Thanks @AndyB, the outhouse has proved useful.  The baseboards I brought with me sat untouched in the garage for a couple of years after we moved, until I began my Great Western Adventure(s) during the 2020 lockdowns, and I realised the outhouse was the perfect workshop for spring and summer.

At the new house, I’m afraid the garden is very small, as the house is on a corner: in the old days that would have meant a house with a big garden and plenty of room, but now it means two houses squashed in with small triangular shaped rear gardens meeting at the point instead.  There is a shed already (for garden tools, etc) and a conservatory, but not room for another shed.  As I’m no gardener, we’re OK with this, but an outdoor layout isn’t really an option, Keith.

Is there perhaps a local club that have premises that could house a portable layout?

2 hours ago, ian said:

Is there perhaps a local club that have premises that could house a portable layout?

Thanks @ian, an interesting idea - our 009 Society Group doesn’t have a premises (a hall is rented for monthly meetings), but there are several societies locally I could talk to, including the very active local club whose buildings are close by (the club to whom I donated my American HO buildings).  Thanks, Keith.

Remember the dreams of railroad empires we used to sketch out in our youth (and sometimes still do)?  While sorting some stuff this morning I found this plan for the Cumbres & Toltec 3’ Gauge Railroad.  I’ve not been there, so it must have come with a calendar I had a few years ago:  

In the context of this blog post and conversation, it struck me as exactly the sort of thing I think still sits behind my perpetual flow of over-ambitious project ideas, so it seemed relevant to share it here.  Beautiful!  Keith.

 Hi Keith, some remarkable buildings to be seen here, the Grain Elevator not least!

I went through a similar downsizing exercise some years ago when we moved to a 91m2 flat, and if by "no space" you mean no dedicated layout running space then that's been my situation for 5 years now. I've been pleasantly surprised by how quickly I adapted. To give you an impression of how it works:  

I have a desk in our living room and some shelves in a cupboard. I can fit a a light (foamboard) layout on the desk and the larger table top layouts go temporarily on the dining table (which can be extracted for greater length). I use water based paints, non-odour glues, plus a handheld vacuum cleaner and a wet cloth to constantly remove plastic dust from filing etc.

We do have a small attic space two floors up where I store the layouts, but for convenience I usually keep one or two of the layouts in one of those plastic boxes that go under the bed. If you keep the structures detachable then they can go in the cupboard and the layout module will be flat enough to fit under the bed. 

It does require a small-layout or modular approach of course. And it probably helps if you're the kind of modeller who likes to work on just one or two projects at the time on your desk. With your interest in structures, that seems to match though. Although I admit it would be hard to fit the grain silos under a bed - and that it's a bit more complicated when there are kids around!

Thank you @Mikkel - for clarifying that I do indeed mean ‘no dedicated layout running space’.  No self-respecting fan of micro-layouts can claim there’s no layout space at all, and your Farthing layouts / modules are a wonderfully creative application of the concept.  The explanation in your comment of how you manage to arrange modelling practically is particularly helpful as a useful guide to minimising disruption to home life, thank you.  A welcome aid to domestic harmony!
 

The Model Railroader author and contributor Pelle Søeborg is another modeller who comes to mind who’s face the challenge and moved to diorama modelling.

Steering my ideas back to micro-layouts would require some careful thought - the structures and trains I’ve been buying haven’t been collected with that approach in mind, but could be an option - perhaps alongside (or as part of) a portable layout?  I certainly feel encouraged by the responses from yourself, @ian and @AndyB.  Thanks to all, Keith.

Thanks @AndyB - exactly the kind of ideas I’m already having:

3 hours ago, AndyB said:

I'm wondering if a small (hinged halfway) FY to terminus layout might work...with removable buildings for compactness.  Two  3' x 12"?

Definitely on the list for consideration: something I could tackle in either Narrow Gauge H0e or early-era German H0 with what I already have (previous pictures refer).  I’m reminded of the ideas a few years back for IKEA Billy-bookcase layouts.

For a larger project with my big kits and longer trains, I could see if a Minories-type terminus / FY might be possible, or at least a working diorama rather than a shelf display of stand-alone buildings?  (As you say, I do enjoy making structures).

3 hours ago, AndyB said:

Or a US-themed shunting plank with a hidden FY siding inside a low relief warehouse. 

…perhaps like this one, which I have in stock - when built it is 19.5” long, enough for a couple of boxcars to be hidden:

In my break today I’ve spray painted the parts of this kit to get it ready for assembly.  It wouldn’t take long to get started, as despite several rounds of clearing out and slimming down my collection(s), I still have the buildings for a US switching layout - add a transload / team track facility and there’s more than enough for a portable Inglenook:

My first task though is to put the brakes on - even with the busyness of Easter, this is the stage in the ideas process where I can easily go in to hyperdrive: with almost 50 years of studying track plans and ideas to call on I’m already generating too many ideas - it is settling on something that is genuinely practicable and seeing it through that needs consideration.

Knowing me, I’ll be tempted again by smaller scales, even though my exploring has proved H0 gives me a nice balance when it comes to the proportion of modelling time to be spent on the frustrating fiddly bits (every scale has fiddly bits).  Z-scale remains enticing, but as I struggled with some of the detail in N (esp. couplings), I need to be disciplined / realistic about how I’d fare when things started to break on a Z-scale layout (static model shown here with H0 Sam): 

My hope is that moving house and starting with a clean slate will give me the incentive to change my thinking about what will satisfy me as a layout project(s) - to match that with what I will actually have storage space for.  There is certainly much to be said in support of your final observation:

4 hours ago, AndyB said:

Not forgetting that a small, nicely modelled layout trumps a large mediocre layout every time.

Very true - there are some fantastic small and micro-layouts around.  Once we get the keys to our new home (which should be soon), I can try and turn the excitement of new opportunities into project ideas - all being well, that’ll be what happens next, Keith.

8 minutes ago, AndyB said:

You might like to take a look at this book. A lot lof interesting micro plans, UK and US outline.

 

That Dockside layout on the cover is excellent... 😁

Thanks @AndyB and @Phil Parker.  From memory, author Nigel Adams was a Vicar in Coventry.  I remember going to a model railway show they put on inside his Church (I think there were half a dozen layouts, all O Gauge / Scale). I seem to recall he was also involved in the Talyllyn (volunteer guard?).  I did have a copy of the book, must have been twenty years ago now.  Melbridge Dock is an excellent example of a small layout that has stood the test of time.

Not sure I’ve seen a plan for Wyandotte Transfer before, but it was another well-known layout back in the day: I think it was featured in “The Encyclopedia of Model Railways” sold as a Marks and Spencer “St Michael” book in the late 1970s / early 1980s.  Thanks Andy - two very good examples (and a good cake joke too), Keith.

On 26/03/2024 at 18:01, Keith Addenbrooke said:

 I still have the buildings for a US switching layout - add a transload / team track facility and there’s more than enough for a portable Inglenook:

 

 

That's a good idea. Bud's Trucking Company looks very suitable as one of those buildings that both give a purpose to a couple of sidings and at the same time serves as a facto backscene. A good choice by Walthers for a kit.