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What constitutes a "large layout"?


cromptonnut
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On both of those posts, my O gauge 13 x 8 spare room layout, which will contain around 20ft of scenic area, and with O gauge track coming 12 lengths to a box, seems to "fit the bill" although in the grand scheme of things it doesn't seem that big.

 

Interesting.

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Guest jim s-w

Oh I dunno

 

Amlwch was 21ft overall (15ft scenic) in 4mm scale and needed 3 operators and no way would anyone call it big.  

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I think that the goalposts have moved a bit on this one in recent years - especially with some of the mammoth layouts we see now.  

 

A large layout for exhibition purposes is rather different from large if it never has to be transported.

 

Scale of course also plays its part. 24' x 2' is large in N but small in O. It's really less about dimensions than complexity - so Lime St and New St definitely "large" but Stoke Bank perhaps not.

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Another thought;
It also depends on whether you are a large model railway club, a small club, or an individual modeller....


As a builder of small layouts - I'd consider anything I couldn't transport, set up & operate myself as large
... whereas a club would probably have a different view

 

Marc

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all I know is, our definition of what constitutes a large layout would be very different from that of our significant other's. :D

 

How true :)

I think SWMBO would feel that T scale in a boxfile might be too large......

 

EDIT: But if I could get my controller, and all my stock in the boxfile...

plus all my paints, brushes and scenic items in the box too.....  ;)

Edited by marc smith
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  • 2 weeks later...

Hmm, New Annington was large, 26'x 16', took a team of 8 to operate properly and about 2 hrs to pack the stock.It fitted in a 7.5 tonne box van.

 

My home layout is 22' x 16' and can be operated by me and was built by me. It takes 2 hours to pack away the stock and will fit in the Chrysler Voyager!

 

My old German layout was 16' x 2', was built on 3 levels and had a spiral, took 3 to operate properly, the stock took 30 minutes to pack away and it fitted in the back of a small van.

 

What is a large layout?

Am I missing something?

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  • 10 months later...

I saw Dorehill St Stevens for the first time at Warley last year. That changed my perception of what  "big layout" is. 

 

I think a big layout is subjective, as others have mentioned. What is big to an individual could be run of the mill for a club. I think Jim SW's comment that if you can run full length trains then it is probably a big layout. I take this to mean something like a 2+8 HST or a full Pendolino set, or 12 carriage loco hauled train. 

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Anything that requires more than one builder or operator..........

My new layout when finished, will be 54ft by 16ft (excluding the exterior track which will be another 100 yards+) built and operated by me...... thats not big?

The Q

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My new layout when finished, will be 54ft by 16ft (excluding the exterior track which will be another 100 yards+) built and operated by me...... thats not big?

The Q

Good luck with that, be interesting to see the track plan if its that size, and how you intend to run it by yourself.

 

My 14x8 with two stations can keep 2 of us usefully engaged for an evening and we could even do with a third to do the cassettes sometime.

 

Like I say, be interested to see what you are doing, you have a link to your layout thread?

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A large layout is one that is hyped up as the "must see" at Warley/York/other Major Show; but you can't get close to it for the crowds, & even if you do, the fantastic "lineside eye level" pics you've seen of it are unattainable viewpoints in reality.... :D

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Good luck with that, be interesting to see the track plan if its that size, and how you intend to run it by yourself.

 

My 14x8 with two stations can keep 2 of us usefully engaged for an evening and we could even do with a third to do the cassettes sometime.

 

Like I say, be interested to see what you are doing, you have a link to your layout thread?

I am doing a uncompressed model of Ludgershall station down one side of the shed which comes out at nearly 34ft long, the station plan is http://www.swindonsotherrailway.co.uk/ds24.jpg, on the other side of the shed will be Collingbourne station http://www.swindonsotherrailway.co.uk/ds23.jpg. The double track loop outside, as well as giving me something to look at in the garden, will give me an almost scale distance between the two although that is a coincidence.

 The layout  will be comparatively simple for it's size but I want to get the correct impression of the station, which those here who are Ex- army of the 1950s will remember was large and windswept and not highly densely populated by buildings, that many are forced to model (as I was in the past) due to lack of space.

 There have been many delays to the build, so at the moment I'm still building baseboards and the odd model, that's when I'm not rebuilding the kitchen / motorboat / Landrover 110. Once I have something to look at I will create a thread.

 The Q

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My interpretation of a large layout is one where near-scale length trains can be operated, e.g. up to 9/10/11 coach rakes. By definition, this will be at least 25' long to allow for a suitable scenic setting, preferably 30+ feet. I am a fan of big roundy-roundy layouts, but prefer those where the curves at each end are generous or disguised.

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