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Hello, This email message is a notification to let you know that a file has been uploaded to the Files area of the small-layout-design group. File : /GandS.jpg Uploaded by : cpr_fan@... Description : Chuck Yungkurth's Gumstump & Snowshoe You can access this file at the URL http://groups.yahoo.com/group/small-layout-design/files/GandS.jpg To learn more about file sharing for your group, please visit http://help.yahoo.com/help/us/groups/files Regards, cpr_fan@...

Hi there folks, Just to introduce myself, I'm from Exeter, in England, and I model midwestern roads from the 70's such as ICG, Rock Island, BN, Illinois Terminal etc in HO. I've just read back on some of your postings, and came across the thread about Iain Rice's book. I have operated layouts with sector plates and turntables, and can confirm they do work, and don't (IMHO) detract from the operation of the layout. Ref turntables, suppose for instance you have a four track turntable, with four trains loaded, each one runs "on scene", does what it has to do, and heads back to storage. Only after all four have made their appearance do you have to fully spin the turntable, it's not a constant operation. Selecting from one track or another is no more difficult than throwing a point in a conventional yard. Certainly you have far less disruption than lifting off your loco & caboose and swapping them over on each train! There are also plenty of ways of preventing "plummeting" equipment. They do take some "engineering" to get to work, but once they do, they...well just do! IMHO the "vertical" movable staging sounds a lot more dangerous. The thought of lifting a cassette manually over that sort of distance fills me with horror, and if the shelves were stacked vertically above one another you would also have to turn the train in the staging, to run into the next scene? If you had three scenes, two above each other and the middle level on one side, you could possibly develop some type of mechanical lift where your train starts from yard A, runs into staging, runs out of staging the other end into yard B, reverses formation, runs back into staging and out again into yard C. That would work, but it's complicated. Train turntables, sector plates etc are all vintage UK proven technology! Martyn Read

Hi all, I've recently started a small layout using an interesting storage idea. Check out my layout at: http://home.earthlink.net/~ksipel/trains/ It's a shelf layout made with 3 sections 2 being stored above when the layout is not in use. It's early on in the building planning and running of trains. Yes I said planning. While I have planned some elements, I am leaving other things open because either I don't have the info I need yet or I have no idea what I want. The main revelation for me was just starting. It seems that layout design is a whole bunch of compromises that make up some sort of whole. Ken

I thought this might be of interest to the group. I came across it in Track Planning Ideas from Model Railroader, which is a collection of track plans from old MRs. THe file in the Yahoo groups file section is an 18k jpg. It is a rendition I did of the plan using Atlas Right track software. The plan is a simple switchback that uses steep grades. The crucial items are the two tails of the switchback that need to be as long as possible. In this case they are 16" each. The author used short rolling stock and a 4 wheel caboose as well as a tenderless steam engine or small diesel. The lower right should have an engine house. The remaining 2 spurs could be industries or an exchange yard. The trick can be as simple as moving 2 cars from one end of the layout to the other. There is no runaround track so two engines have to be used. In the lower right yard, an engine makes up the train then drops the train and an engine couples on to the back end of the train pushing it onto the lower left tail of the switchback. It then pulls the train uphill to the upper right tail, then pushes the train into the upper left yard, dropping the cars and picking up more. If a runaround was included in the lower right yard, one engine could be used as it could move to the opposite end of the train once it has been made up. I hope I have communicated the author's intentions in a clear manner. I hope this little layout will spark some discussion. I am considering using it for my closet layout. Greg Williams cpr_fan@... www.trainweb.org/cprmodeling

