roythebus Posted February 15, 2014 Share Posted February 15, 2014 My home layout is 19'x16'; roundy roundy and 2 track local line, OO DOGAF standards. Next one will be the West London Line between Cromwell Road and Olympia! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Gwiwer Posted February 15, 2014 RMweb Premium Share Posted February 15, 2014 I don't believe there is a definition of "large" any more than there is a set length for a piece of string. "Gresley Beat" would probably be considered large but is clearly able to be shifted from show to show for example. My own Penhayle Bay cannot be transported, requires only a single operator (though can be worked by up to four people simultaneously) and is a 35-metre circuit taking a couple of minutes at scale speeds. Most of it is plain double track though it has two branches, a small goods yard and a lengthy eight-road storage / fiddle yard. Is that "large?" Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
corax67 Posted February 15, 2014 Share Posted February 15, 2014 Anything more than 4'x2' as that's all I can get away with at home I have operated club layouts of 40'x20' single handed which I guess some may call a large layout but because it had been so well constructed it didn't feel particularly large or difficult to use. When I lived in the USA however I operated on basement layouts of 60'x40' with multiple layers and thousands of feet of track and they felt really big. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sub39h Posted February 15, 2014 Share Posted February 15, 2014 I have operated club layouts of 40'x20' single handed which I guess some may call a large layout but because it had been so well constructed it didn't feel particularly large or difficult to use. When I lived in the USA however I operated on basement layouts of 60'x40' with multiple layers and thousands of feet of track and they felt really big. pics or it didn't happen Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adrian Posted February 15, 2014 Share Posted February 15, 2014 A depiction of the ECML from King Cross to Leeds Central in 7mm which occupies a whole school building redefines large to me. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
corax67 Posted February 15, 2014 Share Posted February 15, 2014 pics or it didn't happen Probably have some in a box some where at home - will see what I can find 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Long Line Posted February 25, 2014 Share Posted February 25, 2014 An interesting question...and a mixed array of counter comments.. i think that you have to remove the other variables and just concentrate on size if your debating what constitutes a large layout i.e. how big is it? taking my own Long Line as an example of the confusions of mixing factors.. its 107ft long, is transported by 1 Land Rover, needs 7 full time operators to run properly, yet can be maintained and test ran in a 7ft x 1 ft space by myself, it encompasses nearly 3 miles of railway without any compression in signalling etc, yet has restricted train lengths to suit the cassettes. operator numbers, exhibition or home, popularity, cost effective transport, scale prototype or fiction etc are all wholly different issues to size. cheers Mark 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chev32 Posted February 26, 2014 Share Posted February 26, 2014 Does this tick the boxes? Belongs to a mate of mine its a modeled on Fassifern ,New South Wales ,3 levels of track ( i ran one of my british locos on it a few week ago but still have found it after it disappeared into one of the lower levels ! ) Its been a work in progress for a number of years features scratch built points and a lot of 3D printed buildings (not pictured ) Housed in a 60 x 60 ' shed on his farm 6 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TonyMay Posted March 2, 2014 Share Posted March 2, 2014 (edited) A depiction of the ECML from King Cross to Leeds Central in 7mm which occupies a whole school building redefines large to me. It's Leeds City not Central, but anyway... 190 miles from Kings X to Leeds, give or take a bit. 1760 yards in a mile, 3 feet in a yard. 190*1760*3= 1,003,200 (just over a million feet). At 7mm scale, that's 7,022,400 millimetres, or a model that's just over 7 km long, or just under 4.5 miles in proper money. Now that (as my wife would say), is big. Edited March 2, 2014 by TonyMay Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
NGotwalt Posted November 3, 2014 Share Posted November 3, 2014 I might be running a foul of some rule here, but I once operated the layout below (link to another forum). It's the Union Pacific Green River Subdivision, and it was mostly built by a single person, it is above and beyond the most incredible layout I have ever seen. It is what I aspire to. It takes something like 25 people to operate it, including I think 3 dispatchers. Now the thread below is 100 pages or so long, I WOULD recommend looking at every page, you won't be disappointed. Be sure to check out the painted backdrop on page 15. http://www.railroad-line.