Thread: Disneyland 2
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Old 03-30-2018, 08:08 PM
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beckychestney beckychestney is offline
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Well space is at a premium so as it stands there isn't room for any more large constructions.

But.

A lot of the oldest models already need reconstruction. Case in point is Small World. When I built it in 2012, I gave it very close clearances to minimize the ride's footprint.



Not necessarily a huge problem, but when I upgraded the motive power for the Disneyland Railroad in 2014 the tender for the new version of the locomotive had a slightly wider shell to accommodate electronics in the unit that my previous loco didn't have. So I had to move the clock tower forward and slightly widen the arches to let the train pass. I didn't find that out however until the locomotive had smashed into things and derailed AFTER the whole layout was set up for the season. So that and the rigors of storage have bent a few parts plus there's the sunlight that's been fading the toner for 5+ years. So it's time to rebuild.

But there's another set of issues that developed over the years that I couldn't have anticipated. One noticeable issue is the Skyway. It wasn't bad years ago, but after the Monorail came along the interactions of the three elements became a nightmare. The track comes along behind Small World and must also avoid the Skyway towers:



See how close one of the Monorail pylons is to the rails on the left side? The clearance between the Monorail glideway and the Skyway tower nearest the Matterhorn is just as tight. This year, I got smart. After collisions, derailments and stuck trains at the most inaccessible part of the layout (and piles of rocks) I used steel wire to pull the Skyway back and away from the Glideway:



The wire loops around one of the clips for the window and hauls it back. But, this puts a lot of stress on the Skyway which is made of wood dowels inserted into styrene tubing atop the towers and attached to the roofs of the Matterhorn "Ice Grottoes". Yanking the tower back caused the dowels to stress into an "S" shape! Which isn't exactly a "sustainable position" for multiple seasons of operation.

So. Since I couldn't easily modify Small World without risk it's time to build a new one. And this would give me the opportunity to permanently affix the positions of the Monorail pylons and at least one Skyway tower. And that's my plan for 2017. Which if successful, will lead to something.

Aside from that, Sleeping Beauty Castle needs to be rebuilt, I need three times as many Skyway gondolas, there are holes to fill all over Tomorrowland, the tree-house needs enhancements, there are never enough figures, I want excursion type coaches for the DLRR, and they'll all need little plastic people to sit in them....

Nope. Not done yet!
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