After 30 years of running my current layout I will soon be starting all over again. We bought a "new" house and the old layout won't fit. I've had a twisted dog bone (about 60') main line with a 6 track yard and engine facility with turn table that runs virtually everyday we are at home. It's in the family room. I'm planing on a U shaped layout and a max mainline length of 24' + 15' + 22' (total mainline run 122') around the walls with seating in the middle. Hope to have continuous mainlone loop with switching and industrial siding around the room. Thinking of 24" deep benchwork with balloons on the ends allowing 18" radius return loops. This time the scenery base won't have grades and will have generous of radii on return curves on each end so I can get maximum traction from my steam engines. I have finally learned that running steam with return loops leading into grades is a bad idea. This time I wil have a 3 car garage to build benchwork and lay track then bring it into the house. I can keep the shop vac out of house, I hope. Looking forward to getting some feed back and ideas from everyone here once I get moved in next week. It's gonna be a change not having a running layout after 30 years...
Where will this one be inside the house, basement, bonus room, upstairs, etc... Congratulations on the new train home, I mean home for your family
that is a fantastic size for N scale, wow - all that extra space for activities! That's a lot of real estate. congrats on the new house
