A while ago on one of the N-gauge mailing lists I posted the question “What’s the smallest space for layout that can handle full-length trains?”. Most of the suggestions that came back were variations on the traditional “long and narrow” shelf-type layout with a scenic area at the front and storage roads at the back, linked by tight-radius 180deg curves hidden in tunnels.
The smallest such schemes came to was about 10′ x 2′, but it left me wondering whether something like the 6′ x 4′ of the traditional 00-scale train-set oval might be a better bet. With a central operating well, it’s actually got a smaller footprint than a 10×2. So I sketched the above plan, and it does look viable.
Compromises are inevitable for a minimum-space design, and this scheme’s biggest compromise is the use of Peco Settrack 9″ radius points for the hidden storage sidings. I have, however, avoided troublesome reverse curves by putting all the pointwork on the approach curves.
Capacity is another compromise, and the plan has just six fiddle yard roads. Yes, you could squeeze in a couple more, but only at the expense of length, and one of the ideas behind this plan the ability to run longer trains in a very limited space. There’s a bit of flexibility by making four of the six roads bi-directional, which means the same trains can appear at different times in both directions, enabling protopypical timetable operation of sorts. The longest of the bi-directional roads can cope with a full-length HST (8 coaches plus two power cars), and the two shortest should still take a loco plus seven coaches, enough for a pre-2002 Cross-Country set. The two outer single-direction tracks could both accommodate a rather longer freight.
The scenic section down the front is based on a favourite location of mine, Lostwithiel in Cornwall, with some rearrangement of key features to fit, and a lot of selective compression. The small yard used for marshalling clay trains matches the existing track plan in everything bar length, and it ought to be possible to reproduce often-complex the real-life shunting moves I observed in the 80s and 90s. I’ve moved the trailing crossover to the opposite end of the station to keep it on the visible part of the layout, and retained the up siding (which in reality was lifted many years ago). For a 70s-themed model one could relocate the creamery there.
I’m now being tempted to build this thing…
