Ninety percent of the layout was double-deck, a construction
approach that dominates the layout design press these days. My
story is about how, two years into the project, it became all too
clear that I'd created not only a great layout for someone else
but a monster that wasn’t working for me. The story is about
frustration, indecision, and soul-searching, and ultimately the
course needed to bring about a happy ending.
The space
All discussions of layouts must start with a discussion of the
space – after all, we can choose any theme we’d like, but ulti-
mately the walls of the layout room determine, more than any-
thing other factor, the basics about the layout.
Although not the biggest model railroad I’ve ever seen, this
layout is certainly the largest I’ve ever attempted, occupying
a 16 x 45 foot area along one side of our finished basement.
And “finished” is the key word – the room has sheetrock walls,
recessed lighting, and wall-to-wall carpeting. I was even able
to leave one side of the basement as the designated “crew
lounge” area.
After years of dreaming and planning, this at last was going to
be my “dream layout.” Ah, the dream layout, – you know the
one I’m talking about – the layout all model railroaders know
we have in us, a memorable “tour de force” – a true master-
piece of the model railroading art – albeit in our own eyes.
Shifting focus
Back in Model Railroad Planning 2000, my friend, well-known
British layout designer Iain Rice and I relayed the story of how
my prototype-freelanced Southern New England Railway had
come to be. I built a second SNE layout when we moved from
Wisconsin to Colorado. When we moved to Virginia I saw no
