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Here's something I never really thought about before, until being faced with building my first around the walls layout... When modeling a prototype (Aaska RR, in my case), most builders will run their mainline so it orientates with a compass direction. For instance, some people may decide to have the Eastbound line going to the right whenever you face the layout, and West to the left. In my case, my mainline will run North/South. This is simple if you keep your view orientation the same throughout the entire layout. This means the viewer will remain on the "same side of the track" for the entire layout, so East will always be to the right and West to the left. HERE'S MY QUESTION: What happens if the views you want to depict are on opposite sides of the track??? To illustrate- for my vision of the Alaska RR, it makes sense to have the viewpoint FROM the East (so North will be to the right and South will be to the left of wherever the operator is standing). This works out nicely for scenes like Mt McKinley in the background (viewed from the East), or Whittier, or Seward, or the Deanli train station, or the Port of Anchorage.. all these scenes are best viewed from the East, with the track in the foreground. But a KEY scene I want to incorporate is of the mainline running along the Turnagain Arm of the Cook Inlet. The ONLY way to view this scene is from the WEST! What to do? I can't suddenly pretend that for a small portion of my layout that the compass directions suddenly reverse. Or... can I? If so, my imagination isn't finding a way. How do the rest of you guys work this kind of issue out? Thanks, Barry
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