What's Ahead in the New Year?

There are still a few things to do on the winter mini-layout, probably enough to keep me puttering for another month or so. But it was always meant as a seasonal display, and I expect that by the end of January I'll be packing it away until next year.

I'm so jazzed about the way this one came out that it's hard to get excited about going back to the Frazier Borate. I'm itching to instead apply the lessons I've learned this month to something new. So what might that be?

One obvious possibility would be to scrap the Frazier Borate and rebuild it -- same size, same track plan, using all-foam construction, much more vertical scenery including a trestle, and maybe hand-laid track. I could reuse all or most of the buildings, and of course motive power and rolling stock would carry over.

I might change the size just a little. I'd likely go a couple inches wider, giving myself a bit more room on the outside of the oval for scenery. I could also make it a couple of inches longer. A 64 inch base length would fit in my RAV4, as long as it tapered in a little to accommodate the slanted rear wall of the cargo space. 

This redrawn version is 32 x 56. I've put both the mainline and the interchange on trestles in the lower left corner. The mountain would be taller and extend most of the length of the layout, with some of the town buildings up on the hillside.

I might instead do another mini, the same size as the winter one or just a bit larger. If I increased it to 24 x 36 I could probably fit a spur track to a mine. My thought is to call it "Antimony Peak," which was the site of an actual Antimony mine back in the 1870s, with a cable tram from the top of the mountain to a mill on San Emigdio Creek. Banta Modelworks makes model cable tram towers and tram buckets, so I ordered a set, figuring that even if I don't use them on a micro like this, I can include a cable tram on a future larger L&SE, or build a freestanding diorama.

I also have several Clever Models kits that I've bought the last year or so, mostly just because they were interesting, but not built. I might take a break from layout building for a few weeks and put together at least one or two of those buildings. Most of them won't fit on the Frazier Borate, either the current incarnation or the possible rebuild, so I may do a static display, or maybe a different take on a micro layout, featuring a small western town rather than heavy scenery or mining.

Another consideration: I am still hopeful that I might be able to start work on a new, larger L&SE layout in late 2024 or early 2025. How much effort and expense do I want to put in to a project that is likely to be abandoned in a year? That somewhat suggests that the best strategy would be to build another micro or a shelf layout that I can finish in a few months, or a diorama or module that could be incorporated into the larger layout when the time comes.

Or....

Even with my restricted space, I could probably (well, possibly) manage something like this. Start with 4 x 8 feet, with a little extra against the wall on each side, occupying my old H.O.  benchwork. I could expand along the wall to the right if space becomes available in the future.