Help! in desperate need of ideas for my layout

[nickt22]

I want a track plan that includes plenty of action but still includes the room needed for the strucutures and scenery on my 5 X 8 layout.

The structures I have to include are the

Lionel sawmill
Atlas O suburban station
Plasticville town hall
and MTH 3 story building (Royal Blue Grocery Store
an MTH corner store
Cottons Candy and Al's Hardware(Lionelville)
Bungalow House (lionelville)
country church and house (model power)
coal mine (lionel kit)
and a 2 foot long storage building!

but thats not it! I have a bridge with a flasher that i have replaced with 1 inch tall piers to make a small stream under, plus I have the Mountain Valley Scenery kit that i have to convert to O scale

I am 14 and have had my trains since i was 8, but now i am trying to build a permanent layout with what i have bought and gotten as gifts over the years.

[mitchelr]

nickt22,

You might want to try looking on this web site. It helped me find some great ideas.

http://www.thortrains.net/

Mitch

[1688torpedo]

Hello Nick22 & [#welcome] to the forum. Check out the "The Sunday Photo Fun" Postings on this Forum & you will get a ton of ideas as to how you want to build your layout. And, if you try your local library they should have Books & Videos for O Gauge layouts as well. There are also numerous websites with Toy Train Layout Pictures & photo's to look at also. Hope this helps. Take Care.

[FJ and G]

If I were you, I'd place the track and all the other stuff on the floor and see what works best. If you don't yet have the track because you don't know how much you need for the layout, Then may I suggest going to a hobby shop with several sheets of paper and a pencil and tracing each section of track and turnout. Then, make copies, cut them out, and lay them around on the floor.

It's one thing to study a track plan but yet another to see how it REALLy looks. Good luck and have fun.

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by FJ and G

If I were you, I'd place the track and all the other stuff on the floor and see what works best.
It's one thing to study a track plan but yet another to see how it REALLy looks. Good luck and have fun.

Great advice! Joe

[dwiemer]

Check your available room size and potential. A small change in size could mean a lot of added designs. If you were to go from 4x8 to say 5x9, I have seen a number of layouts that work great at this size. Also, don't forget to go vertical, you can get a trestle set and have an elevated loop.
Dennis