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Conrail, I just finished designing my layout in a room that is almost the same size as yours. I would suggest that you first get your givens and druthers together. Things like: Prototype or freelance modeling, train length, type and size of cars and equipment that you are running, type operation you want, how much scenery and type of terrain you will model, era, DCC or not, double deck, etc….From this criteria you can then set some standards such as minimum turnout size, minimum curve radius, maximum grade etc. Then I would suggest picking up John Armstrong’s Book “"Track Planning for Realistic Operation". This book has it all and can be a great help in getting your ideas together on paper. Next either track planning software or a track planning stencil and paper to see if it will fit. It is important to accurately draw curves and switches because we all tend to seriously underestimate how much space they will take, leading to disaster later when reality doesn’t match the plan. After you have a plan go back through and try to think about maintenance and see if you can daylight as many hidden switches as possible…I found this took me the most time. Many of the track plans I looked at were of the old spaghetti bowl variety or didn’t fit my vision, so I hacked out my own. In the space you have you will see, as you start messing with plans, that there are really only a few possibilities (with lots of variables) if you want continuos running. In my space I found that I could barely squeeze in a peninsula with 30” curves and 30” aisles. I decided on a double deck around the room design with a helix connecting decks and a pennisula. You will probably have to decide whether you want to cross the door with a duck under. I couldn’t make mine work with out one. My Two cents, Guy
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