M
ost newcomers, and many veterans, grossly overesti-
mate their requirements and by doing so create a lot
of unnecessary expense and angst for themselves.
Certainly there are many factors that could go into determining
how large of a layout you design for yourself. My hunch, how-
ever, is that as a hobby we are so petrified that our layout will
be too small that we pursue the subject with blinders on. With
no basis in reality, many begin the design process from the
negative viewpoint that they don’t have enough space. Every
decision is based on the shoehorn strategy: How do I squeeze
in “one more industry, one more turnout.”
This panic-driven approach to layout design often results in
model railroads that are too large for the individual’s lifestyle
and frequently never get built. In those cases where the lay-
out does get built, the owner may find they designed in far, far
more operational capacity than they could ever hope to utilize.
The visual result is a model railroad packed with overly com-
pressed and unrealistic scenes.
Unlike the hobby as a whole, the majority of the followers of
my blog (
) are interested in
operations. Many are just starting, or are about to start, con-
struction of their first layout. A fair number of folks have a gen-
erous amount of space available. They may not realize it yet,
but they do.
So, if your primary interest is operations and space is adequate,
how much capacity do you design in? How many industries or
car spots do you need to get the satisfaction you want from the
layout? If you had a 1,000-square foot basement would you
design a layout to use all of it? Of course not. You’d never be
able to utilize that much capacity.
To start we need to know a few things:
How often will we operate alone?