This is a forward of a email that came out on the "DEMU" list on the 15th. My entry is already in planning. It's a very restrictive space, and British outline, but I thought you'd like to see.... Martyn :-) From: "Philip Sutton" <editors@r...> Date: Thu Mar 15, 2001 1:00pm Subject: Shunting layout competition SHUNTING LAYOUT COMPETITION - THE TIME HAS ARRIVED! Layout Building Competition - 100 prize Can you build a shunting layout? RAIL EXPRESS Magazine is joining forces with modern modelling society DEMU to stage a layout building competition... but space is tight! A series of e-mails bouncing back and forth started it! Why not encourage modern modellers to get out of their comfy armchairs and get building by starting a layout competition? Further impetus has been provided by the arrival of the smooth running Bachmann Class 08 which would be a ideal starting point (if modelling in 4mm scale) and just the job on a Osmall shunting layout. So there you have it, RE has just presented you with a light-hearted challenge so that readers can shows us just what can be achieved in a small space. The area to work with is tight (no space problems and pocket money budgets) and the timescale long, so whats stopping you... and your friends? Dont forget theres plenty of quality RTR stock already available in ON and OOO so you dont have to make life difficult. The prize? Well how about 100 worth of stock from your favourite model shop plus a few bonus prizes thrown in? Thanks are due to the enthusiastic members of DEMU for the idea and to the Gauge OO Guild from whose similar competition we have developed the rules. Look out for periodic updates and reminders including an entry form next month. The rules are simple: Individuals are to design and build a fully operational model railway layout, primarily to display shunting activities. The design must include at least one working point (not catch point). The entire layout (including any fiddle yard) must not exceed the following dimensions: 2002 sq ins in OO gauge; 653 sq ins in OP4/EM/OO; 500 sq ins in OHO; 368 sq ins in OTT; 163 sq ins in ON. All scales/gauges are allowed, based proportionally upon the size given above. Any permutation of layout size within these guidelines -or smaller - is allowed (eg approx. 4'6"x1' or 2'3"x2' etc in OOO). Get your graph paper out! Diesel and electric locos only are permitted. Ideally these will be shunters but small single-cabbed locos of 1,000 hp or less will also be allowed. Locos and stock must be suitable for period (and location). Layouts should have not been previously exhibited and should be fully finished by the deadline of April 1st, 2002. Full entry form and coupon will be published next month enabling you to register for this competition. The competition is open to all-comers but pre-registration is a condition of entry. Entrants may be required to travel, with layouts, to a judging venue. The layouts will be judged by several experienced modellers, none of whom will be entering the competition. They will view each layout and award a winner using a points scoring system. Equal importance will be placed on operation, locos/rolling stock, scenery/buildings and realism/atmosphere. There will be one overall winner although a OJunior (16 and under) prize will also be awarded. -- Let the arguments begin... Discussion appreciated but no questions please - the above explains all, no exceptions. Open to ANY interpretation as long as your project is WITHIN the rules. And before you ask RE & DEMU are there to promote the BRITISH railway scene. -- Philip Sutton Rail Express Magazine Foursight Publications Ltd 20 Park Street King's Cliffe Near Peterborough PE8 6XN United Kingdom Tel: 01780 470086 Fax: 01780 470060 --

Have seen reference to fire insurance maps for detailed maps of areas. I see the company in the US is Sanborn. Before I head to the local library does anyone know what the Canadian equivalent is to Sanborn or do I just ask to see fire insurance maps? Greg Williams cpr_fan@...

Hello -- Good luck on the move! Where is the window in the room? Just wondering. Keep us posted on how you design a layout to fit this space. I'm interested to see how you deal with the window and the closet. That's something that has bugged me about the layout plans in MRP and even the recent 5-by-9-with-wings layout in the current MR: the rooms for these layouts do not strike me as realistic. For example, when MRP had a bedroom layout design contest a few years ago, they designed a somewhat large-ish bedroom with the door and closet conveniently tucked away in a corner, like this: _______________ | Window | | | | | | | | |__ | | | | Closet | __| |________ _| Door (Or it was something similar to this). I'm sure this arrangement must exist somewhere, but it seems awfully convenient for the purposes of the contest -- the door and closet can be dealt with easily with a single lift-out span. Designing a layout to fit this space is a lot harder if the closet is away from the entrance and interrupts another wall -- you'd need another lift-out if you want access to the closet. The 5-by-9-with-wings article in the recent MR shows closet doors that open INTO the closet. I don't think I've ever seen a closet, other than a large walk-in, with doors that open in to the storage area. Again, my impression was that this was rather unrealistic. Anyway -- I am very curious to see how your plan develops. The door and closet in the same end of the room should be helpful -- you could, perhaps, even use the space in the closet for something, such as staging. Thanks -- Jon Piasecki jonp@... --- In small-layout-design@y..., b-freemantle@h... wrote: > Hi guys, > > Thanks for all the ideas. I may be moving to a place with a slightly > larger layout space in a year or less, so things likely won't be a > tight as my original description. I'm thinking in terms of a 9x12 > bedroom with both door and closet at the same end. > _____________________________________ > | | | > | | | > | | > | | > | | > | | | > |___| | > | &#92; | > | &#92;_________________________________| > <edit>

