@Joe K posted:I have a twice around the room layout. the lower level is a table, about 24" deep in most places, the upper level cantilevers off the wall with L-brackets and a 1x6 or 1x8. A reversing loop or wye takes up way too much room and creates places you cannot reach. If you need to reverse engines, you can add a turntable, however that takes up a ton of space and probably will not work in a room of your size.
I suggest you try a single track design, with a few passing sidings and some industries. You can create an industry in each corner, with some industries on the front as well. You could create a hidden staging yard below the main table, with a track going down at the back, then hide the track with some building fronts. A second level would be difficult due to the size of the room. It takes about 20ft of uphill track to get to a second level that is more than 6" above the first level. However, with a hill, this could work. The hill could also hide the track going down to the under the table staging yard.
You may not have room for this idea, however it may be worth exploring in the idea stage. I spent over a year working on different layouts, and finally created something I liked in version 17 of my layout design.
Good luck and enjoy exploring different design options. This is a fun and creative part of the hobby and should not be rushed through, as you want to LOVE what you eventually build, as building is a lot more work than designing concepts.
I can’t wait to get in front of SCARM again to play around with these new ideas. It’s somewhat relaxing for me to sit and work through the logistics then work out the geometries. Honestly I’m probably on version 14 or 15 at this point and on subversion like 5 of this design. I’m not planning on having anything go between the upper and lower levels like a hill, as you mentioned there just isn’t enough room. I do want a second level though as it’ll probably end up being conventional while the bottom is DCS or some other remote. I initially wanted 2 separate mainlines on the bottom thinking of what all I wanted to run, but the second level accomplishes that. So perhaps a single run with sidings and industries is the way to go, since whatever trains down there will be controllable instead of just conventional.
Thanks for all the great feedback. Hoping to get something new posted tomorrow!
