The O-Gauge Zen Garden - A Matter of Perspective

It looks like these streets go on a ways -- but they don't.

I've had a lot of fun with my O-Gauge Zen Garden. And I've had a lot of fun photographing it, too. I carefully stage the shots so that one can't tell just how small the layout really is. And perhaps I've done too good a job.

In conversations about the photos I've noticed that the actual dimensions of the layout -- 3 feet by 5 feet -- don't seem to register with most people. The mental image they seem to have is a sprawling layout that envelops the entire basement.

Well, not quite. It really is just a 3 x 5 table, and a pretty cramped one at that. Here are two overhead shots, the equivalent of satellite photos. I had to press the camera against the ceiling to get these, but I think it was worth it.

As you can see, it's pretty small. But then, it doesn't take a lot to keep me happy...

Here's the layout at night. Looks different from this angle than
it did from the first photo.

Just two loops with a spur.