Model Railroad Plan

I've always had a soft spot for model trains ever since I was a little kid. Me and my brothers had a 4'x8' layout that our dad bought for us to run our trains on.

The ravages of time, and a move led to the scrapping of this plywood wonder. Over the last several years, I've collected various engines, cars, and building kits for a future layout.

I built a 2'x8' module after college, but it didn't get much past the "Styrofoam
Central" stage. I've come up with some plans over the years, I think I was trying to bite off to
much with these, both in size and complexity.

A couple of years ago, I came across a plan for a better beginners layout. Not quite wanting to admit that I was a beginner, I placed this one in the proverbial mental file cabinet. I continued to bash my head against the wall trying to come up with a plan that I could manage.

A few months ago, I was digging in my Yahoo Groups account, and found the group for this layouts plan. http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HOGRR/ The original plan is called the "Heart of Georgia", after a real short line in Georgia. This layout is 8'x9' open pit design. It has a couple of passing tracks, a small yard, and several industries and interchanges. It could very easily be operated by one person when the desire for a quicky operating session arises. The layout shelf is also only 1' wide all the way around, so it's fairly easy on the materials.

For my 12'x12' room, I took this plan and scaled it up to 9'x12', keeping the basic elements, but slightly re arranging them. I also added a track to the yard, and also left open the posibility of an expansion branch line.

I'm hopinng to start construction later this month, once I get my back yard cleaned up, and a design for the benchwork solidified. Stay tuned....