The attic that led to the first version of AnyRail

[David]

When we bought our first house, back in 2003, I finally had a full attic for trains.
As you can see in the picture, taken from the backyard, the house was not very big.
These are terraced houses, maybe 5 meters wide, so the attic was small, but accessible by a fixed staircase!

Not being happy with the existing track planning software at the time, I decided to create my own to design my new attic layout. The first version was called DRail (D from David), but my wife thought it was a terrible name, especially in English, with derailing trains and all.

[David]

I still had a whole stack of Märklin M(etall) track from the past, as well as a lot of locomotives and other rolling stock. The idea was to use these old tracks in the hidden yard and install new K(unststoff) track in the visible area. This was especially helpful because of the flex track, which allowed for wider curves.

I wanted three stations: two terminal stations and a through station. Because this was obviously far too ambitious, one of the terminal stations became more of a stop.
By placing the stations at different elevations, they were easy to visually separate, and it took a bit longer for a train to arrive after departure.
This also left room for a parade track, where the trains would pass by majestically. Well, at least in my mind.


AnyRail did not have a 3D option at the time, but here is an image of the plan anyway.

[David]

The lower level, originally with M-track, was intended as sidings in the hidden staging area. That was a bad decision. You should never use the worst track in places you can no longer reach!
Later, I replaced it with K-track.

In the middle section, you see the through station and a double-track stretch. Again, the height differences allow you to visually separate these areas and create a different atmosphere in each.

In the upper section, you see the parade track at the top. This is a track ascending to the terminal station. The terminal station itself, with its turntable, is very cluttered with track. I wouldn't do it that way now, but then I liked it a lot! However, I hadn't sufficiently considered things like access roads, buildings, and (loading) platforms, so I ultimately got stuck creating the scenery.

[David]

I found working on this layout very relaxing, until I wanted to run multiple trains. Back then, digital control wasn't as common as it is now, so I secured everything with relays and reed switches. This worked fine for the hidden staging yard, but I never quite managed to solve it properly for the single-track stretches that were used in both directions. In the meantime, I also did a lot of work on the scenery. I found some old photos and included them.

You can also find the track plan in AnyRail format here.

After some years in this house, we moved to a slightly larger house a few streets away. This house also had an attic, and even a much larger one! I then dismantled the Märklin layout, sold everything that was still usable, and started over with RocoLine track. But more on that another time!