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Unlike our four wheeled friends a model train layout does not lend itself to temporary layouts or heaven forbid running on a rug. Given that limitation there must be at least a a couple dozen books with nothing but track plans that vary anywhere from a simple oval to huge walk-around plans. Being limited to my library I was on the lookout for a decent bookshelf layout that I would not soon tire of.
I had always thought of myself as more of a "passenger guy" rather than a "freight guy". That is until I canvassed my roster and found that most of my locomotives would be happier hauling freight. In the United States and I suspect the same goes for the UK and Europe it is the freight customer that pays the bill. In the US more than other country train travel is a shadow of what it once was and most modellers being more familiar with seeing long freight trains lashed to multi-unit consists naturally choose to represent the same type of trains on their layout.
What I have decided upon is a layout that would support both freight and passenger traffic, a fair bit of switching yet would allow me the pleasure of just watching the trains run. Now it was just a matter of finding that "perfect" layout. Oh did I mention that it had to fit on a bookshelf? The layout pictured, with some modification should fit the bill.
The yard and staging tracks have been reduced and squeezed in the middle. Continuous running is provided through the use of return loops on each end to give the illusion that the trains are returning from where they had traveled to earlier rather than circumventing the earth as in an oval. Since the track length is so short this is still somewhat up to the imagination of the viewer. The roundhouse is obviously an important feature of the layout as I have a bad habit of collecting locomotives.
I had always thought of myself as more of a "passenger guy" rather than a "freight guy". That is until I canvassed my roster and found that most of my locomotives would be happier hauling freight. In the United States and I suspect the same goes for the UK and Europe it is the freight customer that pays the bill. In the US more than other country train travel is a shadow of what it once was and most modellers being more familiar with seeing long freight trains lashed to multi-unit consists naturally choose to represent the same type of trains on their layout.
What I have decided upon is a layout that would support both freight and passenger traffic, a fair bit of switching yet would allow me the pleasure of just watching the trains run. Now it was just a matter of finding that "perfect" layout. Oh did I mention that it had to fit on a bookshelf? The layout pictured, with some modification should fit the bill.

The yard and staging tracks have been reduced and squeezed in the middle. Continuous running is provided through the use of return loops on each end to give the illusion that the trains are returning from where they had traveled to earlier rather than circumventing the earth as in an oval. Since the track length is so short this is still somewhat up to the imagination of the viewer. The roundhouse is obviously an important feature of the layout as I have a bad habit of collecting locomotives.