Charlton Halt

Hi All, Thanks for all your replies and encouragement so far. I like Stubby47's idea of a round room, though I'd make it octagonal for simplicity. It certainly solves the problem of tight curves and still leaves room for a peninsular, if only for the control panel. If I come up with a layout I'm happy with I might see if I can't curve it to fit without looking odd. That said, it appears that long and thin is winning out over something more square. My choice of 1m baseboards was based on a stretch test across the breakfast island in the kitchen. I figured a wider board would allow more depth to the scene, and I could probably manage to place pre-built scenery at that sort of distance. I definitely couldn't do anything that required precision though, and the tracks would need to be closer to the front edge. But I'm more than happy to defer to experience and reduce the width. I quite like the idea of a continuous run mainline with a branch line and goods yard / loco depot for the more interesting traffic manoeuvres. Outside of the fiddle yard / marshalling yard I wasn't planning to spray the room with track. I'd much rather it looked vaguely realistic than there was movement going on everywhere. I have a copy of AnyRail and a few possible locations in mind, so I'll have a go at a track plan using 60cm to 75cm baseboards and see how I get on. I can see it makes sense to design the layout before building the room. No doubt I'll be back with more questions before long.

Hi All, I've been lurking on this forum for a few months now and appreciate the vast amount of knowledge and advice contained herein, but this is my first post so please go easy It's been a while since I've dabbled with railway modelling, partly due to life commitments and partly due to lack of space. I'm now in the fortunate position of having more time on my hands and plenty of space in the garden, so I'm planning to build a nice insulated room to house a decent size layout. As I'm in England I'll need to get building regulations approval for anything over 30m2, and that's one expense I'd rather avoid (apart from Part P for the electrics, which there's no way around). Within that limit I've got the ground to accommodate any shape room and still satisfy the demands of permitted development. My dilemma is whether to go for something fairly square (6m x 5m) or something long and thin (10m x 3m). My experience, such as it is, is with OO gauge. I was put off N gauge after an unsuccessful foray many moons ago. No doubt things have moved on considerably since then, but my eyesight and dexterity have both moved in the opposite direction, so I think I'll stick with what I know. I have a small spare room in the house for working on the modelling side of things, and I can use the garage for the more industrial stuff such as cutting baseboards to size. The new room will be dedicated to the layout and maybe some storage. It strikes me that length is usually the problem when trying to achieve anything remotely prototypical, and that suggests long and thin with the door at one end. I could run a 1m baseboard along both long walls and the far end and have clear runs of 7m to 8m, allowing for sweeping bends. If I wanted a roundy, roundy I could always add a removable bridge across the doorway. On the other hand, with 6m x 5m there would be room for a sizeable island which could accommodate a terminus. I've attached a drawing of both extremes. Either way I'd probably hide the fiddle yard below the baseboard on the basis that there's enough length for a 1:50 gradient, or incorporate it within the layout as a marshalling yard. But that's a decision for another day. I'm most interested in modelling the post-war, pre-Beeching era so I can legitimately run steam alongside early diesel. I'm under no illusion that actually designing and building a large layout is a mammoth task likely to take several years, not to mention a fair few quid. That said, I can always build a small layout in a large room if it all gets too much, but I can't build a large layout in a small room. Any space I don't use will always be useful for something. So, if it were you, would it be: 1) 10m x 3m, or 2) 6m x 5m, or 3) something else?