Fatman thanks for your comment AND the picture of what my loco looked like when it was “young” !! The Rossignol is really cool, I had only seen advertising pictures before now to see one IRL is great.
Steamwolf- you have the great debate. Width vs length. The advantage of the 4x8 format is the width unlikely in an around the wall setup. The around the wall gives you running length but normally is not near as wide (note some of our forum members have both and of course that is ideal.) My layout is 40” x17 ft and while it gives me some long straights I miss enough width for scenery or accessories. Also unless you can go 360 deg you still have to turn back unless you choose point to point.
I think its really personal choice I favor a “toy train” type layout kind of circa 1950’s And I like to watch the trains “go round” However we have in the forum others who use the around the wall idea with much more prototypical operation and beautiful “against the wall” scenery. Currently I wish I had your 4 ft of width (room limitation) but others do a super job with more slender and longer elements.
One last thing. In I were going to go slender I would definitely do 360 deg as once you have to turn back you need width to make the loop which takes up a lot of floor space even at 0-31radii
Don
