How many of us have a small layout? Model Railroader Magazine classifies a small layout as one under 120 square ft. Even a 4x8 is 32 square ft. My N Scale Playa Desnuda Branch is a whole whopping. 8.4 square ft.
Well, I guess the JACALAR counts as small. While in an 8x15 shed, since around the wall, really only has bout 50sq ft. And then, of course, there are the modules.
I think my new N road will be about 34 SqFt , L-Shaped and made of HCD tables cut to shorter length. As I weigh build cost, maintenance and moving it someday, I'm sketching some smaller plans as options. My ideal plan would be an around-the-walls pike on shallow shelving, but I'll likely never have the space for something like that.
I have three layouts (2 N scale and 1 HO) and they would all be considered small by the MR standard. Doug
I must wonder how MR arrived at the threshold of 120 SqFt and what such a definition accomplishes. MR may define the size as "small", but I'll bet that much less space is typical and encompasses most home layouts.
Not everyone has space and resources to build multiple deck empires! I'm enjoying this thread as there's a lot of neat small layouts.
Yikes. I thought my layout in an 8'x15' room would be considered large, at least by my standards. But being around the walls, it's only 84 sq. ft., i.e., 3x8 + 3x8 + 3x12. I think MR was unfair classifying a 10x12 room as a whole layout. You have to walk somewhere. So a 6x8 layout (48 sq. ft.) would fit in a 10x12 room giving you 2 feet access on all sides, assuming the door opened outwards.
I guess I qualify with the POCR, roughly 12 x 11 room around 3 walls and 18” wide. The pennensula adds about 2’ x 8 feet in the middle. With 2 aisles down each side. Plenty of railroading to do an almost 3 hour op session switching cars.
I agree with what Hemi wrote, that we have a lot of excellent layouts here that aren't "large". There's certainly no correlation between layout size and layout quality.
My HO layout is two 4x8 benches in an "L" shape for 64 sq ft. Starting on another 4x8 for an N-scale layout as well. Small. Sent from my SM-N920P using Tapatalk