Frazier Borate Revisited

I've been thinking about rebuilding the Frazier Borate mini. And when I say rebuilding, I mean scrapping the existing layout and building a new one with a similar track plan, but a couple of significant changes.

First, the existing Frazier Borate is just a little too large to be really portable. At 30 inches wide, it won't fit through most household doors without tilting it on its side, and at 61 inches long, it's a tad too long to fit comfortably in my RAV4. I want to shrink it to 56x28, maybe even a little less. Of course, that means reducing the minimum radius an inch or maybe more, but since this is pretty much Porter territory anyway, that's not much of a problem.

If I make a new, more portable version, I can take it to Gary Beatty's Mini Festa next year, and maybe other places.

Second, when I built it, I wasn't bold enough using the vertical dimension; one of the things I'm pleased with, about the San Emigdio Canyon, is the strong vertical element of the deep canyon juxtaposed with a pretty tall mountain. Because there's more track and buildings on the Frazier Borate, I can't be quite as free with vertical scenery, but I think I can do better.

Finally, I will be building this with the idea that it will connect to the larger L&SE layout, to provide additional operational possibilities. Where it's going to sit, it would make more sense to have the mountain on the left and a canyon on the right.

So here's the latest version. This one is drawn at 27 x 56 inches, which will just fit through the door from the garage into the house.

I'd probably construct this layout similar to the San Emigdio Canyon, with a minimal 1x2 frame and mostly carved foam construction. This is drawn using Peco On30 switches; I don't like the appearance of the Peco switches as well as Micro Engineering, but they're more compact, so they work better for a small layout. I have two of the four switches I would need. I monkeyed around trying to make it work with two lefts, a right and a wye (what I have on hand), but that required more compromises than I wanted to make, so I'll need to buy two more right hand switches and five or six lengths of flex track. I can probably sell the two left hand switches if I don't find another use for them.

Here's a version with Micro Engineering track. Works better than I thought it would:

Here's a view showing how it connects to the larger layout (slightly different track plan). I've included a spur that runs behind the mini layout and would probably be hidden behind a backdrop, providing storage for excess cars or even a full train.

I've drawn this with Micro Engineering On30 for the connecting track. I'd need one more ME switch and maybe a couple of lengths of ME flex. I'll use some of the Atlas HO scale Code 83 flex that I have on hand for the hidden track. The area between the L&SE on the left and the Frazier Borate on the right would be scenicked to blend the two. There's room to add another short spur and another industry if I'm so inclined.

My thought at this point is to start work on this project over the summer. I previously built a shelf along this wall, but now that I think about it, I believe I'll have to lower it to accommodate the canyon, so that will  be the first step. Then I'll put in the connecting track and the hidden staging track. Somewhere along the way I'll demo the old Frazier Borate, then start work on the new version. Like I said, the goal is to have it far enough along to take it to Gary Beatty's Mini Fiesta next year.

5/4/26: After attending the Mini Fiesta this weekend, I'm anxious to get started on this project. In fact, I kind of committed to Gary, and a couple of other people, that I would have a new layout to show next year. I'm still tinkering with the design, but it's getting close.

I retire in four weeks, and have already committed to helping out with an event at the local historical society the first weekend in June, so I will probably get started with the layout after that. Meanwhile, I may pick up a couple of 1x2s and build the box frame in the next week or two, then mock up some hills out of cardboard, just to make sure the size will work.

5/8/26: I redrew the plan with Micro Engineering track and a few other changes. In this version, the layout is two inches longer -- I measured, and I am confident I can fit a 58 inch layout in my car.

The most dramatic change visually is moving the mountain to just right of center, so the mine and the ravine are on one side of the mountain, and the town on the other side. This gives me two very distinct scenes. The town is still mainly viewed from the front, while the mine is best viewed from the end. That will work with the position where I expect this will sit next to the larger L&SE layout.

In this rendition, I reduced the radius on the right end to 11 inches, same as the left. Because of the turnout leading into the curve on the left side, the curve is offset slightly, which means the straightway at the front has a little curve to it. I like that, visually, though I may continue to tweak this. I also switched the "interchange" track to the left-rear corner. This would make it easier to connect the Frazier Borate to the L&SE, I think.