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Space Mouse's Beginner's Guide to Layout Design
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Let's start by laying the cards right on the table. I'm not a 40 year veteran of layout design
with my own design firm and a trail of published plans that make John Koester Chubb Armstrong
blush. I've been in the hobby for just a short time and have made most of the mistakes
that you are trying to avoid by reading this. What got me from there to here is a lot of help
from guys on the Internet forums. This is my way of paying back.
If you are looking for instant success in designing a layout plan that will fit the bench work
you already have built, and you need it tomorrow, you should either a) stop reading or b) stop
building. Layout design is hard work.
Look at it this way. According to figures in a leading model railroad magazine, you will spend
$50-$100 per square foot and will spend 50 hour per square foot building it. That's a lot of
time and money to waste on a hasty plan. You want the best plan you can come up with, not just
to meet the model railroad needs you have right now. You want a plan that will allow you to
grow into the model railroader you will be when the layout is complete.
Now a lot of beginners have told me: "I just want a 4 x 8 so I can watch trains run." A train
running laps on a 4 x 8 at moderate speeds will make 8 laps per minute. If you run an hour a
day for the two years it takes to complete a 4 x8 layout, you will have watched your train make
350,000 laps. Now unless you have the IQ of SpongeBob, somewhere along the line you are going
to get bored. You need to make your layout interesting. And yes, you can do it with a 4 x8. You
can do it with a 2 x 8. You can do it in any gauge. You can fit it into any space.
You just need vision.
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