The project of the
Cretàz Station layout started at the end of May 2006, while I was planning to build another bigger layout in my parent's house. Looking at some
Loco Revue magazines, I thought a small layout, built in a relative short time, could give me the pleasure of shunting cars, which is, for me, the maximum fun. So I started to look around in my flat for some space and finally I found it, above the desk in the guest room. In the picture you can see the layout in its final step.
Il progetto della Stazione di Cretàz è iniziato alla fine di maggio 2006, mentre stavo pensando alla costruzione di un altro plastico più grande, nella casa dei miei genitori. Poi, leggendo svariati Loco Revue (rivista di modellismo francese) ho iniziato a pensare che anche un piccolo plastico avrebbe potuto regalarmi molte ore di divertimento, soprattutto nella movimentazione dei carri, esercizio che io prediligo. Così ho iniziato a guardarmi intorno, nel mio modesto appartamento, per trovare uno spazio adatto per la costruzione ed alla fine l’ho trovato, sopra alla scrivania, nella stanza degli ospiti. Nell’immagine potete vedere il rendering dello studio finale.
After a technical meeting with Andrea and Pik (Franco's nickname, a HO's friend of mine), I sketch the electrical layout you can see in the picture. It is only a proof sheet. All red and blue tracks have to be powered; electrofrog turnouts need Peco's PL-13 switches to change polarity when turned.
Today I start designing module frames (open-grid), made of plywood and assembled with 90° steel brackets and Phillip screws. In order to save time and material, I prepare first a 3D model, so to perform Finite Element Analysis on it... no, I'm joking :-))) 
Yesterday I displayed a 1:1 scale drawing of the layout, overlapping turnouts, and saw if my CAD modelling was right. Wow, they fitted perfectly! It is a worthy test, in case of future changes or… new layout plans! Besides, it is very useful to have true scale track plan in front of your eyes, at the right height: in fact you can immediately see volumes and distances, measure freight and passenger trains length, studying ambient lights, etc.
After planning the layout, I studied the frame: simply, I used five L steel brackets and four timber girders. Here you can see the drawing.
The project of the Cretàz Station layout started at the end of May 2006, while I was planning to build another bigger layout in my parent's house. Looking at some Loco Revue magazines, I thought a small layout, built in a relative short time, could give me the pleasure of shunting cars, which is, for me, the maximum fun. So I started to look around in my flat for some space and finally I found it, above the desk in the guest room. In the picture you can see the layout in its final step.
