HORNBY Digital Train Set HL4 Big Layout Track for 8x4 Board - Train A

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As I understand it box rooms are not very big so an 8' X 4' island layout is probably not the best use of the space, I would suggest as Tony57 has a wall hugging narrow shelf layout around the walls of the room.

The limit on number of locos in use is the amount of current they draw. The Powercab can also be made to display how much current it is supplying. If you find you need to draw more than it can supply, then you could always update it later on. I was very disheartened at the prospect of losing my original HD layout as we embarked in relocating to Scotland. I attach a pic to give some idea of my layout.

Go out your pace – one of the most relaxing things about this hobby is you can potter and go at your own pace. There’s no hurry. It’s all part of the fun. A bit of my re-design is to do with practical reasons. For example, it doesn’t make sense to lean over three sidings when using the turntable – so they need to be more distant. I suppose we're a little "trapped" between building the first layout while ensuring we leave options for the future (I.e. expansion, redesign, etc). I grew up with Lego and that offers endless flexibility as you never fix it to a board!!) What’s more, he’s got busy with a theme in mind. I think that’s important because over the years the layouts that turn out the best always have a theme in mind from day one.

A return loopdoes take a lot of hassle out of operating as you can reverse a train without shuntingCan anyone guide us towards the best single level layout (utilising the at least the bits that we have and the anticipated 44"/110cm wide MAX x 7'/2.1m long board). A huge collection of plans, apparently 400 designs, categorised by size and type (oval, double oval, branch line etc) and location (for prototyping) although these plans are mainly focused on the London Midland region.

I think David & Jon (jon_1066) have offered a great plan that interprets your original idea and the suggestions of others very well. I think they have a gift for that! I know that the reversing loops create electrical problems, but if you go full DCC then this can be taken care of. The running opportunities probably out way the difficulty/cost. Your post on the other thread mentioned 5 coach trains. They're going to look awfully long, and I don't think any of your sidings will hold them.And that goes for the simple layouts too. A theme really does ‘glue’ all the visual parts of a layout together. Over-all the layout needs to be fun; doesn't need to be real-world - and is for my kids also - one is 4 1/2 , the other will soon grow up at 1 1/2. Putting the second station above the first means that you can make the branch station a little bigger than shown, with perhaps a small goods yard as well as David's carriage siding. You could make some model loco shed faces and hide the actual locos under the upper board for example. I would read up and decide what control system you want for the layout DC (analog) or DCC (digital) and then get the best controller you can that suits what you want to do. I'd like to create two levels and get used to gradient work - as my future aspirations will be to do this on a bigger layout so will need practice landscaping