Hi all, Jon Piasecki commented that: '....when MRP had a bedroom layout design contest a few years ago, they designed a somewhat large-ish bedroom with the door and closet conveniently tucked away in a corner, like this: _______________ | Window | | | | | | | | |__ | | | | Closet | __| |________ _| Door (Or it was something similar to this). I'm sure this arrangement must exist somewhere, but it seems awfully convenient for the purposes of the contest -- the door and closet can be dealt with easily with a single lift-out span....' This bedroom DOES exist in reality, as it is the plan for the spare bedroom in MRP editor Tony Koester's own house. The close proximity of the entrance door to the closet sure did make it convenient to bridge the gap in my N&W plan as designed for this room (see MRP2000). Interestingly, my elder son's bedroom has an identical arrangement, save being a foot shorter and a foot narrower - Z scale, anyone? <G> Cheers, Simon Leigh, Modelling the N&W in N Scale, c. 1968 Auckland, N.Z.

--- In small-layout-design@y..., jonp@b... wrote: > > I like the idea of a staging cart - it could serve as a working > staging yard, a manual fiddle yard for moving stock off and on the > layout, a whole-train turntable and a storage cabinet all in a > single unit. Has anyone tried using a staging cart on a carpeted > floor? The floor in the room is carpeted, so I think I would have to > investigate different casters to see which would work well on a soft > surface. (I've been told that lifting up the carpet is not an > option!) I haven't built my staging cart yet (the idea really only came along after seeing Iain Rice's design in the Feb 2001 Model Railroader) so I'm a little in the dark. However, the key to me will be alignment with the module, both vertically and horizontially. I plan on some sort of system to lock the cart to the module and figure that I'll need to have some sort of fine vertical adjustment. I've again been looking at the Lee Valley catalogue since they have a wide selection of casters, some designed for carpeted surfaces. The best online resource for train turntables I've found is here: http://home.freeuk.net/nmrabr/p87/fid_yd1.htm Terrific modeling as well.... Regards, Barry Cott Calgary, AB http://www.cadvision.com/cottb/modelrr

Hi Folks, Just for fun I thought I would see what I could do with an 18" x36" peice of hollow core door and some N scale track. I like yards and switching industries, so this was my challenge: 1) A few long sidings, say 18" to 24" where more than one industry or loading bay could be located. This would allow for fun/headaches when spotting certain cars. 2) Perhaps 3-5 industries to be served. This should include a team track for rolling stock variety. 3) Hidden staging capable on holding/loading at least 4-6 cars or so. 4) Perhaps one trailing point with siding to complicate matters. (of course, that would take it out of the "pointless " category!) Here's what I'm thinking: _______________________________________ |========================1 | |========================2 l=====l | |-------->backdrop<---------|l=====l |< 3 road traverser | indust 1 indust 2 #|l=====l | |========================3 #| == | |team track =============4 #| == |< engine escape(run around) |========================5 #| == | | crew &#92;&#92; <point #-----------|< indust 4 against backdrop | hut/mow =========6 #========== | |__________________________#___________| ^ road overpass (view block) Ok, here's how it might work: -Start with 4-5 (depending on length) cars on track 1&2 (hidden) -Loco on traverser picks up cars from track 1 and delivers them one at a time to various industries/spots. -For siding 6, loco takes car off of track 1. Loco moves onto escape track. The traverser is moved up/down one. Loco moves onto traverser and runs light into scene. Move traverser into position with car lined up. Loco moves back and picks up car.Traverser moves to track 5. Loco pulls forward,takes the point and spots car on track 6. Voila! -Now you can add additional cars from track 2 if you're up to the challenge, or take the cars back off to track 1 first. I think it could get interesting!! What inspired me was a homemade video on Montana Rail Link where various cuts dissappeared and re-emerged from under an overpass as the consist was put together. I figured the additional cars and run around were off screen (literally) somewhere on the other side of that overpass. Why not add a couple of industries (a la David Barrow)and operate it as it would be seen from the videographer's point of view? I've fiddled with it on a 50% reduced plan on paper, and I think it should work. Has anyone constructed/operated a similar plan? I'm thinking of naming it "Stubby,Montana" for obvious reasons :>) Cheers, Jeff Hatcher

