When we start a layout, we have to solve the problem of time and space. Everyone has only so much time to spend on building a layout and most are also limited in the amount of space available. I also view the problem as an issue of how to scale the miles of track that even a narrow gauge line will have in real life into a reasonable sized layout that gives the feeling of going somewhere. I am currently living in a house that I built to my own design and like many homes in the US, the cost per square foot is $90 plus for finished living space. I guess I am into comfort because I want my layout in a finished space but I don't want to waste any space at $90 a square foot. One thing nice about building a house, I made the ceilings in the basement 9' 6" tall so I will still have decent ceiling height after I put a suspended ceiling in.

With my extra ceiling height, I worked up many designs of the double deck "mushroom" configuration. I don't like designs where your train is out of view for any distance, so I was trying to avoid a helix in my double deck designs which was also a big problem because I had doors and windows to deal with in the walk out part of the basement.

After many attempts at just the right design, I arrived at a compromise that I think I will be happy with. Over the years, I have made the observation that dioramas with curved backdrops allow the builder to use perspective effects and because work is focused on one area, it can be developed in more detail so I tried some designs for linked dioramas. My switching areas (points of interest) will be 6' to 12' dioramas that will be connected by "white space". What I mean by white space, is simply track and distance with no scenery ever intended. To get more track and distance without using up a lot of floor space, I will use a switch back (open to view as white space so you can see your train) to get above the doors and windows and then run a loop of white space track around the top of the room. Two 12' points of the interest switching dioramas will be at the foot of a switch back at 50" from the floor. The other point of interest dioramas will be mounted at 72" from the floor and will connect to the white space loop that is above the window and door level.

So the long and short of it is that, I plan to build four large 12 foot dioramas and fill them with detailed scenery and switching trackwork. All of my mainline track length will be in "white space" where I do not intend to add any scenery. I will save time and money on the white space trackage with no scenery construction and will also cut costs by using cheaper HO track in the white space. I used to work at a hobby shop that had a loop of track above door level to allow us to run equipment that had been purchased or repaired before the customer took it home. I noticed that when I ran trains with no scenery and overhead, I would focus on the train and would not really notice the missing scenery so I expect to be happy with the white space. The white space will add hundreds of feet to my mainline runs, so it will not seem like you are still exiting one town while you are entering the next town. For me, a train that is in two towns at the same time is more of a problem then running without scenery. I am finding several other advantages to the "white space" setup. My use of floor space is cut back to 70 inchs from one wall while the balance of the layout will use "air" rights. Because my layout against the wall, I will not have much aisle length or you could say most of my aisles are 5' or more wide which is very nice because it is fun to follow your train but it's not much fun to be squeezing around people while you do it. I don't plan to take my dioramas to train shows at this time, but my design would allow me to do it if I really wanted to. I should be able to build, detail and complete four dioramas while spending time with my family during the process.

I have compromised and I am pleased with the result. I have cut the scope back to the point I am sure I can build my dream layout and most important for me, I am happy with how the layout will operate after it is done. I expect the operators will be involved with tasks that will be like the select tasks I am trying to pull from the train crews of real railroads. I have a friend that is a real engineer and he has a run where he gets to go out 90 miles at 10 MPH, switch the town and then come back at 10 MPH which is not my choice as the best way to spend a twelve hour day. One thing I don't read about much in the hobby press is the fact we don't want things to be completely real on our layouts or it would be boring. The train simulators make the problems of to real obvious if you try to go the prototype distance in them. Our one mile layout distance to the next town is fun while one hundred plus prototype miles to the next town is boring.