Saturday 1 August 2020

Proof of Concept

I guess my colleagues will tell me the title of this post should really be Minimal Viable Product.  That is the idea of building something that just about holds up to scrutiny but isn't yet fit to sell. It lets you see if the concept works, but if it doesn't you "fail fast" and learn lessons without falling foul of the sunk cost fallacy.

I've got a fair amount of LGB track in stock. It was bought with the short-term intention of using it to run-in Peter Jones and to visualise some possible locations. The longer-term intention involves grandchildren and a well known blue engine. After all, I started off with the old Meccano clockwork Percy.






I had been shifting towards hand-building the track from day one. Issy's latest enthusiasm (Poop Poop said Mrs Toad) means I'm going to be time poor for the rest of the Summer which has put paid to that plan. I've also got a nascent idea for a better location for the line in the long term and I don't see the point of building track until then. So I'm back to using LGB as my proof of concept and to get some sort of 7/8ths line in place to help my thinking.


I'm also warming to that idea of a little 16mm line in one of the raised vegetable beds. Teddy seems quite supportive of the concept.



2 comments:

  1. This seems sound to me. While it's great to aim for perfection, there is a lot to be said for just getting something built. It helps coalesce your thoughts and if you go in to things assuming the layout is temporary, it's easier to make changes to work out exactly what you want.

    While not the case here, I see a lot of people who are going to build perfect, scale model railways, but only when the conditions are exactly right. They read the right literature, follow the right modellers and so when the great days dawns, perfection is assured. What they forget is that everything we do is a culmination of our part efforts and sometimes things aren't as easy as other make them appear.

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    1. Until you start building major earthworks it is a lot easier to make changes in the garden. But the approach does still have to be built in to some degree.

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