Hello All -- This question is for people who have built layouts in bedrooms and home offices or any sort of room that had to remain available for activities other than the layout: What sort of room preparation, if any, did you do to the room before building the layout? Has anyone installed any extra lighting or power outlets in the bedroom or office or whatever before building their layout? If you did put in such improvements, did you make them permanent (inside the wall) or temporary (with stick-on surface wiring channels or whatever)? Has anyone coved the corners of a small room for their layout, even though the room also had to serve as a "conventional" room for other uses? I'm just trying to get an idea for what sort of infrastructure changes people are willing to make for small or temporary or LTLT (less-than-lifetime) layouts. Thanks -- Jon Piasecki - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Visit the Toronto Hamilton & Buffalo Railway Historical Society Website at http://www.thbrailway.com - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

For those who have never heard of it, there is a UK magazine called Model Trains International, which specialises in small layouts, from anywhere in the world. The current issue has an article on Yugoslavian Forestry railways, an S gauge "shelf" set in Maine, a small line set in a Kent coalfield, etc. My connection is that I do some of the trackplans and artwork for the publisher Chris Ellis. It is a subscription only magazine - If you are interested, please email me, for details

Now and then I've been sent on 3 to 6 month assignments in other cities, and I've wondered what you could do with a layout in a hotel room. Here is what I came up with, based on looking at some Continental Modeller plans (mentioned in a post above) and some equivalent discussion on the www.worldrailfans.org discussion list. First, I measured the drawers in all the high-boys, bureaus, etc. in the house and found that they all seem to have a pretty much standard 27 inch inside clearance. I am assuming that if you have a layout in a hotel, the maids aren't going to have the remotest idea of what to do with it, so you want to hide it in a drawer during the day. I've subsequently measured the drawers available in hotel bureaus or equivalent, and again, in most cases there is a 27 inch clearance. Too bad you can't specify this in your reservations with the travel agency. I got a scrap piece of 3/4 inch plywood from the lumberyard cut to a dimension of 27 inches by (I think) 8 inches. You pretty much only have N scale as an option here. I also pretty much followed the "Rigby south yard" plan in MR; had to eliminate one track. I used Kato Unitrack, weathered and rails painted, to minimize wiring. I was planning to use just a 9 volt battery and a DPDT switch for operation, but I think even N scale locos may drain the battery pretty fast. I modified a freeware computer program to provide car routing. With no runaround, you need two locos to run it, the same as the Rigby South Yard layout. I got to the point of test-running and operating it, but never got as far as adding a 1/8 inch Masonite partial backdrop, and haven't taken it with me on a business trip yet, though maybe I need to reconsider this! This will probably work best if you get to drive to the city where you're assigned, rather than fly. For flying you would need to have a way to check the container, since you are likely to have REAL problems with security taking it as carryon.

