After moving some furniture around I found a bigger and better spot for my layout. It's 80"X27" Here's what I've done so far: It's an urban/suburban passenger layout, with light-rail/tram though the urban section. I've tried to simplify and this layout can be built using Rokuhan sectional track, which goes a long way in that regard. The light-rail/tram will be either DC or DCC depending on my success of converting a Shorty motor car to DCC. The streets are only an approximation of what I'm trying to do, but the idea is to have a city grid various buildings. The main railway is pretty much what I want to do, but I'm not exactly sure what to do with the light-rail. Does anybody have any experience with street-car layouts? I'm not really sure what my options are.
To me it looks good. How close is the light rail and the mainline track in the upper right corner? This looks a little too close together, trying avoiding a collision.
Nice plan! I agree with MoPac's concern about space between light rail and mainline at the upper right corner of the former. There's also a nasty S-curve on the light rail next to the bldg at lower right. I would test my equipment on a mockup of that S-curve before I committed to it on the layout, or just slide the track above the building up, to add a straight segment to separate the two halves of the S. I would shift the station behind the Drive-In to the other (right) side of it's stub, so that passengers can easily connect between trains and trams on either side of the station. But I'm not sure what the wide, gray bar is between inner mainline track and the tram track. If that is the interchange station, then I would create a double-ended siding on the mainline for it, and disregard the above suggestion regarding the station behind the theater. Passenger trains should not block a mainline track while in a station. Trams are different. I would also consider replacing the last curve on the yard ladder at bottom with a switch to a stub track headed toward the console, for light maintenance, cleaning, etc. You could add a maintenance/equipment shed above that stub. Like always, these are my ideas, as if this were my layout. It's your layout; my advice is free, and worth every penny you paid for it!
