Hey everyone, has anyone played around with the idea of maybe turning this layout say into a 4’x8’ and adding a 2nd main with a siding. Maybe more customers like oil dealer, lumber yard/coal dealer and maybe more grain elevators? Also a river I was thinking maybe possible? Any help with this or track plans someone would like to share would be helpful.
Expanding the 3x7 Red Oak from a door to a 4x8 layout would seem fairly simple and do-able from a track plan standpoint. It might not seem like much but that does go from 21 sq ft to 32 sq ft.
My own bias would be to keep the track plan more or less as is but enable the larger area to make it all just a bit more spacious – emphasize the scenes on the visible part of the layout. I’d resist the temptation to just start adding more track whenever you get more room. I’d rather have larger buildings or more areas of pure scenery.
The nice thing about the 3x7 plan the way the MR guys designed it is that everything is very reachable. I’d want to think about that view block location and test whether I could reach from the front all the way to the viewblock if it was a 4x8. 24 inches is a good practical limit for an arm’s reach particularly if the hand at the end of that arm is expected to do something useful.
Dave Nelson
Thanks much Dave, I would be able too walk around all 4 sides with no problem. But this is something too think about.
True enough - but don’t forget that viewblock which is a foot or so high, and which is not in the middle but closer to one side. You can reach right to the view block from either side with 3x7. I’m just not sure you can if it is 4x8.
Dave Nelson
If I really want to I can make a HO Scale project layout into N Scale on probably on a door or shelf style.
That’s seems so small 3x7? I want too add maybe 2 more grain elevtors, coal & oil dealer, lumber yard, I was thinkin small coal mine also?