Southern Pacific Switching Layout

[Chuck]

I was in the same position as you a few years ago -- I was trying to perfect my track plan before I laid a single rail. I realized after many tweaks of the track plan that I would never get it started at this rate. I went with my latest plan and started laying track. Nothing is permanent and you can always change things. I think most layout builders have gone back and changed track layout over time -- I know I have changed things a bit on my layout as I find what looked good on paper didn't work out well in operations. If you are waiting for the "perfect" plan on paper, you may be wasting your time. I agree with Rheinhard -- just start laying track using the plan you have, and tweak it once you have tried it out, otherwise you may never start building. If you look at the photo below, you'll see where I have made changes -- just look for the brown overspray to see the original track layout. I am still working on the three track at the end on the left. Good luck, start building, and keep us updated!


Chuck