Some of you may have visited the G scale "Stewart Junction" exhibit at the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania, especially when it was new and fully staffed. That's one of many inspirations for my idea. My definition of "interactive" means that visitors run at least one train, probably with walk-around command control. My vision is a "hands-on" guided experience, probably requiring a 1:1 ratio of visitors to staff. Visitors could also be conductors (who watch signals and plan pick-ups and set-outs), brakemen (couple and uncouple cars, load cargo), and with enough experience, even dispatchers! With fewer people, the same person would take on multiple roles.
Push-button accessories like crossing gates, gatemen, etc., are fine. But I would focus on accessories -- industries -- that interact with the train directly: coal loader, sawmill, culvert loader, cattle pen, magnetic crane, ice station, maybe a working lift bridge or drawbridge, and probably others that I'm forgetting. These would be situated close to the edge of the platform so that a "helping hand" can correct erratic operation.
The layout itself would accommodate a minimum of two trains moving simultaneously, and preferably a yard with its own switching lead. At least some of the mainline would be shared trackage with CTC-like bi-directional operation. So train crews would have to interact with each other and the dispatcher at some point to complete the scenario. A working signal system would add a lot of realism, although a master dispatcher could also tell train train crews to slow, stop, and go by radio headset if the size and complexity of the layout warrants it. The "halt" button or a kill switch would hopefully prevent the most serious mishaps.
I would like to add at least one passenger train to the mix and a few stations strategically situated along the mainline. The local freights would try to complete their switch lists while the passenger train makes its rounds stopping at each of the stations. If possible the local freights would run slowly, and try to stay out of the way to avoid delaying the passenger train. There could be a longer, faster "through freight" with fewer set-outs and perhaps an engine change. And a Yard Job to sort cars, add and remove cars from the through freight, etc.
It wouldn't have to be a pre-determined timetable operation with fast clock. The consist, cargo, and destination could be determined randomly with drawn cards. This would create self-sustaining variety and fun while keeping the whole thing realistic enough to teach children and the general public about what trains do (or at least what they did during the heyday of railroading!) It would be an exercise in cooperative problem-solving, kind of like these "escape room" adventures that are cropping up everywhere. To add a competitive aspect, there could be a "leader board" in the room with the names of the train crews who moved the most cars in a half-hour session, etc.
I've spent the last two years working on compact layout designs to facilitate this vision. My train room is only 11 x 18, so it's not easy to design something that offers interaction, variety, and still fits the space. Two trains and 2 to 4 people would be a typical crew for what I can build at home. (I could double the train capacity by building two level decks connected by a helix in the adjacent garage. But an upper deck wouldn't be kid-friendly, and jamming 6-8 people into my already narrow aisles probably wouldn't improve the experience!) All of my designs are done to near minimum size (i.e., sharpest possible curves with short or no straight track between them.) So they could easily be "scaled up" to four or even ten times the area just by adding straight track and switching to wide, scenic curves.
Like Paul I would love to see this vision writ grand. I haven't posted any of my track plans because I hope to publish them in a book fully describing my vision, and life journey in the Hobby that led me to this place. Posts on the Forum in the past two weeks, and one track plan that will appear in a future issue of OGR struck a chord, and prompted me to spill some of these beans.
Whether I make my vision a reality with help from other Forum members, or someone else does it without me, a blockbuster interactive exhibit like this is sorely needed to showcase what can be done with modern 3-rail O. Since Lionel first announced their Layout Control System (LCS), I hoped they would build a showroom demonstration layout; a spiritual successor to their great 1940s effort that would make every visitor say "I want to build something like this!" Making it transportable, and bringing it to York or TCA Headquarters would be amazing!! Let's see whether a bunch of old collectors still remember how to have fun and "play with trains!"