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=11835&whichpage=1 Cheers, Nick Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Donw Posted November 3, 2014 RMweb Gold Share Posted November 3, 2014 You know a layout is big if you; need binoculars to see if the distant signal is off have to have telephones as a shout wont carry that far. the tea is cold by the time is gets to your end of the layout. the layout has more wires than the average telephone exchange. Don 4 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Theduke71000 Posted December 3, 2015 Share Posted December 3, 2015 (edited) Just curious if there's any definition as to what constitutes a 'large layout' and right to include in this section. no contest Edited May 12, 2018 by Theduke71000 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nearholmer Posted December 3, 2015 Share Posted December 3, 2015 A: one that is more than 10% bigger than mine. And "small" is: one that is more than 10% smaller than mine. This goes for anything, not just layouts. It's all relative, you see? K 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Mick Bonwick Posted December 11, 2015 RMweb Gold Share Posted December 11, 2015 I'd consider any layout to be big if it's mentioned in this thread. 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
rockershovel Posted December 11, 2015 Share Posted December 11, 2015 from recent experience, a club layout which can't be erected in tne available space qualifies.. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom J Posted December 11, 2015 Share Posted December 11, 2015 I remember visiting the home of a Mr Eames in South Derbyshire many moons ago. I think the definition must be 'if your layout, when stored, requires baseboards to be kept in every single room of your house, even the bathroom'. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium TheQ Posted December 12, 2015 RMweb Premium Share Posted December 12, 2015 I remember visiting the home of a Mr Eames in South Derbyshire many moons ago. I think the definition must be 'if your layout, when stored, requires baseboards to be kept in every single room of your house, even the bathroom'. This wouldn't be a Large layout, it would be suicide and or divorce!!! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
faulcon1 Posted July 31, 2016 Share Posted July 31, 2016 (edited) Perhaps this would constitute a large layout. There are many "cab rides" on YouTube but on this one there is a map of the railway or railroad is the Americans call it. Not only do we see the railroad from the cameras perspective but the map is included too with a rather large dot which moves along the map as we progress along the railroad. Only the long dark tunnels are edited out. https://youtu.be/7MEKVsxOXCw Also for me what constitutes a large layout is any layout that can't be sold in one piece to a person to fit into a spare room. Most large layouts but not all end up in the skip when their owner gets too old to operate them or dies. Because they're so big they often can't be pulled apart because they were never designed to be moved or separated into sections when they were built. Edited August 8, 2022 by faulcon1 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Gwiwer Posted July 31, 2016 RMweb Premium Share Posted July 31, 2016 Seems a reasonable moment to cross-post this link 4 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan Kettlewell Posted November 16, 2016 Share Posted November 16, 2016 (edited) Early days on my continental layout. Only the basic framework, wiring, track beds and track laid at this stage and it's all under test here as the automated control (Train Controller software) is being put through its paces. So far so good ... https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=XkAoJ0xwL9s https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=fZJh57pNnPg Cheers ...Alan Edited November 16, 2016 by Alan Kettlewell 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
rockershovel Posted November 17, 2016 Share Posted November 17, 2016 (edited) Re #44 above, I'd say that "allows realistic looking train lengths" was one definition. Greatly improves the effect! Edited November 17, 2016 by rockershovel 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Suddaby Posted March 18, 2017 Share Posted March 18, 2017 It's Leeds City not Central, but anyway... 190 miles from Kings X to Leeds, give or take a bit. 1760 yards in a mile, 3 feet in a yard. 190*1760*3= 1,003,200 (just over a million feet). At 7mm scale, that's 7,022,400 millimetres, or a model that's just over 7 km long, or just under 4.5 miles in proper money. Now that (as my wife would say), is big. No Leeds Central is correct, the old Leeds terminus for ECML trains, now long since swept away in real life. Kevin. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Suzie Posted March 20, 2017 Share Posted March 20, 2017 My definition of large enough is more than 16' of scenic so it can properly fill your frame of view. You can just about fit prototype UK train lengths in that in 00 if you are keen. I suspect that large is where there is no obvious compression of the prototype. For North American models that can be hard when prototype freight trains are typically 60' long in H0 - 30' in N might be more achievable. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
KiraKat Posted March 21, 2017 Share Posted March 21, 2017 I think that my new layout may count 50' of scenery in N gauge ^.^ Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
hermes Posted February 18, 2018 Share Posted February 18, 2018 It's a boring Sunday afternoon, no trains to play with and my mind is wandering.So what is the largest private or club OO layout in the UK? Garden,multi level or whatever. I fancy a challenge! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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