I am fascinated with animation on a model railroad, whether it be building interior lighting that occasionally turns on and off or motion. Done well, animation brings the model railroad to life and enhances the animation already provided by the movement of rolling stock.
I have a complete Free-mo module built but the scenery has not been completed, aside from the track being ballasted. My vision for this two-part module is as follows:
- there will be a pond which is cutaway at one edge of the module;
- the pond was created by a beaver family that dammed a small stream that flows from a culvert under the railway tracks;
- the beaver dam will be depicted near the edge of the module and a beaver lodge will be somewhere in the centre of the pond;
- there will be a stately residence beside the pond and a dock where the residents can dock their boat;
- the boat will sail around the pond without the use of any sort of visible track.
This shows what I have in mind (because of the perspective from which the photo was taken the distance that the boat travels appears much shorter than it will actually be):
I am aware of a commercial product that I could use for this animation. It is made by Magnorail. They use a plastic chain system that sits beneath a road or lake surface. Magnets can be placed in the chain which cause objects, also with magnets, to travel along the surface. These could include vehicles, boats or one of my favourites, bicycles:
There appears to be only one retailer in North America that handles this product, Reynaulds Euro Imports in Illinois. Their price for a starter set is US$219.95. Once I pay for shipping in US dollars, convert these costs to Canadian dollars and add the import broker fee and Canadian taxes the total cost for the starter kit will come in at around C$400.00 plus. I cannot justify this price, to myself or my wife!
There must be another way...... (to be continued)