Dec 30 2008
News - December, 2008 - World’s Smallest Model Railroad Contest Winner Announced
News - December, 2008 - World’s Smallest Model Railroad Contest Winner Announced
Carl Arendt operator of Micro/Small Layouts for Model Railroads website http://carendt.us/index.html announced the 2008 Winner of the World’s Smallest Model Railroad Layout Contest. Contestants from around the globe entered technically correct (though improbable) and also prototype inspired solutions to one of model railroading’s greatest challenges.
As with all record setting offers the rules had to be very tight and very specific. The rules were finalized in September, 2008 and called for:
World’s Smallest Working Model Railroad
CHALLENGE!(Note: Though probably not the world’s smallest, this XTS Train System N-scale pizza layout gives you an initial benchmark for smallness! It measures 6in square and is 2in tall, for a cubical content of 72 cu in. Its longest-side-to-gauge ratio is 152.4mm to 9mm, or 16.93:1.
Seems to me there are two important authenticity tests that must be met by the World’s Smallest Working Model Railroad:
1. It must use flanged wheels running on rails (that’s a basic definition of a “railroad”).
2. It must actually operate: you must be able to run laps or switch/shunt a car to a different track. (Thanks to Tyson Rayles for this definition of a “layout”!)Given those tests for authenticity, what is the world’s smallest working model railroad? Many extremely tiny models have been constructed (see article above), but the ones I’ve seen fail one of more of these tests. So to find the smallest, here’s a new Challenge!
Readers are challenged to send examples of very small layouts to webmaster-AT-carendt-DOT-us (replace “-AT-” and “-DOT-” with the appropriate symbols). If you’re submitting someone else’s work, please identify the originator (with, if possible, a Web reference). And feel free to design your own! Any conceptual design, an unusual idea that has not yet been built, must also include a “proof of concept”—either build the thing or create a mockup to demonstrate that it will work. Send photos and/or drawings (including size indicators), not the models themselves.
All entries will be acknowledged, and the entrant of the tiniest one (measured by its cubic area—footprint x height) will receive a very small prize along with considerable acclaim in these pages. Entries must meet both of the authenticity tests, should have at least minimal scenery, and must be received before midnight U.S. Eastern time (GMT - 5), 30 November 2008. (Note that earlier entries may be published before the Challenge ends, to spur everyone’s creativity!)
In Addition:
Several readers have insisted that “smallness” is always relative to scale. Though I disagree, this challenge will also recognize the layout entry that is the smallest relative to its gauge. A second very small prize will be awarded to the proportionally smallest working layout design submitted in any of the commercially-available gauges… from 45mm (1¾in) down to 6.5mm (or is it now 3mm?). Size will be measured as a ratio of the layout’s longest dimension to the gauge: for example, an HO-gauge (16.5mm gauge) layout measuring 165×48x34mm would have a ratio of 10:1. (In the case of ties, the ratio of the second longest dimension will decide the winner.) Scale of the models is optional, only the gauge will be used for proportional size comparisons.
The same two authenticity tests will apply to all entries, and the submission deadline for all is midnight U.S. Eastern time (GMT-5) on 30 November 2008.
—Carl Arendt
You can find the name and photos of the final winner at http://carendt.us/scrapbook/page80a/index.html. (Normally I’d print the winner’s name but a visit to the site complete with photos and videos is well worth it. You should thank Carl for running the contest.) The outcome of the contest is a show of creativity and craftmanship. You are the winner. The benefit to the starting or developing modeler is inspiration and ideas for making “small” work on your own railroad. Be prepared to spend many joyous visits to this outstanding web site. The “Scrapbook” section is worth a visit to a “candy store” of model railroading in a small space.
Have fun!
Trainguy