Hello All -- Not sure if this has been posted on this list before or not. Check out -- http://www.bcsj.org/rr/timesaver/index.html -- for a nicely scenicked John Allen Timesaver switching layout. Thanks -- Jon Piasecki jonp@... - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Visit the Toronto Hamilton & Buffalo Railway Historical Society Website at http://www.thbrailway.com - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Hi all, Please excuse the cross-list posting on this and the possible encroachment into the dreaded "off-topic zone" but I know there are many who would be interested in the following news: Apparently the TP&W Historical Society has risen from the ashes. Last week in the mail I received the Society's newsletter, The Prarie Marksman, along with a color photograph of two of the road's GP-20's #'s2016 & 2052 taken in November of 1999 at the Hoosier Lift Intermodal Facility near Remington, IN. Jerry Reinmann is heading up the group and Mark Lagomarcino is the newsletter editor. Following are some excerpts from Jerry's editorial in the Marksman. [used with permission]: "As you know the TP&W RR HS has had very little activity in the last few years...Since Rail America bought the property [June, 1999]...I have talked to the Rail America vice president in charge of the TP&W and the superintendent...We are now permitted to enter the property if we stay in the parking area. For now do not cross any tracks into the operating area.... ...most important is the Society news. On April 22, a group met and a reorganization committee was formed. All officers and board members have been asked to continue until the next regular meeting. Many members have paid annual dues and in effect, they have gotten nothing in return and this will be solved by carrying on until caught up.... ...Persons wishing to join the Society for the year 2000 will pay dues equal to the amount of newsletters they receive. If they receive one newsletter, they pay one fourth of the annual dues amount, two newsletters would be one half and so forth... ...We are ready to roll again." The TP&W HS now has a Home Page at: http://people.ce.mediaone.net/lagomark/index.html and can be reached via email at: tpwrrhs@... Editor Mark Lagomarcino states, "Let us know what your email address is and we will keep you up to date on society news between newsletters. We have a strict privacy policy, your email address will not be given out. You may contact us on matters of Society business or write to see if we are really paying attention! Just write." The Society's snail mail (fmail!) address is: 615 Bullock Street Eureka, IL and the phone contact given is: 309-467-3372. I'm sure many of us are glad to be reading the above and wish the Society the best as they get rolling again. Call, email, or fmail and offer your encouragement, support, and appreciation. I have. Paul Kossart - Peru, Illinois, USA BRHS, TP&WHS, La Salle & Bureau County Model Railroad Club Proto-Freelancing The CB&Q Illiniwek River Branch in HO in the 1960's... ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "Serving Agriculture and Industry in the Illiniwek River Valley since 1904." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hello Brian -- Sorry about the jab! It was just a joke, though. For the record, everyone: the federal tax agency in Canada does NOT install surveillance equipment in our homes or offices or home offices. At least as far as I know they don't. About laminate flooring: because the office is rather small and is getting crowded with two desks and two computers, I think I will abandon that location for the shelf-type layout. We're about to get started on finishing the basement, so the layout will likely go into a similarly sized area (about 10 by 12 or so) down there. How well will laminate flooring stand up in the basement? The floor is a poured concrete slab. The basement itself is dry, but there seems to be moisture evaporating through the floor (if that makes sense). Because of this, I am concerned about putting anything even partially organic down on the floor -- I'm concerned that the MDF in the laminate may absorb moisture and rot. Anyone have any experience with this sort of flooring? Thanks -- Jon Piasecki jonp@... - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Visit the Toronto Hamilton & Buffalo Railway Historical Society Website at http://www.thbrailway.com - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - --- In small-layout-design@y..., "Brian Freemantle" <b- freemantle@h...> wrote: > Jon: > > As an employee of said tax bureau, I can appreciate the > joke. While I would like to enlarge on the idea, I can't. > > Regarding the flooring problem, large wide casters may solve > some of the problem by spreading the weight and making it > easier to roll the cart. Otherwise, the only real solution > is the impossible one: Remove the carpet and replace it with > DIY hardwood or laminate flooring. When it comes to > laminate, the better quality the better. The cheaper stuff > uses less dense MDF and won't last as long.

Try XtrkCad from www.sillub.com you can download a free limited demo and see if it's any use to you before you buy. It does all my small layout planning. The restriction is on the size of layout you can produce and the number of items you can place on the drawing. It's also got a "run-able" Timesaver!

Hot diggity dog! I don't know why it took me so long to find this group, But i'm thrilled I finally have. My layout is really small: 2'x4'3", H.O. scale interuban layout. You can view the track plan in my builders diary at Railroad Builders .org at http://www.railroadbuilders.org/rrb/diary.asp?username=Dan%20D.Sparks The diary starts at the bottom of the page, with the latest updates at the top. Let me know what you think. Thank you and I look forward to some great postings with you guys! Dandy

