I read a lot about 4’ x 8’ layouts (good and bad opinions). But for me, and I will explain why later, I say why not 5’ x 9’…or better yet how about two 5’ x 9’ end to end… and even better… (3) 2’ wide foam boards on each making two 6’ x 9’ or a total of 6’ x 18’?
Years ago as a young teenage, I remember standing on 15th Street in downtown Denver waiting for a streetcar after my after school job and staring in the window of the old Caboose Hobbies store. I had dreams about using all of that stuff on a layout of mine some day. Well, finally, retired at age 73, I now have the time, space and money (a moderate amount) to do it. However, the thing that I don’t have is the physical agility to haul lumber down to my basement, build benchwork, crawl around up and down doing all that it takes for this kind of construction. So… the answer for me was two inexpensive ping-pong tables end to end (more room for a larger radius and scenery than 4’ x 8’).
These tables are only 30" high so running wire under them was a bit difficult for me, but I try to keep as much as possible near the edges so I can sit on a chair or stool to do the work. I can run the layout from the comfort of my office type desk chair. This makes the 30" height actually the equivalent of 45" high benchwork, if one were standing.
All of the track is laid and powered but I still have some turnouts to wire and some other fine tuning to do. Here are some pics (sorry for the poor lighting as I still need to improve that):
I’m sure that some of you purists will not be at all impressed with my setup and I can understand that. I am amazed at the perfection that many of you accomplish and have great respect for it. I wish I could do it as well, but for me I wanted to get up and running relat
The 5x9 idea is an old one–it’s standard ping-pong table size, I think. It does make some things easier, like adding 24-28 inch curves to the mix, but the other down sides of a 4x8 layout, like the “neutral zone” in the middle, and reach access, are made worse. If you keep the layout low enough to reach across, which it sounds like you have, a 5x9 gives you a lot more options for how you want to set things up.
Or, if a knee-high layout doesn’t exactly appeal to you, build it at sternum height and cut out one or two well-placed lift-out secions that can be concealed with trees, water, a couple of buildings, a bridge, etc. My advice is to provide yourself this seldom used, but really-glad-you-included-it feature for when you have to spend more than one minute retrieving a tossed boxcar or something. I wanted a large, wide slab for a layout so that I could enjoy the trains in wide expanses, but the cost was a cut-out in the middle of my “lake”. It is barely noticeable (I have to point it out to my guests, so I can say that honestly).
You should avoid reaches across a layout longer than about 26-28".
Me too, me too! I have a free-standing 5x12 foot layout. That puts the center firmly at 30 inches from either side, and it is a stretch. Trackwork and scenery in the middle is awkward, but it’s not impossible.
A 5 foot width does provide a lot more options, though. It allows for some foreground scenery and gets you away from the oval.
Well this is a pretty good set up for running 3 trains at the same time and switching in the yard. I see you have a return loop in each end so you can also run loop to loop. The main limitation is that with snap switches you are limited to equipment that will go through the 18" radius curve.
I would suggest two things.
One if you have the room, I would separate the two tables and leave an access gap at the back and bridge the gap at the front. That way you have easier access to the track at the inner oval ends for maintenance.
Second, I would rebuild the yard ladder using Atlas code 83 number 4 turnouts. You’ll have to get roadbed to match the true track height (or shim the joint). This will let you space the yard tracks closer together and have more tracks.
Don’t worry about the purists, the main thing is to have fun - as long as you’re doing that, you’re doing it right.
Enjoy
Paul
In the mid-70s I had a five by ten foot layout. I primarily operated it from a two by five foot access hatch near the center. Made access real easy. Also, trains looked better looking from the inside of the curve rather than outside.