted to experience and experiment with a vintage Marx "Sound O' Power" tender (one of Marx's few forays into modern electronics). Having been out-bid in several auctions featuring just that tender, I decided to instead bid on a whole box set that happened to include the desired tender -- and I *won*, with a bid only a bit more than the tenders were going for by themselves! Of course, this left me with the rest of the box set items. The engine, other rolling stock, track and transformer I set aside for use in their accustomed roles, and the telephone/power poles I "prettied up" a bit with thread and landscaping materials and added to the layout in their expected roles, but a few items gave me pause. First was a nicely detailed but damaged newsstand, and second was a simple station platform. I ended up repairing, painting, and detailing the newsstand:
I then added light columns to the train platform (in place of two missing roof supports), which I installed on top of a sub-platform off the el line that supported both the newsstand and the upgraded platform and hid the embedded control hardware for the trolley stop installation (the trolley stops, then resumes motion after five seconds or so). Here's the completed el station:
Here's a video of the trolley stop at the el station in action: https://youtu.be/R_zKsUPlRSc
So, the whole series of projects all stemmed indirectly from my "Sound O' Power" obsession (which BTW is in almost daily use on the layout!) and more directly from the unanticipated 'leftovers' from that project!