Hello - Some very good suggestions here - thanks to everyone for contributing. For my particular application, I think the water wings or folded dogbone approach would be impractical - I don't have the room for the lobes. Turning an HO train would require a lobe that is at least 4 feet at its widest point. I think such large benchwork would overpower my room (which has to also serve as a home office). If the room was entirely for hobby use, though, I'd consider the wings design, or perhaps a completely around-the-walls design of some sort. I like the idea of a staging cart - it could serve as a working staging yard, a manual fiddle yard for moving stock off and on the layout, a whole-train turntable and a storage cabinet all in a single unit. Has anyone tried using a staging cart on a carpeted floor? The floor in the room is carpeted, so I think I would have to investigate different casters to see which would work well on a soft surface. (I've been told that lifting up the carpet is not an option!) Some time ago I thought of an idea that I have since seen published in, I believe, MRP 2001: wrap the layout with staging. Consider the following: Window ___________________________________ | sssssssssssssssssssssssss | | s ................... s | | s . _________________ . s | | s x . / Interchange &#92; . x s | | s x . | | . x s | | s x . | | . x s | | s x . | | . x s | | s x . | | . x s | | s x . | | . x s | | s x . | | . x s | | s x . | | . x s | | s x . | | . x s | | s x . | |___x___| | s x . | | | s x . | | |___x___| | Entrance | |_ ________________________| | | | Closet | |________| If this does not display properly for you, select the text and change the font to a monospaced font, such as Courier. "s" represents the staging track. "x" represents a view block, such as a backdrop or structure flats. "." represents the visible track. "Interchange" indicates the area where the staging tracks would connect with the visible track. This arrangement has the potential to create three interesting switching locations: two switching scenes on the left and right sides of the layout, and the interchange scene in front of the window. The staging yards would not be too complex - two tracks behind the view blocks would probably do it. I figure the staging areas will be about 8 inches deep, and the visible areas will be 16 inches deep - for a total shelf depth of 24 inches. The shelf across the window would be narrower - 12 to 16 inches. I think you could simulate all sorts of different operations here. The staging tracks could represent the "main line through town" while the switching locations are major industries or collections of industries. A train travelling from east to west - right to left on the plan above - would leave the right-hand staging and arrive at the interchange. It would perform switching at both locations and then continue out of town to the left-hand staging area. Turn the engine and caboose on a staging cart/train turntable, lift another train, and the train can make the return trip heading west to east (left to right on the plan). This would actually simulate the operations I'm interested in - the Waterford branch of the Toronto Hamilton & Buffalo operated in a similar manner. A train would leave Hamilton (right-hand staging) and arrive in Brantford. Switching would be performed, and then the train would continue west to the Canada Southern/NYC interchange at Waterford (left-hand staging). At Waterford, the power was turned and interchange cars were picked up. The train then returned east to Hamilton via Brantford, performing any required switching on the return trip. Now that this has got me thinking of how I could use this sort of layout to represent the TH&B, here's an observation: with this sort of layout I think I can simulate the timetable for the Waterford branch (focusing on switching in Brantford), but I won't be able to model prototype scenes. At best, I could use structures from the prototype to suggest the scene, but I likely won't be able to use the prototype's track arrangement. On the other hand, an earlier layout design intended to represent Brantford Yard captured (I think!) the look of the prototype scene, but it would not really offer the ability to simulate the prototype's timetable or operations. Interesting tradeoffs! Anyway, I'd be interested to hear comments on staging design for this layout. What would practically fit in an 8-inch deep area? I'm not going to be doing switching back there, so I don't need a lot of 0-5- 0 access. Any thoughts? Thanks - Jon jonp@... Other plan suggestions from this thread: Barry Cott: Modules with "disposable" links -- ____Window_____ |****LLLLLL| |**** | |** **| |** **| |** **| |** Entrance |** |_LLLLL****| |___| Closet Simon Leigh: Water Wings -- ____Window_____ |**** | || |** **| |** ***| |*** ****| |**** ***| Entrance |**** |** _________| |___| Closet Jeff Hatcher: Two Shelves and Staging Cart -- ____Window_____ |** **| |** **| |** **| |** **| |** **| |** **| Entrance |++< staging >++ |++ cart____++| |___| Closet

I've uploaded two track plans to the file area. One is called "Toy- Factory", which is a switching layout in H-O scale. The dimensions are 9 inches wide by 52 inches long, including transverser. The second is labelled "Ivar-A-6" and an extension of the toy factory layout. Both layouts were planned for an "Ivar" shelving unit from IKEA. The IVAR is modular so there can be quite a lot of variation. My particular shelving unit is L-shaped. "Ivar-A-6" is 72 inches long by 40 inches, with a 9 inch depth except in the corner which is "cut" by the Ivar, allowing maximum usage. The transverser for the toy factory is 17 inches, but I'm making the one for the Ivar at 19 inches. I've gotten as far as building the baseboard (benchwork) and tranverser for toy factory, but no track down. I'm using sheet cork to simplify things. I've cut the wood for the next section of baseboard for Ivar, but that's it. The curve in Ivar is tight, but I may be able to adjust that once I get to track laying. I used Atlas' Right Track software to plan it using H-O code 100 track and Number 4 switches. I've already got two variations on this and may modify it further. Hope this is helpful or thought provoking for someone. Maurice Grimes Kingston, PA, USA