RobL's "Yet Another Redesign"

[steinjr]

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I am not sure about that rats nest I made at the bottom, and I am thinking I might extend the siding from the "Green Mtn RR Depot" to go into the tunnel I added at the bottom left is that will disappear to a lower level for staging (maybe...)... anyway, I'd love to hear your thoughts on what I have done here and how it might be improved further... thanks again for getting my juices flowing in a positive manner... because last night when I went to bed, I was frustrated and I am in a much better place now!

That often happens to me too when people offer suggestions to me, or when I see what other people are doing on their layouts. I might not always use the suggestion or copy the idea directly, but it almost always sets me thinking about why and how I have done something, and whether I could do something different, and sometimes that makes me change directions and explore other options instead. Getting that little mental nudge once in a while is a large part of why I love this forum.

I like your overall plan. Your goals were for photographing scenes and having the option of running trains, and I think the idea of having a large (or at least long) scene facing the door is a good one.

As for what scene to put where and how to make each scene it - what would you want people to see first, as they come into this room? Is there some scene that is a "must have" scene that could fit along that area?

For running, even though you are not so interested in operating, you might want to consider trying to have two train length double ended sidings some distance apart. That gives you a lot of flexibility for running. Have a look at this track schematic showing the difference between a loop with one and a loop with two sidings:



With one siding, a train can hold at B or C while another train goes from A to D or D to A. And that's about it.

With two sidings, one train can go from A to H or H to A, while another train goes from D to F or G, or from E to B or C. You can have three or even four trains on the layout without causing a gridlock.

Also double ended sidings gives you decent photo opportunities, as one train takes a siding while another train holds on the main, or one train pass on the main while another train is holding in a siding, or a train leaves cars on the siding, or picks up cars from the siding, or runs around cars on the siding or whatever.

Smile,
Stein