what are the pros and cons of modeling a branchline stub terminal versus a typical US 4x8. Thanks
Several of my layouts over the years have been shelf layouts that were based on short lines. I always modeded the end of the line with trains coming from a short staging track. I liked the switching moves required to work all the industries. You can pack a lot of detail in a layout like that and the is no need to try to hide track so it is not apperant that the trains are just going in a around and around.
The on draw back I found is that you can not just let trains run. Intill I built a layout with a long main line or loop some of my locomotives never got above 15 scale MPH. Another thing it is hard to sometimes show a layout like this to non modelrailroaders because they just want to see trains run.
My layout now has a stub ended branch as well as a mainline and yard and I like it because it gives me the best of both worlds.
The first difference is space – you can use the space of a 4x8 to get 2x16 or 1x32, but usually they’re working more like 1x4 + yard.
You can use wider curves, but you don’t have to.
You can try for a more realistic track plan.
(My layout is around the walls of a 16 foot square room. I built it with 3 stub terminals. I’ve now connected the two end points to give me a continuous run.)
There’s no reason why a shelf layout would have to model a stub terminal or yard–they can be used to model industrial areas or sections of mainlines with destinations along the way, and they can be just about any length. You can simulate off-line activity with a hidden fiddle yard or cassette.
I’m not familiar with the “British” designation of such things–I’ve seen American shelf layouts for as long as I have been model railroading. The 4x8 sheet is common only because that is the size that plywood comes in.