265 Points

Rank: Station Master

Planning a Layout – some thoughts. @Tonybolony73

When planning a layout, my advice would always to be to plan a layout that would fit the maximum space you have available. This is simply because, if you have a space of 4m x 3m but you plan and build a layout that is only 2m x 2m, very quickly you will wish you had a bigger layout.

Having said to plan a layout on the maximum space you have available, does not mean you have to build it all in one go, as the expense and time required may be too much. Instead, plan the layout so initially it uses part of the area available but you can extend it later, or, use the whole area but just have a single track to start, then expand to a double track, then expand with a shunting yard, then a bigger station etc etc.

Don’t make the layout over complex, unless you are a master modeller. Go for something that is relatively easy to build so that you can get running quickly, albeit with little or no scenery, and then gradually add this.