Well, not exactly despair, but definitely an air of 'Oh damn...'

After planning everything out yesterday, with the bookcases etc, I finished off by mentioning that I was going to definitely model in OO. But I don't think it's going to work.

This is a plan of the room in Sketchup:

As you can probably work out from the dimensions, to fit a workable 4mm SR layout in that space is not impossible (Paul A. Lunn has published a plan that proves it) but it won't be the kind of layout that I want. And the main reason is train length. I have no problem with 2-car and 4-car EMUs, for an off-peak service they are practically de rigeur, but for freights, a train the same length, whilst not unknown, would certainly be the exception rather than the rule.

So, I'm thinking of N (which had been the intention before the announcement of the Hornby VEP). And that means kits. And that means the worry I had before about my abilities. I think I will invest in a BHE 2-EPB or 2-HAP kit with some of Adam Warr's Electra Railway Graphics sides and see if I can make a decent fist of it. If it turns out OK, then it's the first item of stock for the new layout. If not, I've not wasted too much money and I know for sure I'll have to rethink the whole idea.