Dan's new layout thread.

[danielb]

Thanks for all the feedback guys, it's been taken on board, and it's helped a lot. I think I've been a little (read: very) over ambitious with this plan.

The final nail in the coffin for it, was that someone reminded me at the weekend that I live in a rented house, and really can't be diving into a multi-decked railroad empire considering I could end up moving house at any moment.

As such, I've gone back to the drawing board.

Reading through How to Build Small Model Railroads, I came across a plan designed to fit on one 8'x4' plywood sheet, forming a shelf layout of 8'x9' when the board had been cut to shape. The plan - the Housatonic Valley Railway, is simple and neat and yet has plenty of scope for operations and scenics.

The question is, can I compress it to fit the space I have?

If so, this might become my own 'Gulf, Atlanta & Eastern'.

After compressing the plan considerably, and taking a few liberties, the answer is yes - it does fit. The detailed plan is below, but please note that the hidden staging at the back will be concealed inside removable scenic modules, and - though it is straight and pressed up against the rear of the board, when I build it, it will actually be curved toward the front of the layout, so as to enable it to be relatively easily reached from the front of the layout.

Enough rabbiting from me - here's the plan. Let me know what you think?