Planning a long Exhibition Layout - Return to main page.

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Planning the new layout:


"Somerton" was a classic exhibition layout, a sceniced front and unsceniced rear staging yards.

We didn't want to build this again, and wanted longer trains. So we looked at many options. By making the layout long and thin we thought we would have a easier scenario. By putting the staging on the same module as the sceniced part we saved space in the carry case. That meant we needed the end unsceniced 'blobs' to turn the train around, which many layouts now use this idea. While not going to be shadowbox like Wingham and Beyond Bulliac, we get the same sort of feel.

Early on in the planning it was felt that we didn't want the track to parrallel the edge of the board. This was because the human eye does well to measure things parrallel, and then gauge the size of the scene.

We worked out the staging first. We found we could fit basically two trapazoid parrallelagrams staging yards end to end to allow 5 trains in either direction,plus the run past track. We looked a the yard and found we could curne the backdrop to allow more scenery at each end.

The end blobs are going to be very strongly contructed spline style end loops. They will bolt to the main layout, and be uncsceniced.


Plan 1


Plan 2





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