CTT’s latest and greatest published a wonderful 6X12 trackplan. 6 is about as wide as you’d want to go, as far as reach is concerned.
The layout is double tracked, has turnaround, and about 4 sidings.
This makes for a lot of operations and switching action.
I’d be curious if any of your layouts are based on published trackplans or are your own concoctions?
Unfortunately, it just ‘growed’ from a trainset oval. I should be more strategic about it - but I just added one siding along the oval, then another - then pushed out the oval… I will say I am continually influenced by published track plans.
My layout is my own concoction. [:)] When I started the layout in the garage room, the boss of the house dictated that the layout must fit into a 4’ x 16’ space with no overhang blocking the entrance to the room. I then started to plan, but then I saw the MTH Hellgate Bridge on sale at a shop near Huntington, Indiana and I knew the layout had to be designed to incorporate the bridge. I put the bridge down in the middle of the layout and started designing around it using RR-Track for Windows Sectional Track Layout Software.
Due to the success of the layout with the boss of the house, I now have permission to expand and build Phase Two, which will more than double the amount of track and is shown on the light blue background below. Phase 1 is the gray background that is existing. Note that the Hellgate Bridge is in the center.
Now many of your are saying, why did he leave that big space in the middle. The space in the middle was dictated by the boss of the house. The reasoning is that during our annual holiday party attended by 75 of our neighbors, they need room to stand to see the layout. Needless to say, the boss of the house was right and her chief engineer complied or be fired. [:D]